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UAW enters immigration debate, demands driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants

Union’s demand list includes items that don’t serve its core members, ex-member says

When the United Auto Workers submitted its priority list to the Michigan Legislature for the lame-duck session, it included voting for a bill to give illegal immigrants living in Michigan driver’s licenses.

The UAW urged the outgoing Democratic trifecta to “Fight back against divide-and-conquer politics” by voting for the “Drive Safe” bill package, according to a Dec. 4 letter obtained by Michigan Capitol Confidential.

The letter asked lawmakers to vote for House Bills 4410, 4411, and 4412.

“With over 300,000 active and retired members, the UAW is Michigan’s largest union. We fight for the working class, and we strongly encourage our legislators to do the same by taking urgent action to pass legislation that helps working families and our communities,” said the letter signed by UAW President Shawn Fain.

The union’s support of political questions that don’t benefit its members is one reason members either leave the union or choose to pay agency fees that fund representational activity but not political spending, according to Terry Bowman, who has worked for Ford at the Rawsonville Plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, for 28 years. Bowman was a UAW member for 13 years but left after his union dues promoted “political and social agendas I strongly disagreed with and knew were harmful to America's auto industry,” he told CapCon in an email.

Bowman advocated for Michigan to become a right-to-work state, which it did in 2013, so his dues wouldn’t fund the union’s political action. Union dues can fund political speech, such as advocating for driver’s licenses for all, but individual dues-payers have the choice not to pay the portion of dues that go toward political activities.

After the 2024 repeal of right-to-work, UAW workers have no way to show disapproval of a union that spends time and money lobbying for issues the bulk of its membership is likely opposed to, Bowman said.

“Unfortunately, UAW officials are continuing their long, sad history of promoting political and social issues that either have nothing to do with the auto industry or in fact can harm the environment that creates automotive jobs in the private sector,” Bowman told CapCon.

The UAW reported spending $4.1 million on political activities and lobbying in 2023, according to the most recent LM-2 report filed with the U.S. Department of Labor.

“This makes it very clear that unlike what the UAW claims, the union does not represent the will of the workers.” Bowman wrote. “Official union political and social positions do not flow up from the actual will of the workers, but instead are forced on us by the personal political and social ideology of just a few UAW executives in positions of power. “

“This is why all workers (as stated above) in the private sector deserve the same rights, freedoms, and protections that public sector workers enjoy. We need protection from the very same unions that incorrectly claim to have our best interest at heart.”

The UAW didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The UAW isn’t alone. The AFT-Michigan teachers union urged action to stop the deportation of illegal immigrants, according to a report from Michigan News Source.

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.

News Story

Two lame-duck bills would increase fees for motorists, recreational boaters

$100 more for cars, boat fees up 30%

Two bills that the Legislature may vote on during the lame-duck session could mean higher costs for vehicle and boat owners. Under House Bill 6257, introduced by Rep. Jasper Martus, D-Flushing, the state would add $100 to current vehicle registration fees, which must be paid annually. Watercraft owners will also face fee increases.

HB 6257 aims to amend the Michigan Vehicle Code and reads in part: “Beginning 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this subsection, in addition to the registration taxes provided for in this section, the secretary of state shall collect an additional $100.00 fee from each registrant.”

Michigan Capitol Confidential could not determine whether the $100 increase would apply only to each person who registered a vehicle or to each vehicle. Martus, when asked by CapCon, did not specify. CapCon is also uncertain about whether the increase is a one-time fee or an annual increase. The bill also does not specify if this is a one-time fee or if it will be an annual charge. CapCon asked the House Fiscal Agency if it could clarify, but the office replied that it had not analyzed the legislation.

When CapCon asked Martus to clarify, he replied, “There are ongoing conversations about a road funding deal” and suggested we reach out to the Speaker of the House for more information. House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, did not respond to a request for comment.

Auto owners are not the only people who might face higher fees as a result of the lame-duck session. Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, introduced House Bill 6230. The legislation would raise registration fees for most watercraft by 30%. Registration for a motorboat or pontoon vessel with a length between 21 feet and 28 feet would increase from $115 to $149.50, for example. The fee for a motorized boat less than 12 feet long would increase from $14 to $18.20.

Pohutsky did not respond to a request for comment.

Michigan’s lame-duck session appears to be petering out after Michigan’s Democratic trifecta has splintered. Sen. Sylvia Santana, D-Detroit, and Rep. Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit, have said that they won’t attend session on Wednesday because Democratic leadership won’t approve legislative priorities, the Detroit News reported. Without those two votes, lawmakers can’t approve bills.

Michigan House Republicans have refused to show up to session or vote on bills until the Democratic majority votes on bills to reform a looming elimination of the tipped wage, a higher minimum wage, and paid sick leave rules set to take effect Feb. 25 that is expected to increase restaurant costs by about 25%. 

 

 

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.