Unions plan new offensive after Mich. loss

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Blind-sided by a new law weakening union rights in Michigan, organized labor is preparing to target Republican governors in politically important states up for re-election in 2014 — part of a renewed offensive against perceived anti-union policies.

While unions fared reasonably well nationally last month at the ballot box, their struggle to survive has forced them to spend staggering sums just trying to hold ground. It is money not spent on recruiting new workers to stem a membership decline that has made unions more vulnerable than ever.

“It’s unfortunate that that’s the case,” said Michael Podhorzer, political director for the AFL-CIO. “But the reality of having elected officials who are so anti-organizing is that this is the first step to getting to the point where we can organize workers.”

In Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation last week prohibiting unions from requiring workers to pay dues or representation fees, even if they are covered by union contracts.

It was another jarring blow for unions in Michigan, a cradle of the modern American labor movement. Unions already had spent $22 million this year in the state on a failed effort to enshrine collective bargaining rights in the Michigan Constitution.

Unions are gearing up for another expensive fight in the state. They hope to collect enough signatures for a “statutory initiative” that would let the state’s voters cast a ballot for or against “right-to-work,” a measure that would essentially override the substance of the new law.

But the symbolism of the law’s enactment in pro-labor Michigan has given conservatives high hopes they can succeed elsewhere.

Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Committee, said his group is eyeing Alaska, Missouri, Montana and Pennsylvania.

Democratic governors in Missouri and Montana would likely block such measures. In Pennsylvania, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett recently said his state lacks the political will to change the labor laws, despite Corbett’s support and GOP control of the Legislature.

So far, the costly battle has produced mixed results for organized labor.