2023 House Bill 4004 / Public Act 9

Labor: collective bargaining; requirement for agency fee for nonunion members; allow in bargaining agreements and as condition of employment in public sector.

An act to amend 1947 PA 336, entitled “An act to prohibit strikes by certain public employees; to provide review from disciplinary action with respect thereto; to provide for the mediation of grievances and the holding of elections; to declare and protect the rights and privileges of public employees; to require certain provisions in collective bargaining agreements; to prescribe means of enforcement and penalties for the violation of the provisions of this act; and to make appropriations,” by amending sections 9, 10, and 15 (MCL 423.209, 423.210, and 423.215), as amended by 2014 PA 414.

Mackinac Center Analysis

The bill amends PA 336 of 1947 and seeks to repeal Michigan's right-to-work law for public sector employees. While this bill was approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Whitmer, it cannot take effect unless and until the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its Janus vs. AFSCME decision, which guarantees right-to-work for all public sector employees in all 50 states.

Introduced in the House

Jan. 12, 2023

Introduced by Rep. Regina Weiss (D-6) and 50 co-sponsors

Co-sponsored by Reps. Denise Mentzer (D-61), Reggie Miller (D-31), Carrie Rheingans (D-47), Kelly Breen (D-21), Jason Morgan (D-23), Kimberly Edwards (D-12), Will Snyder (D-87), Julie Rogers (D-41), Tyrone Carter (D-1), Jim Haadsma (D-44), Sharon MacDonell (D-56), Joey Andrews (D-38), Matt Koleszar (D-22), Veronica Paiz (D-11), Penelope Tsernoglou (D-75), Dylan Wegela (D-26), Felicia Brabec (D-33), Tullio Liberati (D-2), Amos O’Neal (D-94), Erin Byrnes (D-15), Jimmie Wilson (D-32), Donavan McKinney (D-14), Phil Skaggs (D-80), Jason Hoskins (D-18), Nate Shannon (D-58), Helena Scott (D-7), Carol Glanville (D-84), Jasper Martus (D-69), Jennifer Conlin (D-48), Natalie Price (D-5), Christine Morse (D-40), Kristian Grant (D-82), Emily Dievendorf (D-77), Rachel Hood (D-81), Jaime Churches (D-27), Joe Tate (D-10), Laurie Pohutsky (D-17), Kara Hope (D-74), Stephanie Young (D-16), Jenn Hill (D-109), Karen Whitsett (D-4), Mike McFall (D-8), John Fitzgerald (D-83), Samantha Steckloff (D-19), Ranjeev Puri (D-24), Cynthia Neeley (D-70), Alabas Farhat (D-3), Lori Stone (D-13), Abraham Aiyash (D-9) and Betsy Coffia (D-103)

Referred to the Committee on Labor

March 8, 2023

Reported without amendment

Amendment offered by Rep. Graham Filler (R-93)

1. Amend page 8, following line 11, by inserting:

“Sec. 10a. (1) A bargaining representative shall provide to each public employee in the bargaining unit that the bargaining representative represents, not later than 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this section or at the time the public employee becomes employed in that unit, the following statement in writing: “Under the United States Supreme Court decision Janus v AFSCME, Council 31, ___US___; 138 S Ct 2448 (2018), it is a violation of a public employee’s first amendment free speech rights for a public-sector bargaining representative to require the public employee to pay dues or fees to the bargaining representative unless the public employee consents.”

(2) A public employee may cease paying dues or fees to a bargaining representative at any time.

(3) A bargaining representative that violates subsection (1) or prohibits a public employee from exercising the public employee’s right under subsection (2) is subject to a civil fine of not more than $250.00 for each violation.”.

The amendment failed by voice vote

Amendment offered by Rep. David Prestin (R-108)

1. Amend page 3, line 20, after “organization.” by striking out the balance of the subdivision.

2. Amend page 4, line 2, by striking out all of subsection (2) and renumbering the remaining subsections.

3. Amend page 15, line 9, after “section” by striking out the balance of the section and inserting “10(3).”.

The amendment failed by voice vote

Amendment offered by Rep. Jamie Thompson (R-28)

1. Amend page 3, line 26, after “representative.” by inserting “An agreement described in this subdivision must provide for both of the following:

(i) That if an officer of the exclusive bargaining representative for the unit is convicted of a felony related to the finances of the exclusive bargaining representative, a public employee in the unit is not required to pay any dues or fees to the exclusive bargaining representative.

(ii) That if an officer of the regional or national office of the exclusive bargaining representative is convicted of a felony related to the finances of the exclusive bargaining representative, a public employee in the unit is not required to pay to the exclusive bargaining representative the portion of the public employee’s dues or fees that would otherwise be remitted to the regional or national office.”.

The amendment failed by voice vote

Substitute H-4 offered by Rep. Matt Bierlein (R-97)

The substitute failed by voice vote

Substitute H-6 offered by Rep. Regina Weiss (D-6)

The substitute passed by voice vote

Amendment offered by Rep. Graham Filler (R-93)

1. Amend page 8, line 17, after “by,” by striking out “either” and inserting “both”.

The amendment failed by voice vote

Amendment offered by Rep. Andrew Beeler (R-64)

1. Amend pages 8 and 9, by striking page 8, line 26 through page 9, line 9.

The amendment failed by voice vote

Amendment offered by Rep. Jamie Thompson (R-28)

1. Amend page 3, line 22, after “representative.” by inserting “An agreement described in this subdivision must provide for both of the following:

(i) That if an officer of the exclusive bargaining representative for the unit is convicted of a felony related to the finances of the exclusive bargaining representative, a public employee in the unit is not required to pay any dues or fees to the exclusive bargaining representative.

(ii) That if an officer of the regional or national office of the exclusive bargaining representative is convicted of a felony related to the finances of the exclusive bargaining representative, a public employee in the unit is not required to pay the exclusive bargaining representative the portion of the public employee’s dues or fees that would otherwise be remitted to the regional or national office.”.

The amendment failed by voice vote

Passed in the House 56 to 53 (details)

Motion to give immediate effect by Rep. Abraham Aiyash (D-9)

The motion prevailed by voice vote

Received in the Senate

March 9, 2023

Referred to the Committee on Labor

March 14, 2023

Reported without amendment

Referred to the Committee of the Whole

Reported without amendment

Amendment offered by Sen. Lana Theis (R-22)

1. Amend page 3, line 22, after “representative.” by inserting “An agreement described in this subdivision must provide for both of the following:

(i) That if an officer of the exclusive bargaining representative for the unit is convicted of a felony related to the finances of the exclusive bargaining representative, a public employee in the unit is not required to pay any dues or fees to the exclusive bargaining representative.

(ii) That if an officer of the regional or national office of the exclusive bargaining representative is convicted of a felony related to the finances of the exclusive bargaining representative, a public employee in the unit is not required to pay to the exclusive bargaining representative the portion of the public employee’s dues or fees that would otherwise be remitted to the regional or national office.”.

The amendment failed 17 to 20 (details)

Amendment offered by Sen. Thomas Albert (R-18)

1. Amend page 9, following line 9, by inserting:

“Sec. 10a. A bargaining representative shall provide to each public employee in the bargaining unit that the bargaining representative represents, not later than 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this section or at the time the public employee becomes employed in that unit, the following statement in writing: “Under the United States Supreme Court decision Janus v AFSCME, Council 31, ___US___; 138 S Ct 2448 (2018), it is a violation of a public employee’s first amendment free speech rights for a public-section bargaining representative to extract agency fees or union security fees from the public employee unless the public employee consents.”.”.

The amendment failed 17 to 20 (details)

Amendment offered by Sen. Kevin Daley (R-26)

1. Amend page 9, following line 9, by inserting:

“Sec. 12a. Notwithstanding section 14, the commission shall issue an order directing an election in any existing certified appropriate unit once every 2 years following the later of the effective date of the amendatory act that added this section or the date of initial certification of a bargaining representative. If the existing certified bargaining representative receives a majority of the votes cast and the majority represents at least 50% of the public employees in the unit, the existing certification continues. If the certified bargaining representative does not receive a majority vote representing 50% of the public employees in the unit, the existing certification terminates. If certification is terminated, the terms of the existing contract between the public employees represented by the bargaining representative and the public employer continue in effect for the remaining contract term except for any provisions that involve the duties of or obligations to the bargaining representative, such as union security, dues and fees, and involvement in grievance and arbitration procedures.”.

The amendment failed 17 to 20 (details)

Amendment offered by Sen. Roger Hauck (R-34)

1. Amend page 1, line 1 by removing section 9 from the bill and inserting:

“Sec. 9. (1) Public employees may do any of the following:

(a) Organize together or form, join, or assist in labor organizations; engage in lawful concerted activities for the purpose of collective negotiation or bargaining or other mutual aid and protection; or negotiate or bargain collectively with their public employers through representatives of their own free choice.

(b) Refrain from any or all of the activities identified in subdivision (a).

(2) No person shall by force, intimidation, or unlawful threats compel or attempt to compel any public employee to do any of the following:

(a) Become or remain a member of a labor organization or bargaining representative or otherwise affiliate with or financially support a labor organization or bargaining representative.

(b) Refrain from engaging in employment or refrain from joining a labor organization or bargaining representative or otherwise affiliating with or financially supporting a labor organization or bargaining representative.

(c) Pay to any charitable organization or third party an amount that is in lieu of, equivalent to, or any portion of dues, fees, assessments, or other charges or expenses required of members of or public employees represented by a labor organization or bargaining representative.

(d) Pay the costs of an independent examiner verification as described in section 10(9).10(4).

(3) A person who violates subsection (2) is liable for a civil fine of not more than $500.00. A civil fine recovered under this section shall be submitted to the state treasurer for deposit in the general fund of this state.”.

The amendment failed 17 to 20 (details)

Amendment offered by Sen. Jonathan Lindsey (R-17)

1. Amend page 9, following line 9, by inserting:

“(7) Every calendar quarter, each exclusive bargaining representative that represents public employees in this state shall provide a written report to every public employee in every unit that the exclusive bargaining representative represents and post the report on its website. Each report must include all of the following information for the immediately preceding calendar quarter:

(a) The name, salary, and amount of fringe benefits of each officer of the exclusive bargaining representative.

(b) The amount of money that the exclusive bargaining representative paid for all of the following, delineated by each payment:

(i) Political organizations or activities.

(ii) Charities.

(c) An itemized list of all of the exclusive bargaining representative’s expenditures not described in subdivision (b).”.

The amendment failed 17 to 20 (details)

Amendment offered by Sen. Aric Nesbitt (R-20)

1. Amend page 9, following line 9, by inserting:

“Sec. 10a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, a bargaining representative shall not pay compensation to an individual who is employed by the bargaining representative that is more than 2 times the average compensation of all the public employees that are members of the bargaining representative.”.

The amendment failed 17 to 20 (details)

Amendment offered by Sen. Thomas Albert (R-18)

1. Amend page 9, following line 9, by inserting:

“Sec. 10b. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, a public employee may choose to bargain independently. A public employer shall not refuse to bargain independently with a public employee and an exclusive bargaining representative shall not represent a public employee who has chosen to bargain independently. An agreement between a public employer and an exclusive bargaining representative does not apply to a public employee who has chosen to bargain independently.

(2) As used in this section, “independent bargaining” or “to bargain independently” means bargaining between a public employer and a public employee with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, or other terms and conditions of employment without the intervention of a labor organization, bargaining agent, or exclusive bargaining representative. Independent bargaining does not grant any greater or lesser rights or privileges to a public employee who has chosen to bargain independently in a unit with an exclusive bargaining representative than a public employee in a unit without an exclusive bargaining representative. Independent bargaining does not impose any greater or lesser duties or obligations for a public employer to a public employee who has chosen to bargain independently in a unit with an exclusive bargaining representative than those duties or obligations that the public employer or public school employer owes to a public employee in a unit without an exclusive bargaining representative.”.

The amendment failed 17 to 20 (details)

Amendment offered by Sen. Lana Theis (R-22)

1. Amend page 8, line 26, by striking out the balance of the section.

The amendment failed 17 to 20 (details)

Passed in the Senate 20 to 17 (details)

In the House

March 21, 2023

Returned to the Senate

Received in the Senate

March 21, 2023

Motion to reconsider by Sen. Sam Singh (D-28)

The motion prevailed by voice vote

Amendment offered by Sen. John Cherry (D-27)

1. Amend page 8, line 26, after “year” by striking out “2023-2024” and inserting “2022-2023”.

The amendment passed by voice vote

Passed in the Senate 20 to 16 (details)

Received in the House

March 21, 2023

Amendment concurred in 56 to 52 (details)

Signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

March 24, 2023