Once Union-Dominated Michigan to Become 24th 'Right to Work' State

The power of organized labor in the United States suffered a shocking setback Tuesday when the GOP-majority Michigan Legislature gave its final approval to "right to work" restrictions on public unions.

All of a sudden Michigan, birthplace of the United Auto Workers, the richest U.S. labor union, becomes the 24th state to enact "right to work" provisions.

What it does is to make membership and payment of union dues voluntary for public sector employees such as teachers. The House vote Tuesday was 58-51, the Senate bill was approved last week. Now it goes to Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who has promised to sign it into law.

According to Reuters and the Huffington Post, the public sector law was the first of two expected to be approved by the House on Tuesday. The other covers private sector workers, including U.S. auto industry, with some 700 manufacturing plants in the state.

An estimated 12,000 union workers, many trucked in from out of state, protested in freezing temperatures outside the state Capitol.

The "right to work" movement is gaining steam in the once-union-stronghold Midwestern United States. Indiana voted it in earlier this year and other states are said to be watching the outcome of the Michigan vote.