Although it has not been signed into law yet, the avenues for repealing the law enshrining the race to the bottom in Michigan need to be brought into full view.
1.Line-Item Veto: Snyder could sign right to work into law but still throw labor a bone by using his line-item veto power to strike the $1 million appropriation in the bill, according to Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). That way, the law would be eligible to go on the ballot, putting the ultimate decision on right to work to the people.
2.Citizens Initiative: This route may be labor's best route to the ballot box. According to an analysis by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan . . . labor supporters could need to gather a high number of signatories to force a vote to repeal the law, similar to what was done in Ohio with the repeal of an anti-collective bargaining law. This route does not require the removal of the appropriations in the legislation.
3.Repeal Legislation: Republicans will retain a majority in Assembly in the next legislative session, but their ranks will be reduced after they lost a handful of seats in the 2012 elections. Not all Republicans were on board with right to work in this session, so Democrats could attempt to gain some GOP support for a bill to repeal the law.
4.Recalling GOP Lawmakers: Labor leaders have raised the suggestion of trying to recall Republicans who back right to work, similar to what was attempted in Wisconsin after Gov. Scott Walker (R) and the GOP-controlled legislature pushed though a bill that stripped most public workers of their collective bargaining rights.
5.2014 Elections: Snyder is up for reelection in 2014. There's little doubt that unions will put their muscle into getting him out of office.
6.Lawsuits: A union activist has already filed a lawsuit in an attempt to slow down the right-to-work legislation, "alleging violations of the Open Meetings Act after the Michigan State Police barred the doors to the Capitol," according to the Detroit Free Press. The Associated Press recently reported that opponents are considering other possible lawsuits.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Hard to see Snyder agreeing to 1. This would suspend the law for over 10 months until a referendum in November 2013.
3-6 are either impractical or highly unlikely. So, that leaves 2, the initiative. Under the Michigan Constitution:
STATUTORY INITIATIVE is defined by Section 9 of Article 2 of the Michigan Constitution as the power which the people reserve to themselves “to propose laws and to enact and reject laws.” The power of initiative extends to any law the Legislature may enact and is invoked by filing petitions containing signatures of registered voters equal in number to at least eight percent of the total votes cast in the last election for governor. The Legislature is required to enact, without modification, or reject any proposed initiative within 40 session days. An initiative not enacted by the Legislature is placed on the statewide ballot at the next general election. A law that is initiated or adopted by the people is not subject to gubernatorial veto and one adopted by voters cannot subsequently be amended or repealed except by the voters or by a three-fourths vote of the Legislature.
By my estimation, 8% of the votes cast for governor in 2010 would be 258,000 signatures. Less onerous than in Wisconsin. However, after the signatures are collected and validated, supporters would have to wait 40 session days before the initiative could be placed on the ballot. What's unclear to me is whether this whole process could be completed in time for the next general election to be in November 2013. Or would we have to wait until November 2014. I would imagine a lot would depend on how many days the legislature is in session. In either event, the law, unfortunately, would remain in effect until the time of the election.
Nonetheless, it's never too soon to plan ahead.