"10 Things to Know About What Happened in Michigan On Thursday" is a cross-post from the Working America Main Street blog. 

1.) The Michigan House and Senate yesterday passed so-called “right to work” bills. “Right to work” laws effectively defund the ability of workers to have a voice at their workplace. In 23 other states, these laws have lowered wages, weakened benefits, raised the poverty rate and led to increased workplace injuries and deaths. The House passed one such bill and the Senate passed two.

Michigan is poised to become the latest state to pass "right to work" for less legislation, a mislabeled policy that is designed to weaken the rights and wages of working families. As is often the case in recent years, extreme anti-worker legislation, like the law in Michigan, can be traced back to Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and the group's founders Charles and David Koch, the billionaire brothers who fund a host of extreme right-wing organizations.

When billionaire CEOs ask a politician to jump, apparently the proper response is—if Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) is any indication—“how high?” Earlier this year, Snyder told the U.S. House education and Workforce Committee (see the video in this blog post):

Right-to-work is an issue that is a very divisive issue… we have many problems in Michigan that are much more pressing… I don't believe it is appropriate in Michigan during 2012.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican legislators are doing their best to ram through “right to work” for less legislation that passed the state House and Senate on Thursday, even going so far as shutting the Capitol’s doors on workers seeking to make their voices heard.

But final action on this assault on workers’ rights won’t come until next week, and if you are in Michigan, you can join the drive to protect workers’ rights by volunteering at the Michigan State AFL-CIO phone bank in Lansing today through Monday, Dec. 10.

The Michigan State Senate just passed the “right to work” for less bill. The House passed a similar bill earlier today and Gov. Rick Snyder (R) says he will sign the legislation that rolls back workers’ rights.

White House spokesperson Matt Lehrich said Thursday the president opposes "right to work" for less laws like legislation proposed in Michigan.

"Right to Work" for less passes the Michigan State House by a 58-52 vote. The senate is debating a similar bill. 

Reports coming in from Twitter, via #saveMI and other hashtags, say that the Michigan state Capitol is locked down and protesters are being denied access. MLive confirms that several of the 3,000 protesters on hand have been arrested and that mace was used on several of them after they tried to enter the Senate chambers. Police say no one else is being allowed in the building because they fear that the structural integrity of the building was threatened. At least eight arrests were made, according to police, for "impeding the flow of pedestrian traffic." Working families and their allies are rallying at the Capitol in opposition to a new "right to work" for less proposal being put forth by Gov. Rick Snyder and legislative Republicans.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka condemned the actions of Gov. Rick Snyder and the radical Republicans in Michigan who announced today that "right to work" for less legislation would be pushed forward in the state's "lame-duck" session. Working families filled the Lansing Capitol building Thursday, outraged at the attempts to strip them of their voice in the workplace. Snyder is the latest in a line of extreme Republican governors, such as Scott Walker of Wisconsin, John Kasich of Ohio and Rick Scott of Florida, who are assaulting the rights of working families.

Shouts of "Who's house? Our house" echoed in Michigan's state Capitol rotunda last night as hundreds of union members and activists protested the "right to work" for less law that is being considered today in the state legislature after Gov. Rick Snyder announced it was "on the table."

The Michigan State AFL-CIO live-tweeted from the Capitol and announced it will return today to continue the protest and provide more updates. Follow the Michigan state federation on Twitter.