Bill Text: MI HB5252 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Labor; collective bargaining; collective bargaining rights; revise to restore former provisions. Amends secs. 1, 2, 8, 14, 17 & 22 of 1939 PA 176 (MCL 423.1 et seq.).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-28 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 01/27/2016 [HB5252 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2015-HB5252-Introduced.html

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HOUSE BILL No. 5252

January 27, 2016, Introduced by Rep. Kivela and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Trade.

 

     A bill to amend 1939 PA 176, entitled

 

"An act to create a commission relative to labor disputes, and to

prescribe its powers and duties; to provide for the mediation and

arbitration of labor disputes, and the holding of elections

thereon; to regulate the conduct of parties to labor disputes and

to require the parties to follow certain procedures; to regulate

and limit the right to strike and picket; to protect the rights and

privileges of employees, including the right to organize and engage

in lawful concerted activities; to protect the rights and

privileges of employers; to make certain acts unlawful; to make

appropriations; and to prescribe means of enforcement and penalties

for violations of this act,"

 

by amending sections 1, 2, 8, 14, 17, and 22 (MCL 423.1, 423.2,

 

423.8, 423.14, 423.17, and 423.22), as amended by 2012 PA 348.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1. It is hereby declared as the public policy of this

 

state that the best interests of the people of the state are served

 

by protecting their right to work in a manner consistent with

 

section 14(b) of the national labor relations act, 29 USC 164(b),

 

and preventing or promptly settling the prevention or prompt

 

settlement of labor disputes; that strikes and lockouts and other

 

forms of industrial strife, regardless of where the merits of the

 

controversy lie, are forces productive ultimately of economic

 

waste; that the interests and rights of the consumers and the

 

people of the state, while not direct parties thereto, should

 

always be considered, respected and protected; and that the

 

voluntary mediation of such disputes under the guidance and

 

supervision of a governmental agency will tend to promote permanent

 

industrial peace and the health, welfare, comfort and safety of the

 

people of the state.

 

     Sec. 2. As used in this act:

 

     (a) "Company union" includes any employee association,

 

committee, agency, or representation plan, formed or existing for

 

the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers

 

concerning grievances or terms and conditions of employment, which

 

in any manner or to any extent, and by any form of participation,

 

interference, or assistance, financial or otherwise, either in its

 

organization, operation, or administration, is dominated or

 

controlled, sponsored or supervised, maintained, directed, or

 

financed by the employer.

 

     (b) "Dispute" and "labor dispute" include, but are not

 

restricted to, any controversy concerning terms, tenure, or

 

conditions of employment, or concerning the association or

 

representation of employees in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, or

 

changing terms or conditions of employment, regardless of whether

 

the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and

employee.

 

     (c) "Commission" means the employment relations commission

 

created by section 3.

 

     (d) "Person" includes an individual, partnership, association,

 

corporation, business trust, or labor organization. , or any other

 

private entity.

 

     (e) "Employee" includes any employee, and is not limited to

 

the employees of a particular employer, unless the act explicitly

 

provides otherwise, and includes any individual whose work has

 

ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any current

 

labor dispute or because of any act that is illegal under this act,

 

and who has not obtained any other regular and substantially

 

equivalent employment, but does not include any individual employed

 

as an agricultural laborer, or in the domestic service of any

 

family or any person at his home, or any individual employed by his

 

parent or spouse, or any individual employed as an executive or

 

supervisor, or any individual employed by an employer subject to

 

the railway labor act, 45 USC 151 to 188, or by any other person

 

who is not an employer as defined in this act.

 

     (f) "Employer" means a person and includes any person acting

 

as an agent of an employer, but does not include the United States

 

or any corporation wholly owned by the United States; any federal

 

reserve bank; any employer subject to the railway labor act, 45 USC

 

151 to 188; the state or any political subdivision thereof; or any

 

labor organization, or anyone acting in the capacity of officer or

 

agent of such labor organization, other than when acting as an

 

employer. ; or any entity subject to 1947 PA 336, MCL 423.201 to

423.217.

 

     (g) "Labor organization" means any organization of any kind,

 

or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in

 

which employees participate and that exists for the purpose, in

 

whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances,

 

labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or

 

conditions of work.

 

     Sec. 8. Employees may do any of the following:

 

     (a) Organize organize together or form, join, or assist in

 

labor organization; 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

 

employers through representatives of their own free choice.

 

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

 

subdivision (a).

 

     Sec. 14. (1) An individual shall not be required as a

 

condition of obtaining or continuing employment to do any of the

 

following:

 

     (a) Refrain or resign from membership in, voluntary

 

affiliation with, or voluntary financial support of a labor

 

organization.

 

     (b) Become or remain a member of a labor organization.

 

     (c) Pay any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges or

 

expenses of any kind or amount or provide anything of value to a

 

labor organization.

 

     (d) 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 employees represented by a labor organization.

 

     (2) An agreement, contract, understanding, or practice between

 

or involving an employer and a labor organization that violates

 

subsection (1) is unlawful and unenforceable. This subsection

 

applies only to an agreement, contract, understanding, or practice

 

that takes effect or is extended or renewed after the effective

 

date of the 2012 amendatory act that amended this section.

 

     (3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall be implemented to the

 

maximum extent permitted by the United States constitution and

 

federal law.

 

     (4) The court of appeals has exclusive original jurisdiction

 

over any action challenging the validity of subsection (1), (2), or

 

(3). The court of appeals shall hear the action in an expedited

 

manner.

 

     (5) A person, employer, or labor organization that violates

 

subsection (1) 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.

 

     (6) Except for actions required to be brought under subsection

 

(4), a person who suffers an injury as a result of a violation or

 

threatened violation of subsection (1) may bring a civil action for

 

damages, injunctive relief, or both. In addition, a court shall

 

award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to a plaintiff who

 

prevails in an action brought under this subsection. Remedies

 

provided for in this subsection are independent of and in addition

 

to other penalties and remedies prescribed by this act.

     (7) For fiscal year 2012-2013, $1,000,000.00 is appropriated

 

to the department of licensing and regulatory affairs to be

 

expended to do all of the following regarding the amendatory act

 

that added this subsection:

 

     (a) Respond to public inquiries regarding the amendatory act.

 

     (b) Provide the commission with sufficient staff and other

 

resources to implement the amendatory act.

 

     (c) Inform employers, employees, and labor organizations

 

concerning their rights and responsibilities under the amendatory

 

act.

 

     (d) Any other purposes that the director of the department of

 

licensing and regulatory affairs determines in his or her

 

discretion are necessary to implement the amendatory act.Nothing in

 

this act shall be construed to do either of the following:

 

     (a) Interfere with the right of an employer to enter into an

 

all-union agreement with 1 labor organization if it is the only

 

organization established among the employer's employees and

 

recognized by the employer, by consent, as the representative of a

 

majority of the employer's employees.

 

     (b) Interfere with the right of the employer to make an all-

 

union agreement with more than 1 labor organization established

 

among the employer's employees if the labor organizations are

 

recognized by the employer, by consent, as the representatives of a

 

majority of the employer's employees.

 

     Sec. 17. (1) An employee or other person shall not by force,

 

intimidation, or unlawful threats compel or attempt to compel any

 

person to do any of the following:

     (a) Become or remain a member of a labor organization or

 

otherwise affiliate with or financially support a labor

 

organization.

 

     (b) Refrain from engaging in employment or refrain from

 

joining a labor organization or otherwise affiliating with or

 

financially supporting a labor organization.

 

     (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 employees represented by a labor organization.

 

     (2) A person who violates this section 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.

 

     (a) Become or remain a member of a labor organization.

 

     (b) Refrain from engaging in employment.

 

     (2) Violation of this section is a misdemeanor.

 

     Sec. 22. (1) It shall be unlawful for an An employer to shall

 

not engage in a lockout or for and a labor organization to shall

 

not engage in or instigate a strike without first having served

 

notice as required in section 9.

 

     (2) It shall be unlawful for any An individual to shall not

 

instigate a lockout or strike that is unlawful under this section.

 

     (3) Any person may pursue any appropriate legal or equitable

 

remedy or other relief in any circuit court having jurisdiction

 

with respect to any act or conduct in violation of any of the

 

provisions of this act, except subsection (1) and sections 14(4),

16 , and 17a. The existence of a criminal penalty with respect to

 

any such act or conduct does not preclude appropriate equitable

 

relief.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.