Pro-labor activists during a climate protest before the 2019 Democratic debate in Detroit. | Photo: Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance
Michigan now has a more open environment for worker organizing and collective bargaining after the repeal of right-to-work laws over the past few years and previous failures to maintain unions in the private sector, according to a new report from the Labor Workshop at Wayne State University.
One area of potential job growth is the healthcare sector, where the number of petitions organized by trade unions has recently increased. However, the report also noted that new challenges and political tensions are on the horizon, including budget cuts, unfair labor practices and new anti-labor laws, given signals from federal and state leaders.
Still, researchers said the Michigan labor movement has recently won vital victories in grievance cases decided by the National Labor Relations Board and the Michigan Supreme Court. Additionally, as the report notes, petitions for union representation in the health care sector continue to grow as an influx of increasingly progressive local and affiliated campaigns across the country emerge amid what Wayne State researchers have called “new and militant contract struggles.”
This shows that Michigan health care workers are becoming more aware of the value of their work to employers and the communities they serve.
“New changes in the economic landscape have fueled increased labor activism, strengthening the state’s reputation as a labor center as industries and jobs continue to expand,” the report said. “Chief among these changes has been the expansion of union representation in higher education and more active union representation among health care workers. Also relatively new on the union front are the increased efforts of low-wage, temporary and precarious service workers in retail, food service and transportation.”
When it comes to medicine, Wayne State research shows that Michigan has a long history of accommodating health care. Its growth as an industry has come as manufacturing volumes have declined in the state, and health care is now not too far behind as one of the state’s largest industries.
With 13.5% of Michigan’s workforce unionized and 14.7% of its total workforce actively represented by a union, the health care organization remains robust and has room to grow.
As of 2025, there are 25 unique healthcare systems in the sector and, in general, healthcare workers tend to organize in non-traditional unions such as the Teamsters, UAW and the American Federation of Teachers.
The report praised organizational efforts at Corewell Health.
Metro Detroit stands out as the state’s central hub for labor organizing, with a disproportionate share of local unionists and a Detroit-centered base for unique types of unions, according to the report.
Other robust concentrations of labor organizations include Lansing, Saginaw, Grand Rapids and Muskegon.
Although organized labor fought for earned ailing leave and a vote on a wage augment in 2018, which was the subject of a protracted legal battle over the “pass and change” tactics adopted by the Michigan Legislature, which gutted the fundsthe report actually highlighted legislative agreement this kept some of these measures intact while relaxing them at the request of employers and tipped workers across the state.
Several federal actions have shaped the momentum in Michigan since 2020, but President Donald Trump’s resurgence is challenging that trend.
When it comes to right-to-work laws, the Wayne State study shows Michigan is still recovering from an era of lower wages due to a lack of union representation and restricted collective bargaining. Since then repeal entered into force in 2024, in Michigan the number of union members increased by 17,000 people
There are areas for improvement, however, as only 13.4% of all Michigan workers are affiliated with a union, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, this number is much higher than the national average.
Some of that may change if Republicans take control of the Michigan Senate next year and also take the governor’s office, assuming the GOP also holds the House.
Both House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) and Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) said the three Democrats were wrong to repeal the law over the past few years. Hall will likely remain House Speaker if Republicans maintain control of the lower chamber. Nesbitt is seeking the GOP nomination for governor. And Senator Thomas Albert (R-Lowell) has already introduced the state Senate GOP plan to restore right to workwhich currently has no future since Democrats still control the upper house.
That said, the repeal does not protect every union member in Michigan. 2013 United States Supreme Court decision Janus v. AFSCME since 2018 it has imposed right-to-work-style restrictions on public sector workers. It is worth noting that private sector workers benefited from the repeal of the law, but workers such as school workers, government employees, police officers, firefighters, nurses, janitors, and secretaries in government jobs did not.
“As we have shown, union density in Michigan has been increasing over the past few years,” the report concluded. “The state’s labor movement is recovering. There will be uncertainty as the movement continues to grow, but trends leading into 2025 show a renewed spirit in Michigan’s labor unions.”
This story was originally produced by Michigan Progresswhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes the Ohio Capital Journal and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
