Michigan Unions Intimidate Workers Who Take Advantage of Right-to-Work

It seems ever time union privilege is threatened, unions turn to intimidation.

Everyone remembers the aggressive union protests at the Wisconsin Capitol in 2011 against Gov. Scott Walker’s public-sector collective bargaining reform. Then, in 2012, Michigan union proponents stormed the Capitol in protest of right-to-work legislation.

In both instances, the enacted reform measures took away unions’ power of coercion and granted workers choice in the workplace.

However, Michigan unions are still holding a grudge that they no longer can force workers to pay union dues as a condition of employment. And, no surprise, Big Labor in Michigan has turned to intimidating workers who choose to exercise their newfound rights to abstain from paying union dues.

Michigan Capitol Confidential has been covering the main union intimidation strategy that consists of publicly displaying the names of workers that no longer pay union dues as a a result of Michigan’s right-to-work law.

Michigan unions at a hospital, food and transportation company, and schools have engaged in this tactic.

At Flint’s Hurley Medical Center, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1603 hung the names of those who opted out of union dues on a bulletin board in a public space near the cafeteria.

In addition, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324 union representing food service workers and janitors in Bloomfield Township similarly attempted to intimidate workers. In a weekly IUOE newsletter, printed the names of 19 workers that stopped paying dues. The headline read, “RTW FREELOADERS LIST.”

Finally, the Michigan Education Association union has listed the names of 16 school employees that took advantage of Michigan’s right-to-work law in its weekly newsletter.