[Flash Walken]

The biggest news in American politics right now is an unprecedented step of union rights stripping in Michigan.

This is incredible:

(video version)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908..._show#50153807

Shorter Video, still incredible


Text for those that can't separate the source from the substance:

Last week, the GOP-controlled state Senate and House each passed right-to-work measures over the opposition of Democrats in both chambers, enraging union activists and leaders, and sparking heated protests in the state Capitol. Gov. Rick Snyder (R) has said he will sign a right-to-work measure if it comes to his desk. Snyder’s stance marks an about face; he had previously said that right-to-work was not on his agenda.

...

If the measure passes and is signed into law as expected, it looks like it would be difficult to overturn. In Ohio last year, Democratic activists successfully overturned a measure to curb collective bargaining, but in Michigan, spending bills can’t be overturned via referendum. Since an appropriation was tacked on, the Michigan right-to-work measure would fall under that umbrella.

Activists have already said they will explore the possibilities of trying to recall Republican legislators and Snyder (though, the governor faces reelection in two years, and Democrats might well keep their focus on defeating him then) if the measure passes. In Wisconsin, Democrats waged a wide-scale recall effort Republicans and Gov. Scott Walker (R) after he signed a 2011 measure to curb collective bargaining. Democrats gained ground in the state legislature, but did not dislodge Walker from power last year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...tle-explained/

A narrative gaining currency among Rick Snyder's defenders explains his flip-flop on right-to-work legislation as a reluctant response to labor unions who put Proposal 2 on the November ballot over the governor's objections, then refused to bargain with good faith with him afterward.

But the truth? Snyder hasn't gotten much respect from the groups backing right-to-work, either.

Americans For Prosperity, founded by billionaire tea party titans David and Charles Koch, is heralding Michigan's imminent passage of right-to-work legislation laws in Michigan as "the shot heard around the world" in the fight to weaken unions.

But the group was also a significant financial backer of Proposal 5, an effort to amend the Michigan Constitution to bar tax increases without a two-thirds legislative supermajority.

So why would Snyder turn from labor unions to a group that was behind a constitutional amendment he described as "bad public policy"?
The answer may lie in another Koch-funded group, the American Legislative Exchange Council, which promotes a radical right-wing agenda in states across the country, supplying "model legislation" to sympathetic lawmakers.

The organization boasts more than 2,000 legislative members. It also has corporate members, who weigh in on the model legislation before it's approved by the group's public-sector committee, the group's national chairman said in an interview he gave after dozens of pieces of ALEC-written model legislation were leaked last year in a joint project by The Nation and the Center for Media and Democracy.

Michigan's proposed right-to-work bills mirror the ALEC language practically word-for-word.

http://www.freep.com/article/2012121...ar|text|NEWS15

The delegation said they were particularly upset by the fact that right-to-work would allow employees to receive all the benefits of union representation, without paying any dues.

“The union is required by law to provide equal benefits to every member of that bargaining unit, whether they join or not,” Levin said.

“They’re required to provide equal benefits to everyone. We’re not sure he fully, frankly, understood that.”

The Michigan delegation said they would continue to push for federal money and projects for the state, but they couldn't predict how other members of Congress might act.

"When this national story really breaks, it’s going to make it harder for us to get support from some of our colleagues," Sen. Levin said.

A couple of hours after meeting with the delegation, Snyder signaled his continuing support of the right-to-work bills when he tweeted, "Freedom to work is all about creating more and better jobs in Michigan."

http://www.freep.com/article/2012121...ssey=topicpage