Minnesota

Minnesota GOP Legislators Eye 'Right-To-Work' Constitutional Amendment

Eric Kleefeld | February 2, 2012, 2:30PM

The Minnesota State Capitol

Republican legislators in Minnesota are now setting out to make their state the newest front in the push for "right-to-work" laws hindering labor union organization. But can they pull it off?

State Sen. Dave Thompson (R) and state Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R) announced the proposal Thursday, calling it the "Employee Freedom Constitutional Amendment."

In order to pass an amendment to the Minnesota constitution, both houses must pass the proposal under a simple majority threshold, then send it to the voters in November -- thus bypassing the state's Democratic Governor Mark Dayton, but also triggering what would likely be a very heated referendum campaign. The Republicans currently have a 72-62 majority in the House, and a 37-30 margin in the Senate.

Right-to-work laws are very common in the South and the West. This week, Indiana became the 23rd state -- and more importantly, the first Rust Belt state -- to adopt such a measure. Interestingly, Indiana Democrats had proposed a compromise of sending the bill to a referendum, which the majority Republicans rejected in favor of sending the bill directly to Gov. Mitch Daniels. In this case, Minnesota Republicans are seeking a referendum, in order to pass the bill over the head of a governor who opposes it.

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