LANSING – Voters in Michigan, which was a national pioneer in organized labor and continues as a union bastion, favor a right-to-work by a slight majority, a poll conducted for Gongwer News Service shows. The issue has quietly simmered for years without any serious move to enact it, but public debate has been on the rise as Michigan’s economy fell and it lost thousands of manufacturing jobs.

The poll conducted by Lansing’s EPIC/MRA found 53-35 percent support for a right-to-work law in Michigan, with support increasing to 57-34 percent when respondents were given more information about the issue.
Support was by far the strongest among Republicans: a 69-22 percent advantage in the initial response and rising to 73-22 percent support in the second question.

It was weakest among Democrats (39-50 percent against and evenly divided at 45 percent when given more information) while it garnered backing from independents of 48-31 percent and 50-32 percent.

Among union members, the issue was opposed by a 30-61 percent margin, with support rising to 34-60 percent after more information was given. In general right-to-work is favored more strongly among younger age groups, those with more income and those with higher levels of formal education.

EPIC/MRA vice president Ed Sarpolus said he was surprised by the level of support for a right-to-work law – whereby workers at unionized companies are not required to become union members – but added the fractured support for the issue suggests it is not yet politically viable in part because the Democratic base is not ready to support the change.

“There is an openness to the right-to-work issue and if that number rose any higher, you would see movement in the Legislature,” Sarpolus said. “But it’s not going to happen under Granholm’s watch. This is a great issue for Republicans.”

Republican Party Chair Betsy DeVos touched off the most recent attention to the issue with comments in an April story about her assessment of the state’s economic troubles. Expanding on a statement that high wages and a burdensome tax and regulatory climate impede Michigan’s growth, DeVos said right-to-work laws must be considered in the economic debate.
Republican Party spokesperson Matt Davis said the poll does show the importance of including the right-to-work issue in discussions about the state’s economy.

“It’s important to have a mature discussion of Michigan’s future and its competitiveness,” he said. “This indicates that Michigan citizens want to have this discussion.”

If the debate is not as wide-ranging as possible without “crassly political” attacks, he said, “We’re all going to be the worse for it.”

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