Tuesday, December 11, 2012

POLITICS - Michigan's Republican 'Dictators'

aka 'We're Republicans and can do anything we want. People of Michigan be damn.'

"Michigan 'Right-to-Work' Laws Spark Heated Debate on Role of Labor Unions" PBS Newshour 12/10/2012

Excerpt

GWEN IFILL (Newshour): Michigan, home to the United Auto Workers and one of the most heavily unionized states in the country, is suddenly ground zero in the national debate over workers rights, as the Republican lawmakers who control the state's legislature prepare to cast a vote tomorrow that could permanently alter the political landscape.

Hundreds of people descended on the state capitol building in Lansing last week to protest a move to make Michigan a right-to-work state. Republicans running the State House and Senate have approved a pair of bills to allow workers to hold union jobs without joining the union.

Organized labor was furious.

GLORIA KEYES, UAW Member: You will have people that will be working right alongside of you that will not have to pay union dues, but you pay union dues, but will still be able to get all the benefits from being a union member.

GWEN IFILL: Democrats in the legislature complained that Republicans rammed through the bills with no hearings or public comments.

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