Earlier today, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Senator Majority Leader Randy Richardville and Speaker Jase Bolger announced that the Legislature would move forward with so-called right-to-work legislation, which will flatten wages, crush workers' rights and unravel the middle class. Following their announcement, Working Michigan, a broad coalition of faith, labor and community organizations issued the following statement:

As the Michigan economy continues to recover from a devastating recession, we should be uniting to find solutions that strengthen our state and ensure that every working family can have a shot at a decent living. Instead, Republican leadership, backed by their corporate CEO funders, have made a decision to attacking working families with divisive laws that pit worker against worker, divide communities and stand in the way of progress.

"It seems that Snyder, Richardville and Bolger believe that decorating legislation with the phrase 'workplace freedom' and stating their alleged support of collective bargaining that Michiganders will understand this legislation to be a good thing for Michigan. But we will not be fooled. Study after study has demonstrated the devastating effects of this sort of legislation: workers in 'right-to-work' states make $1,500 less per year, meanwhile the growth rate for 'right-to-work' states is consistently higher before the legislation passes than after.

"

###