State employees are taking their right-to-work law challenge to the Michigan Supreme Court.
The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta tells us they hope for a decision that says state civil service rules trump the new right-to-work law.
State employees lost last month in the Michigan Court of Appeals, which ruled the right-to-work law applies to every workplace, including state offices. Unions argued that 35 thousand state Civil Service employees are exempt from the law because of language in the Michigan Constitution. It says the state Civil Service Commission and its rules govern state workers.
State employee unions are in the middle of negotiating a new contract with Governor Rick Snyder’s administration. Both sides say they intend to wait for what courts decide, and not make it a point in the discussions. There’s no deadline for the state Supreme Court to decide whether to hear the case. The court has a five-two Republican majority.