Right to Work fallout in Michigan: It’s why battle must be won in Ohio, unions say

The news from neighboring Michigan is not good on the fallout from Right to Work. And to make matters more unnerving, say unions, is the assault that right-wing groups are looking to wage against workers nationwide.

It’s been just over a year since lawmakers in Michigan stunned union members by passing Right to Work in what was once a union stronghold.  Even as unions take the fight to the courts in hopes of getting it overturned, the impact is already being felt.

“Let’s say it like it is. It’s an absolute mess and a real nightmare for all workers in Michigan,” said Pat Sink, Ohio’s IUOE Local 18 business manager. “The union is about protecting workers but Right to Work undermines union strength and jeopardizes every worker who hopes for a good paycheck and solidarity.”

Since Right to Work passed in Michigan, more than 8,000 teachers have stopped paying dues to the Michigan Education Assoc., though the vast majority of teachers have still elected to stay union members.

“Right to Work impacts the ability of unions to stand up for worker rights,” says Sink. “That is why we are doing everything we can in Ohio to make sure Right to Work doesn’t get passed here.”

Those efforts by Sink and his group in Ohio, as well as by others nationwide, come at a time when conservatives have declared war on unions.

At CPAC, Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus announced that there was “total and complete unity” between the GOP, Tea Party and Glenn Beck followers in the desire to crush unions.

Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, predicted at CPAP that Right to Work would pass in Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky sometime soon.

“It’s not going to be another ten years until we get another Right to Work state,” he said, according to Salon.com.

Says Sink: “As far as we’re concerned, it’s never going to happen Ohio. We’re doing everything we can to stop it.”

In their unrelenting war on workers, whether Republicans embrace “Paycheck Protection,” “Workplace Freedom,” or other Right to Work tactics, opponents in Ohio say they are determined to ensure the public knows the underlying nature behind the GOP’s divisive agenda.

Opponents of the recent Ohio Right to Work efforts, sometimes called “Workplace Freedom”, contend that the initiative’s true purpose is to kill unions and worker protections, ultimately leading to a weaker middle class. By stripping workers of their rights and freedoms, business owners would be free to lower worker pay, reduce worker benefits and ignore worker rights.

For more information about Right to Work, please visit www.protectohiosmiddleclass.org