Whitmer Vetoes 9 Pro-Worker Bills, Union Leaders Say They Were 'Stabbed in the Back'

LANSING, Mich. After an 18-month court battle to get nine pro-worker bills to her desk, Governor Gretchen Whitmer vetoed the entire package Friday, citing technical issues with outdated effective dates. Union leaders and Democratic lawmakers say they feel blindsided, arguing the bills could have been signed and the dates corrected later through follow-up legislation.

The legislation included protections against aggressive debt collection, pension improvements for corrections officers, and measures intended to prevent healthcare cost increases for teachers, nurses and first responders. The bills reached Whitmer's desk only after a lengthy legal dispute that ended with the Michigan Supreme Court allowing a lower court ruling requiring they be transmitted.

Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber said the decision left labor leaders stunned. According to the Michigan Advance, Bieber said, "I've never seen anything like this, the feeling of betrayal and being stabbed in the back."

Whitmer's office said the outdated implementation dates would create administrative problems. However, State Rep. Will Snyder, D-Muskegon, said Whitmer previously signed legislation with expired implementation dates, including House Bill 4173 in 2023. Snyder and other Democratic lawmakers said the legislature could have corrected the dates after the bills became law.

State Rep. Mai Xiong, D-Warren, agreed, saying the bills could have been signed first and amended afterward, describing that process as routine.

The bills had originally passed during the 2023-24 legislative session but were never sent to the governor after then-House Speaker Joe Tate declined to transmit them. Current House Speaker Matt Hall also refused, leading Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks to file suit. The courts ultimately ordered the bills delivered to Whitmer.

Bieber said labor groups believed they had finally won their legal fight, only to see the legislation vetoed. For many union leaders and Democratic allies who strongly supported Whitmer's election campaigns, the decision is being viewed as a significant political betrayal.