![[Photo of Paul Kersey]](/media/images/people/PKersey-MED.jpg)
Paul Kersey is director of labor policy at the Illinois Policy Institute and served as director of labor policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy from September 2007 to May 2012.
Kersey holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. In 1993, he received his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois.
After practicing law in Livonia, Mich., for several years, Kersey served on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Government Reform and Oversight Committee. He then spent three years at the National Right to Work Committee as director of state legislation. In that role, he analyzed and responded to labor legislation in all 50 states.
Tools
By Paul Kersey
The Horror of It All
The U.S. House of Representatives has just posted on the Internet its health care overhaul bill, HR 3962, “To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, etc.” All 1990 impenetrable pages of it. But this bill isn’t just longer than a Stephen King novel, it’s also scarier, because aside from the title, this tome is all nonfiction. 
… more
… moreLocal Right-to-Work
A carefully written “local option” law passed by the state legislature could work. … more
Leaving Some Key Facts Behind
Governor Granholm and certain quarters of the state media have been very excited by a recent report from the Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth extolling the success of the No Worker Left Behind Program, but the report leaves a lot of questions unanswered. … more
This Should Get Their Attention
The City of Detroit has stopped collecting dues on behalf of 16 unions that have yet to reach new agreements with the city of Detroit. This is a provocative but much-needed step that serves to discipline city employee unions. … more
Foul Ball
Some advice for the Detroit Tigers on the ticket tax: if you're going to oppose one proposed tax increase, you may as well oppose them all. … more
Pushing on a String
Yesterday, the Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth announced that its “No Worker Left Behind” program had achieved its goal of enrolling 100,000 participants almost a year early ... This is good news if you don’t think about it too much. On closer inspection though it looks more like the state is pushing on a string. … more
Bing's Gambit
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing may succeed in pushing city unions into accepting concessions this time, but ordinarily state labor law would give the unions the upper hand. … more
Is MSU Hyping Project Labor Agreements?
Project Labor Agreements are at best an unnecessary headache for both government and contractors. At worst they are another payoff for uncompetitive unionized construction. … more
Do Unions Really Need the Money?
But even with this very generous definition of what constitutes a representation expense, our review of union financial reports reveals that a typical union local in Michigan spends little more than half of its money on representing its members. … more
Amending the State Constitution for Partisan Advantage?
To the extent that this document is what it appears to be, it leaves little doubt that the Reform Michigan Government Now ballot initiative is a partisan power play. … more
My Union Dues Paid For That?
Because unionized workers in Michigan generally cannot withhold their dues without putting their jobs at risk, those employees and their dues are particularly vulnerable to waste, fraud and abuse. … more
Sweet Home Alabama
If the trend of the last five years holds, a majority of right-to-work states will have higher per capita disposable incomes than Michigan by 2010, at which point Michigan will be the real right-to-work-for-less state. … more
The Economic Effects of Right-to-Work Laws: 2007
Many states have given workers complete discretion to decline
membership in, and financial support of, a union that they individually oppose.
Enacting a right-to-work law abolishes agency fees and allows workers themselves to decide if a union deserves their financial support. … more
The Effects of Michigan’s Prevailing Wage Law
Michigan’s prevailing wage law adds unnecessary costs to construction projects at taxpayers’ expense. … more
Right-to-Work FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About Right-to-Work … more
Money Well Spent?
When government employees are involved, there is a case to be made that agency fee is something that ends up costing taxpayers. … more
Let Cintas Workers Make Up Their Own Minds
There is no need to pressure Cintas into a neutrality or card-check agreement. When a majority of Cintas workers are convinced they want a union, they will vote to have one. … more
Why School Districts Can’t Save on Health Care
The MEA and MESSA have set up an obstacle course that prevents public schools from introducing competition for teachers’ health care coverage or putting reasonable limits on the extent of care. … more
A Hard Pill for UAW Members to Swallow
Gettelfinger no longer can shield UAW members from competitive pressure. Instead, the UAW must prepare domestic autoworkers for competition. … more
Michigan Unions Continue to Lose Support among Workers
Labor unions should abandon the old,
outmoded adversarial model of labor relations and instead study ways they can create a better atmosphere; in which labor and management cooperatively solve problems in ways that promote free enterprise. … more
A Way to Ease the Pain of Budget Cuts
By what standard of social justice does the state inflate the wages of workers who would most likely be earning above-average wages without government intervention? … more
If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
Proposal 3 would impose a slow, expensive labor negotiation process on the state of Michigan, while uprooting a civil service system that has worked well for both the state and its employees. … more
Proposal 3: Establishing a Constitutional Requirement Extending Mandatory Collective Bargaining and Binding Arbitration to State Government Employees
On Nov. 5, 2002, Michigan voters will consider Proposal 02-03 ("Proposal 3"), an amendment to the state constitution that, if passed, would fundamentally alter the relationship between the State of Michigan and its employees. … more
