When the union bosses and the institutional left look to assign blame for Michigan’s newly enacted Right-to-Work law, they can blame the enactment of the new law giving Michigan workers the freedom to choose whether or not to pay union dues on one particular Marxist lawyer.

[Note: No, not the one pictured on the right.]

According to the Detroit News‘ Henry Payne, were it not for the United Auto Workers’ top boss, Bob King, and his lust for union power at the expense of the Michigan constitution earlier this year, Michigan’s GOP-legislators and, more importantly, Governor Rick Snyder would not have taken on the fight to enact Right-to-Work legislation. However, it was King and his failed attempt to enshrine forced union payments into the state’s constitution fanned the flames of workplace freedom.

According to Payne, the UAW’s King provoked the Right-to-Work fight by by trying to bite the hand that feeds him one too many times:

Were it not for UAW President Bob King’s introduction of the divisive Prop 2 in November’s campaign, right-to-work would not be an issue today.

With his March announcement of a constitutional amendment to ban right-to-work and reverse Republican-led government reforms, sources say that King united a broad coalition of business, grass-roots activists and legislators in a long-term strategy to not only defeat Prop 2 – but to enact game-changing right-to-work legislation in Michigan.

Politics is about personalities as well as issues, and King’s key mistake was honking off Gov. Rick Snyder who, until King’s Prop 2 provocation, had tried to keep right-to-work on the sidelines.

So, as union bosses–like the Teamsters’ boss Jimmy P. Hoffa–begin to see their financial coffers dwindle next year, they shouldn’t blame Republicans for Michigan’s “civil war.”

It was the UAW’s Bob King who fired the first shot.

• By the way, just in case you’re curious about the union spin calling Right-to-Work means “right-to-work for less,” Right-to-Work states do create more jobs than forced union states.

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“Truth isn’t mean. It’s truth.”
Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

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