Bill Text: MI SB0725 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Labor; collective bargaining; requirement for agency fee for nonunion members; allow in bargaining agreements and as condition of employment in private sector. 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) 2017-12-12 - Referred To Committee On Government Operations [SB0725 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2017-SB0725-Introduced.html

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SENATE BILL No. 725

 

 

December 12, 2017, Introduced by Senators BIEDA, HOPGOOD, HOOD, GREGORY, JOHNSON, WARREN, KNEZEK, HERTEL, YOUNG, ANANICH and ROCCA and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.

 

 

     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 this 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 this state, while not direct parties thereto, to

 

labor disputes, should always be considered, respected and

 

protected; and that the voluntary mediation of such labor 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 this state.

 

     Sec. 2. As used in this act:

 

     (a) "Company union" includes any means an 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 limited 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, labor organization, or any other

 

private entity.

 

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

 

to the employees of a particular employer, unless the act

 

explicitly provides otherwise, and includes any an individual whose

 

work has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any

 

current labor dispute or because of any an act that is illegal

 

under prohibited by this act, and who has not obtained any other

 

regular and substantially equivalent employment. , but However,

 

employee does not include any an individual employed as an

 

agricultural laborer , or in the domestic service of any a family

 

or any person at his or her home, or any an individual employed by

 

his or her parent or spouse, or any an individual employed as an

 

executive or supervisor, or any an 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 is limited to a person and includes any a

 

person acting as an agent of an employer, but does not include the

 

United States or any a corporation wholly owned by the United

 

States; any a federal reserve bank; any an employer subject to the

 

railway labor act, 45 USC 151 to 188; the this state or any a

 

political subdivision thereof; any of this state; or a labor

 

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

 

of such a 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 an 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.This act

 

does not interfere with the right of an employer to enter into an

 

all-union agreement with either of the following:

 

     (a) One labor organization, if it is the only organization

 

established among the employer's employees and is recognized by the

 

employer, by consent, as the representative of a majority of his or

 

her employees.

 

     (b) More than 1 labor organization established among the

 

employer's employees, if the employer recognizes those

 

organizations, by consent, as the representatives of a majority of

 

his or her 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 person who violates this section

 

is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more

 

than 90 days or a fine of not more than $500.00, or both.

 

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

 

employer 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 prohibited under

 

this section.

 

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

 

remedy or other relief in any circuit a court having jurisdiction

 

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

 

provisions of that violates this act, except subsection (1) and

sections 14(4), 16, 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.