Democratic lawmakers begged their Republican colleagues not to pass the controversial bill, which they warned would unleash deep social and political strife. "There will be blood. There will be repercussions," state representative Douglass Geiss of Taylor told the chamber. Geiss reminded his colleagues of the violent clashes that accompanied the struggle to form unions in the 1930s and warned that people feel just as strongly about solidarity today.
"If ten people walk in and say I'm not going to pay dues anymore, there's going to be fights," he said. State representative John Switlaski lashed out at the fact that Republicans were pushing the bill through in a lame duck session using a parliamentary maneuver that limits debate and means Democrats can't stop it unless they regain control in the 2014 election.
"The next two years are going to be terrible. They're going to be ugly," Switlaski said. "I think we should pause and take a step back... let the people have a say. we'll vote for it. Put it on the ballot." Hundreds of union members and supporters crowded into the capitol dome, blowing whistles and chanting "the people are united" and "What's disgusting? Union busting!" Thousands more shivered in the cold outside, television news footage showed.
"The right wing forces in Michigan are trying to take power away from working families," United Auto Workers union chief Bob King told reporters. "They want working families to have less income, less security. This is about partisanship, not bringing the state together."
Currently, the state operates a "closed shop" policy that requires workers who profit from collective bargaining to pay fees but does not make it mandatory for them to become union members. The right-to-work law creates an incentive for people not to join the union in what is known as the "free rider" problem. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder insists the law is necessary "to maintain our competitive edge" and attract new jobs, especially after neighbouring Indiana became the 23rd US state to enact right-to-work legislation earlier this year.