Anti Union Ballot Initiative Bad for Women's Health

Word on the street is that there's going to be what's called a "Right to Work" initiative on the ballot in November 2008 here in Michigan. This title, like so many in politics, is totally deceiving. If passed, "Right to Work" would make it illegal for unions to require payment or membership as a condition of employment within unionized sectors of the workforce. Without the commitment of all employees, joint action to better wages and benefits, or to fight for safe working conditions, is impossible. Since all employees in a unionized shop benefit from the action of union efforts, all employees must be invested in the process, so that the betterment provided by their victories are fairly distributed.

Simply put, so-called "Right to Work," initiatives destroy and illegalize the very concept that makes Unions work. As the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr said, "Right-to-work...provides no 'rights' and no 'work' ... Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining." History shows us, whether it be in the battle for labor rights, the civil rights movement, or the reproductive justice movement, working together collectively, across class, race, and gender lines, is what has made our life-changing and life-saving successes possible.

As a state with a strong Union history, we have seen gains far beyond those states that are "Right to Work." For example, Michigan workers have higher average pay than workers in these states- $7,600 higher a year, in fact. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of workplace deaths is significantly higher in non-union states (41%), as is poverty (3.8% compared with Michigan) and infant mortality (16%). Why would we want to go down that path?

Since so many Americans, and Michiganders for that matter, already have trouble accessing affordable reproductive health care because they don't make enough money and don't have health insurance, taking away the right to collectively bargain for benefits and pay for many of Michigan's workers doesn't make sense. Currently, over 580,000 Michigan women need publicly funded contraceptives because they have incomes below 250% of the federal poverty level. 15% of Michigan women between 15 and 44 are without health insurance at all, including Medicaid coverage (13% of Women have Medicaid, meaning 28% are low income.)

In Michigan, 239 publicly funded family planning clinics provide contraceptive care to over 233,800 women and family planning clinics in Michigan serve only 40% of all women in need of publicly supported contraceptive services. We already cannot meet the need of all the women and couples who need reproductive health and family planning services. We should not create a situation where more Michigan residents will be living with low incomes and no insurance.