By JOHN FLESHER and JEFF KAROUB LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Police used pepper spray Thursday to subdue protesters trying to rush the Michigan Senate chamber after Gov. Rick Snyder and other Republican leaders announced they would press for quick approval of right-to-work legislation limiting union powers. Eight people were arrested for resisting and obstructing when they tried to push past two troopers guarding the Senate door, state police Inspector Gene Adamczyk said. The Capitol was closed because of safety concerns, and Adamczyk said Thursday afternoon he wasn't sure when it would reopen. So-called right-to-work measures generally prohibit requiring unions from collecting fees from nonunion employees, which opponents say drains unions of money and weakens their ability to bargain for good wages and benefits. Supporters insist it would boost the economy and job creation. Should it become law in Michigan, it would give the right-to-work movement its strongest foothold yet in the Rust Belt region, where organized labor already has suffered several body blows. Chanting, whistling activists flooded the building and grounds as Snyder and his allies sought quick votes on measures that would prohibit unions from collecting fees from workers who decline union representation. Opponents say right-to-work laws drain unions of money and weaken their ability to bargain for good wages and benefits. Supporters insist the policy is good for the economy and job creation. The bills were brought to the floors of both chambers for debate Thursday afternoon. "This is all about taking care of the hard-working workers in Michigan, being pro-worker and giving them freedom to make choices," Snyder said during a news conference with House Speaker Jase Bolger and Senate Minority Leader Randy Richardville. "The goal isn't to divide Michigan, it is to bring Michigan together," Snyder said. But the decision to push forward in the waning days of the Legislature's lame-duck session infuriated outnumbered Democrats, who resorted to parliamentary maneuvers to slow action but were powerless to block the bills that were expected to be introduced Thursday. http://www.kusi.com/story/20279462/snyder-gop-leaders-to-push-right-to-work-in-mich
I read an interesting stat (I should have saved the link) regarding unions, It stated that % wise union membership has remained the same in proportion to the typical union type jobs. So although union member ship has declined it's still relative to the number of workers with typical union jobs. Just fewer jobs. Fewer union members.
I guess the losses left with manufacturing. It's really the unions in government that are the biggest problem.
public unions are the problem, private unions who cares about them. Let them be the highest unemployed auto workers in the nation. the problem with public unions are that there is zero accountabililty in government so they can rape the taxpayer for decades before the idiots realize they have been fleeced.