When the law was first passed, there were large protests from union members in Lansing, protesting both right-to-work and the process by which then-Gov. Rick Snyder signed the law during a lame-duck session (in between an election and the swearing in of a new class of lawmakers), which is normally reserved for the signing of urgent legislation.

Michigan AFL-CIO Communications Director Aaron Pelo said Democratic legislators have been focusing on getting rid of this since 2018, wanting to a victory for the state that he says was built on labor movements.

Pelo said favorability for unions is high and that it is an "exciting time for the labor movement.”

Michigan State University labor relations associate professor John Beck said the repeal eliminates what he calls a "free-rider problem" where one worker is not paying dues but still benefiting from the collective bargaining process a union may be engaging in.

Beck said unions and unionized workplaces will now be able to raise funds for the next steps in creating a better workplace including worker training and education. He said the repeal would help workplaces operate on the “highest level of occupational safety and health,” creating solutions that were not possible when every worker was not paying into the unions.

Beck cited gerrymandering as part of why the repeal took so long. He said gerrymandered maps kept Democrats out of power.

“Then, it was actually by the independent commission that set up those districts, then suddenly we became a democratic state with a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate and a Democratic governor,” Beck said. “That made it possible to repeal Right to Work.”

Beck said he thinks the law would have been repealed sooner, by way of statewide ballot referendum. But when Snyder signed the law, Republicans attached an appropriation clause, which made it referendum-proof.

Now Whitmer has made an appropriation of $1 million, in turn making the repeal referendum proof.

The state AFL-CIO was a major part of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, according to Pelo. He said that around 35% of the comments that the commission received were from union members, which Pelo said made significant changes when taking into account the voices of Michigan workers.

Pelo said the state AFL-CIO's next goal of looking at reform for unemployment, finding other areas of the workplace to change.

Beck also has a vision for the next steps in the workplace: putting money towards infrastructure such as alternative energy in the cities where unions are most prevalent, giving them the best workplace conditions.

Angelo Moreno, a unionized worker at the East Lansing Public Library, sees this repeal as a huge victory for those organizing, working to make the politicians recognize their mission.

Moreno said he thinks Democrats produce policies and decisions that are “not friendly” to the working people, taking money from the bosses and corporations. However, what he thinks he is seeing now is a political class that is willing to take risks on behalf of the “ordinary people.”

Moreno said the repeal could give the union at his library more ability for paid time off and wage increases, even if it is not as robust as he wants it to be. However, these repeal gains are going to be tangible in the future.