Washtenaw County GOP calls on Snyder and other lawmakers to pass state Right to Work law

Leaders of the Washtenaw County Republican Committee are calling on Gov. Rick Snyder and state lawmakers to support enactment of a state "right to work" law protecting employees from being forced to join or pay dues to a labor union as a condition of employment.

The local party's executive committee Thursday night voted to adopt a resolution proposed by the Willow Run Tea Party Caucus saying a right to work law will "guarantee individual freedom of choice and help attract and create new jobs in Michigan."

The resolution specifically calls on Snyder, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville and local state Reps. Mark Ouimet and Rick Olson — all Republicans — to push the issue.

Judy McCoy, a member of the GOP committee, said in a statement that right to work legislation "is a civil rights law that will protect employees from job discrimination on the basis of union membership or financial support."

"No employee should be discriminated against and fired for choosing to join or support a union, or for choosing not to," she said.

The resolution states in part that no person should be required as a condition of obtaining or continuing public-sector or private-sector employment to:

Resign or refrain from membership in, voluntary affiliation with, or voluntary financial support of, a labor organization.
Become or remain a member of a labor organization.
Pay any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind or amount, or provide anything else of value, to a labor organization.
Pay to any charity or other third party an amount equivalent to, or a portion of, dues, fees, assessments, or other charges required of members of a labor organization.

"With overwhelming Republican majorities in both houses, and a Republican in the governor's office, the only people in Lansing who can prevent Michigan from passing a right to work law are, obviously, Republicans," McCoy said. "We're calling on those Republicans to take the lead in making Michigan a right to work state, starting with Gov. Snyder who's from Washtenaw County, and Sen. Richardville, whose district includes our county."

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's e-mail newsletters.