California Public Safety Labor Blog: Michigan Governor Signs Law Allowing Union Free Riders

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Michigan Governor Signs Law Allowing Union Free Riders

Michigan's Republican Governor, Rick Scott, signed that state's controversial anti-union laws yesterday. There are two laws- one affecting the private sector and one affecting the public sector. Both laws allow employees represented by a union to get the benefits of union membership without paying their fair share, hampering the ability of labor to fund representation. The public sector law carves out police and firefighter unions, but the significance of the carve out is limited because public safety unions have much higher voluntary union membership rates.

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David E. Mastagni is a partner with Mastagni Holstedt who focuses on labor and employment law representation. He frequently lectures on POBR, FFBOR, critical incidents, and employee rights. Martindale-Hubble issued David the highest Peer Review Rating of “AV Preeminent” and was named to Super Lawyers.

Taylor Davies-Mahaffey is an Associate in the Labor & Employment Department of Mastagni Holstedt, A.P.C. She represents public safety employees in administrative and disciplinary investigations, hearings, critical incident investigations, and criminal defense matters. Prior to joining the firm, she was a deputy district attorney for Sacramento County.

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