Read CRC's Analysis of Proposal 2, the Proposed Constitutional Amendment regarding the Right to Collective Bargaining

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On November 6, 2012, Michigan voters will determine whether the state should enshrine in the Michigan Constitution collective bargaining rights for public and private sector employees.

The Citizens Research Council of Michigan has published an analysis of this proposed constitutional amendment that describes the provisions of the amendment, the interaction of federal and state laws on collective bargaining, and the issues created by the proposal.

The amendment would prohibit "right-to-work" legislation, but just as significant are the ways in which the laws affecting public sector workers could be dramatically altered by the provisions contained in the amendment. State laws, not federal laws, create requirements and set boundaries on the matters subject to negotiation with respect to collective bargaining between public sector employers and public employee representatives.

"This amendment would greatly diminish the state's ability to restrict the topics subject to bargaining by public sector unions," according to CRC President Jeffrey Guilfoyle. "Many recent actions taken by the legislature such as weakening teacher tenure laws, prohibiting minimum staffing levels for police and fire departments, and requiring greater contributions for healthcare insurance premiums would have been prohibited by this amendment. Changes such as these would need to be achieved at the bargaining table rather than through state legislation."

This is the third in a series of papers released in anticipation of the November 6, 2012, general election. Papers analysing each ballot question will be released in coming weeks. Watch for release of these papers and corresponding webinars on election.crcmich.org, join our email list, use our RSS feed, friend us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

The full report is available at no cost on the Citizens Research Council's website, www.crcmich.org.