
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation in Springfield, Va., has issued special legal notices to public and private sector workers in Michigan, which explains what rights workers still have to resist union demands as the repeal of the state’s Right to Work law takes effect.
According to the foundation, in March 2023, the Michigan Legislature voted against the will of more than 70 percent of state residents and repealed the state’s protections against being forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. The repeal took effect on Feb. 12.
The legal notices are available at the Foundation’s website for private sector workers and for public sector workers.
The foundation’s legal notice explains that, despite this expansion of government-granted power for Michigan union leaders, private sector workers still have rights under federal law to refrain from formal union membership and to refuse to pay for union political or ideological expenditures, among other rights.
“Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) workers subject to these forced fee arrangements cannot lawfully be compelled to be actual union members or pay full union dues to keep their jobs,” the notice reads.
As for public sector workers, the legal notice informs Michigan residents the repeal “does not — and cannot — strip (public sector) workers of their constitutional right” to refrain from funding union activities. The Supreme Court recognized public employees’ First Amendment right to abstain from union financial support in the 2018 Janus v. AFSCME ruling.
The notices inform Michigan private sector employees that, under the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Pattern Makers v. NLRB, independent-minded workers have a right to refrain from formal union membership.
The CWA v. Beck Supreme Court ruling further holds that the most that unions can force nonmember workers to pay is a fee equal to “what the union can prove is its costs of collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment with their employer.” This fee cannot include union expenses for political and ideological activities.
“Unions often fail to meet their legal obligation to inform workers of their right not to be a union member and to object to paying full union dues,” the notice states. “In fact, unions oftentimes mislead workers to believe that they must join the union to keep their jobs.”
Private sector employees also have the right to petition for National Labor Relations Board-supervised “decertification elections,” which can strip union officials of their coercive powers of monopoly control over a work unit entirely.
“Union boss allies in the Michigan Legislature foisted this repeal on workers for one reason: To enlarge the coffers of their favorite special interest,” says Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Instead of letting Michigan workers continue to enjoy the right to freely choose whether or not union officials have earned a cut of their hard-earned pay, Michigan legislators have granted union bosses a power that strips away basic free speech and association rights.”
According to Mix, Michigan union bosses will still try to look for ways to expand their powers beyond the law and compel more workers to associate with them.
“That’s why it’s important for Michiganders to know their rights in this new legal landscape; they should also know that Foundation attorneys stand ready to defend the rights of any Michigan worker opposing union coercion,” says Mix.