In five weeks, Michigan’s so-called Right to Work law takes effect. Some local Michigan teacher unions are working to lock in new contracts before then. In some cases, it’s an effort to delay the impact of the controversial new law since it will not include contracts already in place by March 27, when it takes effect.
Labor unions and the ACLU of Michigan say the state's right-to-work law should be struck down because people were locked out of the Capitol when the bills were initially passed.
The Michigan State Police spent an extra $900,000 on overtime and other expenses to have a large presence at the Capitol during demonstrations against a right-to-work law in December.
Union leaders and workers say Governor Rick Snyder offered no olive branch in his State of the State address and they will keep fighting the right-to-work legislation he recently signed.
United Auto Workers Local 652 President Mike Green was among about 200 union workers protesting outside the Capitol on Wednesday night. He said Thursday that Snyder's silence on unions was "just like he didn't pay attention to what the people wanted in the first place."
