Right-to-work laws were enacted to give workers the autonomy to decide whether or not they will join a union and pay union dues. But even in states where such legislation is passed, issues around dues deduction still exist. This is mainly because many unions intentionally make the process of ‘opting out’ of dues deduction difficult for workers.
In an effort to avoid the kind of issues where workers try for years to opt-out and yet continue to see money being withdrawn from their checks (see recent case here), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan voted 3-1 in July to require workers to opt-in to paying dues fees annually.
Obviously, unions in the state are contesting and filed a suit earlier this month.
