Mr. Mark Fischer

Many employees in unionized workplaces do not know that if they harbor religious objections to joining, financing, or otherwise associating with labor unions, they have legal recourse if their union or employer or both violate those rights. This report explains the statutes and developing case law that protect religious employees' freedom of conscience in the workplace by allowing them to refrain from union membership and divert their compulsory dues to a charity of their choice.

Private-sector workers can hold an unresponsive union accountable by voting to withhold their dues payments.

Michigan's Prevailing Wage Act mandates that artificially high union wages be paid for all state-financed construction projects. Repealing the law would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary construction costs each year.

Laws intended to help disabled people find and keep jobs have encouraged anyone with a personal problem to file frivolous lawsuits in the hopes of winning huge cash awards from employers.

Competition for jobs among states and other countries is heavy in the global marketplace, but Michigan's labor market is burdened by a policy of compulsory unionism that damages the state's long-term potential for prosperity and economic growth.