Michigan bill requires employees to give home address, phone number to unions

A Michigan Senate bill currently under consideration aims to require employers to share employees' name, home address, cell phone number, work address location, and personal email address with labor representatives every 90 days.

Sen. John Cherry, D-Flint, sponsored Senate Bill 169.

“The intent here is to make sure that individuals who are legally required to represent employees have the information on who they are actually required to represent and the ability to contact them and fulfill their requirements of representation,” Cherry said during Thursday testimony in front of the Senate Labor Committee.

Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, said the bill is an “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” Albert said there were no additional safeguards to protect personal information, and added that a bill substitute that wasn’t adopted yet also aimed to divulge employee wage to unions too.

Yousef Rabhi of the Michigan Nurses Association backs the bill. The former Democratic lawmaker said the bill would protect workers and patients in the event of an assault, a safety violation, or something else.

“In the event of an accident, it is paramount that nurses have the ability to make sure that our contract is being followed, for everyone’s safety” Rabhi said.

“Being able to reach out to nurses to make sure that their rights are being honored is a key component of making sure that public sector workplaces are safe and democratic,” he added.

Mary Drabik, communications director of the Michigan Freedom Fund, opposes SB 169:

"SB169 is the latest in a long line of Democrat overreach, putting union bosses over the interests of hardworking Michiganders,” Drabik told The Center Square in an email. “Workers who opt out of joining their union should not have their privacy violated by union bosses, and for Democrats to propose this at a time when a union boss is accused of being a serial sexual predator of female colleagues is just beyond the pale."

Drabik was referring to Jonathan Byrd, who resigned from his role as director of external affairs for the Michigan Laborers’ District Council on March 23 and as president of the South Central Michigan Area Labor Council after he was accused of sexual harrassment.

The bill is a reintroduction of Senate Bill 899 from the 2021-2022 Legislative Session.

Now that Democrats hold a political trifecta with the House, Senate, and the governor, they are trying to revive Michigan as the epicenter for union activity through repealing right-to-work and reinstating the prevailing wage.