Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said on Thursday that he was not troubled by citizens who opposed the state’s new right-to-work law, which takes effect next week.
“It’s part of democracy,” the first-term Republican told Fox’s Neil Cavuto. “I was hired to do a job by my customers, the citizens of the state of Michigan — and I’m doing the right thing.
“It’s about worker’s rights, and it’s about bringing more jobs to Michigan,” Snyder said. “I’m just going to do my job.”
Snyder signed the law into effect on Dec. 11, the same day it was passed by the Michigan Legislature. The law prohibits worker contracts that that require union dues or fees for employment.
He told Cavuto that the law would survive any court challenge.
“We’re going to end up winning the lawsuits,” Snyder said. “We may end up losing on some lower court level. Our track record’s really good on this. You just keep moving forward.”
Snyder pointed to the same approach in naming Kevyn Orr, a lawyer who worked on the Chrysler bankruptcy, as city manager for Detroit last week.
Orr takes over next Thursday, the same day the right-to-work legislation kicks in statewide.
“Detroit still has elected representation. I’m the governor of Michigan. It’s not Detroit versus Michigan. It’s Detroit, Michigan,” he said.
The governor told Cavuto that Orr would “make the decisions,” but that the appointment came after Detroit officials were unable to make good on the terms of a consent decree developed last year.
“We did this in a very progressive, thoughtful fashion following the law,” Snyder said. “The citizens of Detroit deserve a better answer — and I believe they want a better answer.”
He declined to say whether Orr would decide to file bankruptcy.
“That’s one tool in the tool kit,” Snyder said. “I wouldn’t take it off the table, because that wouldn’t be doing my duty. That’s one of the tools that’s available.
“Detroit has many good things going for it,” he added. “There are so many exciting things that, if we resolve this, Detroit’s got a bright future.”
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