Tomorrow morning, the House Commerce Committee will take up Senate Bill 492, a bill that is designed to undermine the recent Browning-Ferris ruling from the National Labor Relations Board.
According to the National AFL-CIO, “the decision makes it more possible for working people to organize and bargain with the employer that has authority to control the terms of their employment.”
The bill’s Republican supporters are falsely claiming that the Browning-Ferris ruling will somehow harm the relationship between franchisors and franchisees. But the truth is – regardless of how Lansing Republicans feel about the NLRB’s ruling – federal law trumps state law when it comes to private sector collective bargaining.
The courts have consistently rejected attempts by states to skirt the National Labor Relations Act through a patchwork of state laws.
Passing SB 492 could actually open small businesses and the State of Michigan up to expensive lawsuits – and the last thing we should be doing right now is wasting our taxpayer dollars defending a law that we already know is unconstitutional in federal court.
Instead of passing a bill that is clearly unconstitutional, Lansing should be working on legislation that will actually help small businesses – like raising wages for working people, which will spur demand for small businesses and help them create jobs.
