Reuters' Rick Carey and Bernie Woodall dug into the process by which right to work legislation was passed in the union stronghold of Michigan, and found that it was the result of dogged, behind-the-scenes work by some of Michigan's newest legislators.
That runs contrary to the idea in many published reports that the legislation took on a sudden life of its own, a kind of "seize the day" mentality, after the defeat of Proposal 2 in November.
From the story:
They (Patrick Colbeck and Mike Shirkey) built from the grassroots, bottom up, rather than from Snyder and top leaders in the legislature. If anything, Michigan Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville was viewed as an obstacle because he represents a labor-friendly area.
