LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Rick Outman on Tuesday opposed the Democrat-led effort to repeal Michigan’s Right to Work law and reinstate the controversial prevailing wage requirements.
“I was in the House of Representatives when Right to Work passed, and on that day, we sent a message to Michigan workers and Michigan businesses that we were focused on growth and economic prosperity, and that they had our support,” said Outman, R-Six Lakes. “The passage of Right to Work put an ‘open for business’ sign in the window of this state and the Democrats are now turning that sign around to read ‘closed’ and shutting the lights off.
“It is not a coincidence that our state’s economy has flourished since Right to Work was signed into law. Median household income is up, employee benefits have outpaced inflation, and manufacturing in Michigan has grown well beyond states without Right to Work protections. Today, the Democratic majority voted in favor of their union supporters and told the rest of the state’s workers they are a secondary priority.
“In addition to voting to repeal Right to Work, Senate Democrats also voted to reinstate the state’s previous prevailing wage law, which has been shown to inflate construction costs on government projects.
“One of our most important obligations as lawmakers is the responsible use of taxpayer dollars. The cost of a construction project being increased by 10 to 15% based solely on the fact that public employees work in the building is both senseless and wasteful. Prevailing wage unnecessarily inflates costs and takes funding away from schools and higher education institutions, and most importantly: Michigan taxpayers.
“I think time will show the efforts passed by the Senate today as the mistakes that they are.”
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