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Labor Developments in the Rust Belt
Michigan is one step closer to repealing right to work; why the end of
two-tier wages at Caterpillar shows corporate America's immense power
over workers.
Interesting developments have happened across the labor movement so far
in 2023.
Earlier this week, the Michigan Senate voted to repeal the 2012
right-to-work law passed under former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. After
the bill goes back to the House to conform it to the slightly different
Senate version, it will likely head to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's desk
for her signature.
Bridge Michigan reported how Democrats pulled a savvy move to fortify
the bill's longevity; they attached a one-time $2 million
<[link removed]>
for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to implement the
reversal of right to work. In Michigan, under the state's
constitution, laws cannot be overturned through referendums if they have
appropriations attached to them.
In effect, Michigan Democrats made it so that if Republicans want to
repeal the repeal of right to work, they need to attain a governing
trifecta. Republicans in the state have pointed to how this move will
test Whitmer's previous statements about lawmakers (namely
Republicans) for abusing this measure. In a 2019 executive order, she
said
<[link removed]>:
"I intend to veto legislation that circumvents the right to a
referendum."
This week, Whitmer told reporters
<[link removed]>
in Michigan, "I did not ask the Legislature to put that part into the
bill, and it certainly is not on my agenda. But I am going to sign a
bill that restores workers' rights."
Before the bill's passage in the Senate, business groups were
brainstorming how they could amend
<[link removed]>
the state's constitution to undermine the right-to-work repeal.
Whatever way the chips fall, organized labor's strength in Michigan
will now enter a new era. And state Republicans will be forced to
navigate a new political landscape.
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Something else that caught my attention this week: United Auto Workers
(UAW) members across four locals ratified a new six-year contract
<[link removed]>
with the construction and machinery behemoth Caterpillar. The key
provision won by UAW members was the rescinding of the two-tiered
contract system, which workers were compelled to agree to in the
concessionary bargaining of 2005.
Even Caterpillar celebrated the end of the tiered system, obviously in
business-friendly terms. On the company's website, under "Positive
Impacts," they said
<[link removed]>:
We've also responded to changing labor market conditions. Between
November 2021 and July 2022, we made two wage adjustments that resulted
in increased pay of more than 8 percent. 97% of employees are on the
same pay structure, regardless of hire date.
The key point is that virtually all workers are on the same pay scale.
When I reported on striking Kellogg workers from Battle Creek, Michigan,
in late 2021
<[link removed]>,
striking workers explained to me
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that the entire purpose of a two-tier system was about decimating a
previous generation's gains from collective bargaining. Many of them
described it as a battle against extinction, because at some point, all
the older workers will retire, and all current and future workers will
never see benefits and wages comparable to those of their predecessors.
It seems that's exactly what has happened at Caterpillar. In an
excellent Twitter thread
<[link removed]> written
by the National Labor Relations Board attorney Brandon Magner, he
explained that Caterpillar killed the two-tier system because it was no
longer necessary. For example, an entry-level union worker at
Caterpillar in 1997 started at $18.62 an hour. In 2022, that same
position makes $17 an hour.
In one sense, the end of the two-tier system at Caterpillar resets the
table for workers. But on the other hand, it's a stark reminder of
just how much organized labor has lost in the 21st century.
~ JAROD FACUNDO, WRITING FELLOW
Follow Jarod Facundo on Twitter <[link removed]>
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