BY RICK PLUTA
Michigan Public Radio Network
State House Republicans have dropped efforts to reduce funding to schools and local governments that adopted employee contracts that get around Michigan's new right-to-work law.
Budget bills at the state Capitol are moving forward without the sanctions.
Contracts adopted before March 28th are not subject to the new law. That led to a -- scramble by many unions to negotiate contract extensions - agreeing to big concessions in some cases.
State Representative Joe Haveman chairs the House Appropriations Committee.
"We decided this was the time to back off and say, let's let it go. We made our point. That's as much as we can do right now."
The effort to sanction public employers that agreed to contracts that skirt the right-to-work law failed to win the support of Governor Rick Snyder or most Senate G-O-P leaders. It did, however, dissuade some universities and schools from agreeing to the contracts.
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