Gov't Unions Took Over Michigan. Now They're Eyeing PA

During the 2021–22 election cycle, an obstinately pro-government union majority took over Michigan’s state government after the four largest public employee unions spent $2.6 million to elect politicians of their choice. And the union-backed majority has launched an attack on Michigan workers and taxpayers in the 15-months since.

Bad as this is for taxpayers, the union-backed legislators have made things even worse for workers. A new law requires government employers to provide unions with employees’ personal contact information within 30 days of hiring. Employers must update and resubmit this information every 90 days. Unions are thus given free rein to inundate workers with political or other material whether it is wanted or not.

To top it off, Michigan legislators relaxed campaign-finance regulations for unions. Government unions will now find it easier to continue putting their preferred candidates in public office, creating a vicious cycle of union control in the Michigan legislature.

Sadly, the Keystone State’s government unions have the same ambitions as those in the Wolverine State. Pennsylvania taxpayers are already responsible for collecting government union PAC deductions, and private-sector workers don’t have the safeguard of the right to work. But that evidently isn’t enough.

In the 2021–22 election cycle, Pennsylvania government unions set a record for political spending, using more than $20 million in donations to support candidates and fund PACs. And new research from the Commonwealth Foundation reveals that they spent $5.6 million in the 2023 off-year elections – surpassing the $4.6 million record they set in 2021. With this spending, Pennsylvania’s government unions and the legislators they back want to further expand union influence over state policy.

In the 2023–24 legislative session, these lawmakers introduced numerous troubling legislative initiatives. House Bill (HB) 1481 would provide striking workers with taxpayer-funded unemployment benefits – a proposal so radical that even California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it. Another proposal, HB 861, would allow the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board to overrule employees who voted to decline union representation, forcing unionization on workers who don’t want it.

Yet, of the union-backed initiatives, HB 950 is the most extreme. The bill would create a state constitutional right to collective bargaining, allow collective bargaining agreements to trump state law, and prevent future attempts at labor reform.

Thankfully, for Pennsylvania workers and taxpayers, these are just proposals. But if government unions help elect their preferred lawmakers, these bills could become law. That is why lawmakers must act now to curb government unions’ undue influence.

Currently, Pennsylvania’s government unions benefit from a host of legal privileges, chief among them the ability to use the taxpayer-funded government payroll system to collect dues and PAC deductions. Unions, not taxpayers, should be responsible for these collections. HB 357 remedies the political-activity side of this, barring unions from using public resources to fund their PACs.

Government unions are among America’s most influential special interest groups. In Michigan, they demonstrated that fact by effectively taking control of a state legislature and extending their influence over policy at the expense of workers and taxpayers. Lawmakers in Harrisburg must act now to protect the majority of Pennsylvanians and not elevate well-financed special interests above everyday citizens. 

Andrew Holman is a policy analyst with the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania’s free-market think tank.