Snyder: Repealing right to work means 'closed for business'

Michigan became a right-to-work state in 2012. I was governor then, and I was proud to sign the bill into law.

Its passage supported worker freedom and put Michigan on a path toward much greater job creation and economic success. Repealing right to work would take rights away from our hard-working friends and neighbors and put Michigan in jeopardy of not being competitive for many new job opportunities.

Let me address the two key issues of right to work and what it means for Michigan.

The first is worker freedom. I believe hard-working people deserve the right to decide whether they want to join a union or not. If a person sees value in what a union provides, it makes sense for them to join. If a person doesn’t see value in what is being offered, it doesn’t make sense for a worker to spend hard-earned pay on something that isn’t going to provide enough value. 

Also, I believe that being pro-worker choice doesn’t mean you are anti-union. This freedom should be viewed as an opportunity to keep unions proactive in understanding what workers want, need and value. 

If a union understands its potential membership and delivers a valuable service, it should have people excited to join and receive its benefits. If the union isn’t providing valuable services to its members, why should someone join?

Respecting these basic economic principles is a foundation of our nation’s success, and overriding these principles based on legislation is an inappropriate use of political power.

It's worth noting that many Michiganians elected to not join a union after right to work was passed. A number of polls also showed strong support for right to work, including a majority of union households. 

The second issue is job expansions by businesses from around the world. Right to work has been pivotal to the creation of thousands of jobs in our state. Prior to the law’s passage, many out-of-state companies would not consider Michigan as a potential location. There was a widespread practice by companies, their site selectors and other consultants to eliminate non-right-to-work states from serious consideration as a potential location. 

We were simply screened out without a reasonable opportunity to pitch Michigan. Another way to describe it is that we had a narrow pipeline of business expansion looking at our state.

When we passed right to work, that pipeline widened. We were now in the hunt to land many more expansions — and their jobs — in Michigan. Along with tax reforms, regulatory reforms and many other proactive efforts, Michigan became a real magnet for job attraction. We led the nation in the creation of manufacturing jobs for multiple years.

While the other reforms were very important to ultimately landing these jobs, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to even compete for them without becoming a right-to-work state. It was like we were the small store or diner turning the sign on the door from "Closed" to "Open for Business."

What will happen if right to work is repealed? 

Two things. First, many Michigan workers will lose their basic right of freedom to choose. Instead of forcing a hard-working person into a union, shouldn’t a union be required to show what value it has and let the person make an informed decision?

Second, our state is at high risk of becoming screened out of opportunities to compete for jobs. 

We have had the "Open for Business" sign out since 2012. The repeal is likely to be viewed by the larger business world as Michigan turning the sign back to "Closed."

I encourage Michigan’s citizens to speak up and support keeping right to work.

Rick Snyder is a former Republican governor of Michigan.