Right-to-work protections no longer apply to people who work in the private sector, meaning that if a union’s collective bargaining unit covers them, they must pay the union.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Democratic majorities in the Michigan Legislature repealed Michigan’s right-to-work law last year, and the repeal took effect Feb. 13.

Michigan implemented right-to-work protections in 2012, and union membership numbers continued their history of dropping. “For decades, union membership has been declining, with 2023 marking the lowest union membership on record,” said Steve Delie, director of labor policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Right-to-work law in Michigan did not prevent workers from joining a union. Rather, it guaranteed that those who were not interested in joining a union or paying a fee to it did not have to do so just to keep their job. The 2023 repeal of right-to-work reversed the rights of workers in the private sector.

Public sector workers, by contrast, still will not be required to pay or join a union. That’s due to a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling called Janus v. AFSCME.

Private sector employees in Michigan who work in a unionized business will not have to join the union. But they will still be required to pay agency fees to the union. The amount of such fees is based on the union’s collective bargaining expenses, and it excludes expenses for the union’s political activity. An agency fee can, however, be as high as 90% of the cost of dues.

“Only ten percent of workers in the U.S. belong to a union,” Delie told CapCon. “Workers deserve the option to choose whether or not a union is best for them.”

If you are a public sector employee and encounter someone in the workplace who says you must belong to a union, please contact Michigan Capitol Confidential.

The UAW will spend $40 million through 2026 in an effort to double its membership, “particularly in the South,” the union announced this week.

“In the next few years, the electric vehicle battery industry is slated to add tens of thousands of jobs across the country, and new standards are being set as the industry comes online,” the union said. “These jobs will supplement, and in some cases largely replace, existing powertrain jobs in the auto industry.”

Most estimates find that a switch to electric vehicles will cost one-third of current auto jobs, as EVs are easier to make than gas-powered vehicles. Even if Michigan captured every electric vehicle job in America, the transition would ensure a smaller auto industry.

“Non-union autoworkers are being left behind,” reads the UAW’s recruiting website. “Are you ready to stand up and win your fair share?”

The pitch continues: “It’s time for non-union autoworkers to join the UAW and win economic justice at Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Tesla, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Volkswagen, Mazda, Rivian, Lucid, Volvo and beyond.”

The site speaks of the “30-50-70” approach to come at targeted automakers.

“When 30% of us sign cards in our plant, our Volunteer Organizing Committee will publicly announce that we are forming a union,” the recruiting site explains. “When 50% have signed cards, we will hold a big rally with our co-workers, UAW President Shawn Fain, community leaders, and other allies showing that a majority of us are willing to fight for our union. When 70% of us have signed cards, and we have a (Volunteer Organizing Committee) from every department, line and shift, we will demand the company recognize our union – or take it to a vote, and win.”

Last year, Fain led the UAW to a targeted strike against all Big Three automakers: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley said this month that that strike has Ford rethinking its manufacturing footprint, and how many of its jobs would go to UAW members.

Of the UAW’s 146,000 members who are automakers, 57,000 work for Ford, the most of any company. Yet Ford’s most profitable plants, including the Kentucky Truck Plant, were targeted during the strike.