A new bill in Congress will give public service workers a federal right to unionize.
Unions for Michigan public service workers support the move, saying it’s an added protection.
The bipartisan bill, introduced by U.S. Congressmen Dan Kildee and Brian Fitzpatrick, would allow all public service workers from firefighters to EMS personnel to unionize in every state.
Currently, Congressman Kildee said, 20 states do not provide all state and local public safety employees the ability to collectively bargain.
“Even though in some states like Michigan public safety workers have the right to organize we want to make sure that right is never taken away from them.”
Mark Docherty is the President of the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union. He echoed the Congressman and said even though Michigan firefighters already have a union it’s extra protection he’ll take.
“So a state like us while it won’t change anything for us currently it would give us protection that if for some reason the state took it away from us that we would still have the ability to bargain.”
Docherty said currently private sector employees are protected by both state and federal laws.
He said it would be good for public employees to have the same protections.