LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Joseph Bellino and four Senate Republican colleagues on Tuesday introduced a legislative package to restore Michigan’s status as a Right to Work state and repeal a mandated prevailing wage.
“With Michigan’s unemployment rate ranking as one of the worst in the country, these reforms are needed to improve our economy by making our state more attractive to businesses and workers,” said Bellino, R-Monroe. “Mandating prevailing wage is terrible public policy because it removes competition and forces taxpayers to pay more to fix local roads or improve safety at local schools.
“By unnecessarily driving up the cost of projects, the prevailing wage mandate also reduces the ability of energy providers to bring more power production online.”
Bellino’s Senate Bill 440, would repeal prevailing wage requirements for alternative energy projects such as wind and solar.
Other bills in the legislative package include:
- Senate Bill 436, sponsored by Sen. Thomas Albert, to restore Right to Work in the private sector. Michigan was a Right to Work state for more than a decade before Democrats repealed workers’ rights in 2023.
- Senate Bill 437, sponsored by Sen. Roger Hauck, to put Right to Work status for the public service sector in Michigan law. Public sector employees have the right to opt out of paying union dues under terms of a U.S. Supreme Court decision from 2018.
- Senate Bill 438, sponsored by Sen. John Damoose, to eliminate general prevailing wage requirements established by Michigan Democrats in 2023.
- Senate Bill 439, sponsored by Sen. Michael Webber, to repeal prevailing wage requirements for public utility projects.
“I support restoring Right to Work in our state because no worker should be forced to join or pay dues to a labor organization as a condition of being able to do their job,” Bellino said. “Workers should be able to decide for themselves whether a union works best for them and their families.”
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