LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Roger Hauck on Tuesday joined a Republican effort aimed at saving taxpayer dollars and making Michigan a more business-friendly state.
“We certainly need to look at ways to make Michigan a more attractive state for businesses and various industries — and I don’t mean offering taxpayer-funded handouts to come here,” said Hauck, R-Mt. Pleasant. “Michigan is losing economic opportunities — we’re currently sitting at 49th in the nation for unemployment, other states are poaching our workers, and businesses are bypassing Michigan on the way to states with less government-imposed burdens.
“We need to get rid of unnecessary hurdles that make Michigan less desirable to businesses while also making more jobs available to Michigan workers.”
Hauck’s legislation, Senate Bill 437, would restore Michigan’s Right to Work status for the state’s public workers. A 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision affirmed that public employees have the right to opt out of paying union dues.
“I spent much of my life as a union member, and my union fought hard to show its worth to workers,” Hauck said. “Right to Work should have no bearing on how a union conducts its business, especially if they are doing things the right way. What it does do is strengthen and reinforce our workforce and show businesses that we can fill the positions they need to build their future in Michigan.”
Other bills in the legislative package include:
- Senate Bill 436, sponsored by Sen. Thomas Albert, would restore Right to Work in Michigan and allow workers to decide whether or not they would like to join a union.
- Senate Bill 438, sponsored by Sen. John Damoose, would eliminate general prevailing wage requirements established by Michigan Democrats in 2023.
- Senate Bill 439, sponsored by Sen. Michael Webber, would repeal prevailing wage requirements for public utility projects.
- Senate Bill 440, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Bellino, would repeal prevailing wage requirements for alternative energy projects such as wind and solar.
“Prevailing wage artificially inflates costs on projects for no other reason than they are taxpayer-funded,” Hauck said. “I voted no when prevailing wage was reinstated because it tells taxpayers that we don’t need to be mindful of spending when using their money — if we need more, we’ll just raise taxes and take it.
“I cannot imagine a better example of careless government spending or a stronger disregard for the people who entrusted us to be good stewards of their tax dollars.”
Hauck has joined several other efforts to strengthen Michigan’s economic standing and promote business growth. He sponsored legislation as part of a package to repeal Michigan’s overbearing new energy mandates, supported efforts to better fund infrastructure needs in the budget and supported additional efforts to ease the tax burden on both businesses and residents.
“These bills build on several other efforts aimed at promoting economic growth, improving Michigan’s poor economic standing, and reeling in the current tax-and-spend attitude that has plagued our state Capitol in recent years.”
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