Sen. Levin: Right-to-work will be 'frightful legacy' for Mich. governor

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) on Tuesday warned that Gov. Rick Snyder (R) will cause turmoil in Michigan if he signs right-to-work legislation into law. 

Levin, speaking on CNN, repeated his call for Snyder to veto legislation that would ban unions from requiring non-members to pay dues. 

“The governor will divide Michigan" if he signs the bill, Levin said. "That will be his legacy and that is a frightful legacy not only for him but the people of the state of Michigan and the middle class."

Levin and other Democrats from the Michigan delegation met privately with Snyder on Monday and urged him to veto or delay action on a right-to-work bill that is expected to pass the State Legislature on Tuesday. If the governor signs the bill into law, Michigan, a bastion of organized labor, would become the 24th right-to-work state in the country.

Snyder and other supporters of the bill say it will boost Michigan's economy and give workers the "freedom to choose" whether to participate in unions. Opponents say the measure is intended to weaken the power of unions and will lead to lower wages. 

"The governor misstates what this is all about. It's not about having to be a union member," Levin said. "It's if a majority select a union representative, everybody has to benefit equally so everybody should pay a fair share of that representation. They don't pay for political activities. None of that."

Levin said Snyder "doesn't understand what made Michigan the ideal place" for the middle class.

"Employers say, 'Look, let's have a relationship with workers and have them have a voice in the workplace,' " Levin said. "That's good for everybody. And ask the leaders of the Big Three, do they want unions to be able to be represented, people to be able to be represented, have a voice in the workplace? And they say that's better for economic development in Michigan."

President Obama weighed in against the right-to-work bill during a speech Monday in Michigan.

"I've just got to say this," Obama said at the Daimler Detroit Diesel plant. "What we shouldn't be doing is trying to take away your rights to bargain for better wages and working conditions. We shouldn't be doing that."

Early Tuesday morning Michigan police lined up outside the state capitol in response to planned protest in opposition to the right-to-work law. Local reports expected thousands of protesters to march in opposition to the law.

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