Not on Snyder’s Agenda: “Right to Work”

Up until December 2012, Gov. Rick Snyder had contended that so-called “right to work” legislation was “not on my agenda.” He said it many different ways:

“I’m not interested in that. It’s not something I want to see on my desk.”

“It is a divisive, polarizing issue that will drive people apart when we need everyone at the table working to reinvent Michigan.”

“Just like right-to-work. Those are issues I do not perceive as the highest priority that we should be addressing in this state.”

He even testified before Congress that “we have many problems in Michigan that are much more pressing.” Watch the video:

Even the day after the election, this is what Snyder had to say on the issue:

“As a practical matter, I’ve said that was not on my agenda for the last three years and I don’t see any reason why I should change that approach.”

So what changed in a month? Could it be that conservative groups were threatening him with a primary challenge?

“If a Republican governor were to veto it … I think he would indeed put his (gubernatorial) nomination in jeopardy.”

Or could it be that Snyder was being disingenuous when he insisted RTW wasn’t on his agenda? As one labor leader noted:

“[T]o have that big a change of heart so suddenly tells me that there must have been a piece of Gov. Snyder that was planning this all along.”

Michigan has seen many changes over the past two years that weren’t on the Snyder agenda — and many items on the agenda that have been abandoned. When Rick Snyder says something isn’t on his agenda, that statement means less than nothing.