A coalition of labor unions sued the State of Michigan in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Friday over a law that allows corporations, but not unions, to use payroll deductions for contributions to political action committees. The sweeping law was one of the final ones passed in last year’s legislative session, after it transformed from an innocuous bill on campaign finance law into a 53-page wholesale revision of campaign finance law. One of the provisions allows corporations to use payroll deductions for employees to make contributions to the business’ political action committee. But it also prohibits unions from having the companies where their members work make payroll deductions for the union’s PAC.
“This law is unfair, unconstitutional, and downright un-American,” Ron Bieber, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO, said in a statement. “It makes it easier for corporations and their super PACs to spend big money on our elections, while silencing the voices of working people. We’re asking the court to do the right thing and protect the First Amendment rights of Michigan’s hard-working union members, so they can make their voices heard in Michigan’s elections.”
The lawsuit, which names Attorney General Bill Schuette and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson as defendants, claims that the law is a violation of both free speech rights and the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Full Article: Labor unions sue state of Michigan over election law.