Worker Advocate Files Brief in Federal Dispute over Forced Unionization in Michigan Public Projects

Union bosses seek to uphold discriminatory system in awarding public contracts

Cincinnati, OH (January 24 2013) – Staff attorneys from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation have filed a brief in support of a Michigan law prohibiting state and local government agencies from imposing so-called “project labor agreements” (PLAs) that require unionized workers for public projects.

Foundation staff attorneys filed the amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief yesterday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit located in Cincinnati.

Michigan recently passed a law prohibiting government-mandated PLAs on public construction projects. Shortly thereafter, Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council and Genesse, Lapeer, Shiawassee Building and Construction Trades Council union bosses challenged the law in federal court, claiming federal labor law preempts the state’s ability to opt out of mandating PLAs on state-funded public construction projects.

Click here to read the full release.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.