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1) Re: 2010 Senate Bill 1466 (Make Michigan a "right to work" state )  by gypsy on February 8, 2011 

Funny, if you were actually looking for third world poverty or hungry people, you would look in Florida and Texas. Both of those right to work states have higher homeless populations than Michigan. But that would really have nothing to do with the misnamed right to work law, just like your statement doesn't. Michigan's economy thrived when auto manufacturer"s and their employees thrived. Contrary to your theory, the American auto industry didn't collapse because of unions, it collapsed because of poor management and global pressures from foreign auto makers. Those foreign auto makers built their factories in the South to avoid unions for sure, but paid their workers comparable to union workers in the North. The workers benefited from years of union bargaining without having to sacrifice a penny. Right to work is nothing more than an attempt to take labors voice and influence out of politics, and give corporations a free reign. Worker safety would suffer, as it has in the mining industry, and the gap between the middle class wages and the wealthy would increase even more, as it has done since the Reagan administration.

I am certainly not opposed to businesses making a profit. That's the only reason for them to exist. Likewise, workers have a right to collectively bargain for better wages and safer working conditions. Only an extremely naive person would think an hourly worker bargaining on his own behalf rather than as a member of a union, would have any chance of getting health care, a decent wage, and safe working conditions from a multi-national corporation.

All the states you mention with "flourishing" economies are struggling in this downturn, to varying degrees, and for various reasons. Michigan's struggle is for a very obvious reason, the collapse of the American auto industry. Not being a "right to beg" State had little to do with it, but like vultures on a carcass, the business community sees an opportunity to pick the working class' bones.

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2) Re: 2010 Senate Bill 1466 (Make Michigan a "right to work" state )  by BarbaraBrown on February 8, 2011 

[quote user="mark.s"]

 united we bargain,divided,we beg! Vote 'no' on right-to-starve law!

[/quote]Funny but if I was looking for third world poverty or hungry people I'd look in Detroit, Saginaw or Flint before I'd look in North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Florida or Tennessee where Right to Work has helped those economies to flourish.   

 

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3) Re: 2010 Senate Bill 1466 (Make Michigan a "right to work" state )  by BarbaraBrown on February 8, 2011 

[quote user="Lora"]

Very well stated!! I have worked for both Union and Non union employers and now I work for an Arrogant power hungry manager that has no respect for any of his employees and runs the company as if it were a prison. Like a lot of people, I remain there because I need a job. If it weren't for the protection of the UAW which I am a proud member of. I can't imagine what my working conditions would be like. We do currently have a large turnover rate at my company but it has nothing to do with the Union. Salaried employees when interviewing for a position negotiate their wage, personal days, vacation time etc. We do it in a group, why do we not have this same right!

[/quote]Unfortunately you have things backwards, probably because of UAW propaganda.  Without the protections of Right to Work you have lost the right to negotiate your own wages and benefits the same way your managers do.  You must accept union representation whether you want it or not.  In many union shops this means outstanding workers cannot be rewarded for their performance.  

 

And regardless of all the hot air blown around by unionists, Right to Work would NOT make unions illegal or impinge in any way on your current rights and ability to organize or join a union.  Right to Work would ONLY do away with mandatory unionism and insure every worker has the right to turn down union protection and negotiate their own pay and working conditions.  IT would also return control of unions to their members who could withhold due from do-nothing unions.  

Those unions that have the support of their members have nothing to fear under Right to Work.  As a matter of fact, unions still organize in Right to Work states and there are many successful unions.  Nevada, for one example, is Right to Work and 16.8% of the workforce is unionized, not much lower than Michigan at 17.3%.  

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