UA Local 174 Business Manager/Financial Secretary-Treasurer Ryan Bennett joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the struggle to elect more union-friendly politicians to the Michigan legislature in an effort to rescind So-Called “Right to Work” laws that were enacted in 2013.
Local 174 represents 1,000 members in Western Michigan.
So-Called “Right to Work” laws are an attack on organized labor as a whole, Bennett said. Unions suffer in the pocketbook when members opt out of paying dues and still enjoy the benefits of membership. It also hurts when they cannot collect “fair share” fees for the services they are required to offer to non-union workers.
Bennett then explained how his members have been affected by the elimination of Michigan’s Prevailing Wage laws.
Thanks to gerrymandering reforms in the Great Lakes State, Bennett is optimistic voters will flip the Michigan legislature to become more labor-friendly, rescind So-Called “Right to Work” laws and reinstitute Prevailing Wage.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.