For nearly two years, many doubted a right-to-work bill had enough support in the State Senate for passage. In December, the measure passed easily.
Republicans, led by Gov. Rick Snyder, resoundingly approved the bill, which became a reality after unions in Michigan tried to pass Proposal 2 in November. Four Republican State Senators, however, voted against giving workers the freedom to choose whether they want to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment.
They were: Sen. Tory Rocca, R-Sterling Heights; Sen. Mike Green, R-Mayville; Sen. Mike Nofs, R-Battle Creek; and Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba.
Michigan becoming the nation's 24th right-to-work state made headlines across the nation and sparked union protests at the State Capitol.
Sens. Casperson and Nofs stood by their votes when contacted. Sens. Green and Rocca didn't respond to requests for comment.
Of the four, Sen. Nofs might have gone out on a limb the most by voting against the right-to work legislation. He represents the 19th Senate district, which covers Barry, Calhoun and Ionia counties. According to an Inside Michigan Politics analysis published in July 2011, the 19th District has a 55.6 Republican base.
"I think that, in general, working-class workers will not benefit from this," Sen. Nofs said. "When you go to apply for a job, you know it's a union job. If you don't like unions, don't apply for a union job. There are plenty of other non-union jobs."
Sen. Rocca represents the 10th Senate district, which is located in Macomb County, and is 52.6 percent Republican, according to Inside Michigan Politics.
Sen. Green represents the 31st Senate district, which includes Bay, Lapeer and Tuscola counties. According to the Inside Michigan Politics analysis, it has a 50.8 Republican base.
Of the GOP senators who voted against right-to-work, Sen. Casperson is the only one who contends in a Democrat-leaning district. He represents the 38th Senate district, which covers the Western and Central Upper Peninsula and according to the Inside Michigan Politics report, had a 53. 8 percent Democratic base.
"My position on this issue has been consistent both as a candidate and after I was elected," Sen. Casperson said. "If people disagree with me on this, that's all right. Not everyone is going to agree with me on every vote.
"I was very active back when the tea party movement started. I went to rallies and I have always supported what it was all about," he said. "When it began, it was all about government becoming too big. It was about government overreach, unfair regulations and government intruding in our lives. But now it seems that some people want to make it be about being anti-union. Whether it's working to get rid of unreasonable DNR (Department of Natural Resources) regulations or on other issues, I'm willing to work with anyone. In my district I work well with the unions and, to me, that's doing my job. Some people may not like that, but I think that's the way it should be."
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
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Michigan Charter Schools a Smashing Success
The new study by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes is the most thorough analysis ever done of Michigan’s public charter schools, and the results are almost entirely positive.
Of the 56 different outcomes tested, CREDO found 52 positive results for public charter schools and their students when compared to conventional public schools.
First for its rigor: The study matched individual charter school students to students attending the conventional schools those charter school students would have attended. Among other variables, students were paired based on grade level, gender, race, income status and prior test scores. The study then compared the annual gains in reading and math test scores between these charter school students and their “virtual twins” in conventional public schools.
This was done for 85,650 students from 273 different charter schools over a five-year period. No other study to date has used this level of detail or this amount of data to analyze school performance in Michigan, with the second-best settling for comparing school-level averages.
The positive results hold for nearly every category of school and student CREDO analyzed.
For instance, it didn't matter if a charter school was located in an urban, suburban, town or rural area — students from each of these geographical categories averaged better learning gains than their peers in conventional schools. Rural charter school students did the best, making gains equivalent to more than three months of learning compared to their non-charter counterparts.
The trend held across school type as well. Charter schools students in elementary, middle and K-12 (multi-level) schools all outperformed conventional school students. Elementary school students, making up 72 percent of all charter school enrollees, averaged the greatest learning gains of these groups.
Another encouraging finding was that average learning growth for charter school students increased the longer those students were enrolled in the charter school of their choice. Students start demonstrating superior average learning gains after just one year in a charter school, but those gains grow over time. By their fifth year, students in charter schools averaged annual learning gains equivalent to about three and half months of learning (and about a full year’s worth of learning gains over the entire period).
The positive learning gains for charter school students were consistent across the achievement spectrum as well. Both low-achieving and high-achieving students in charter schools had better learning gains in reading and math compared to their counterparts in conventional schools.
In the study’s own words: "[Charter schools] move low-performing students ahead with larger gains, and preserve more of the learning for high-performing students."
Due to its scope and rigor, this new Stanford study is the most definitive analysis of Michigan public charter schools to date. Its methodology isn’t perfect, but it's the best that's ever been done, and it clearly shows that overall, charter schools in Michigan are an enormous success.
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
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