Jake Grumbach, Associate Professor of Political Science and Bridges Center Standing Committee member, recently spoke with David Leonhardt of the New York Times about unions' role in politics - specifically, how Michigan passing a bill to repeal right-to-work out of the state House of Representatives is significant. For the repeal to become law, the Democratic-controlled State Senate needs to pass it and Governor Gretchen Whitmer needs to sign it into law.

Grumbach noted that whenever Republicans control the legislature and governorship in a state, it's normal for organized labor to be viewed as opposition and right-to-work legislation to be pursued. However, Democrats, when in power, have sometimes left the law in place, including recently in Virginia. 

The article cites a recent study out of Princeton finding that union members make approximately 20% more on average than nonunionized workers, which corroborates other findings related to the impact of unions on workers' wages and addressing economic inequities. 

Read the New York Times article here.