Last year, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) pulled a classic political flip-flop when he proclaimed that "right to work" for less legislation wasn’t on his agenda. But late last year, he spearheaded the drive to ram the anti-work bill through a lame-duck legislative session that shut out the public.

This morning, as the law went into effect, nearly 100 Michigan union and community activists demonstrated outside the Detroit Athletic Club where Snyder was the main speaker at its annual "Pancakes & Politics” breakfast, in an action organized by the coalition We Are Michigan.

Chris Savage is a Michigan-based political writer and owner of Eclectablog. You also can follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

On Dec. 6, 2012, Republicans in the Michigan legislature passed bills that eventually led to Michigan becoming the 24th "right to work" for less state. With their majorities in both the House and the Senate and encouragement from Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, this was a pretty straightforward accomplishment. However, it was done with a crowd of thousands of protesters surrounding the Capitol building and filling its corridors. 

While government in Washington, D.C., remains divided and marked by long-term gridlock, governments in the states are much less divided. Of the 50 states, 37 now feature state governments where the governor and majorities in both legislative houses are controlled by one party—24 of those are controlled by Republicans. Extreme, anti-working family Republicans have repeatedly assaulted the rights of people in recent years and, by all accounts, the trend looks to expand in 2013. Working families are mobilized and fought back in 2012 and will continue to fight in 2013.  The response to the "right to work" for less push in Michigan was so strong, that governors in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have since declared that they won't push for right to work in their states.

UPDATE: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) did veto the bill to allow concealed weapons in schools and other public venues. State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D) said, “I am thankful that common sense has prevailed and that Gov. Snyder has vetoed this terribly misguided legislation.”

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder today will veto a just-passed bill that allows licensed concealed weapons permit holders to carry their weapons into current “gun-free zones” such as schools, churches, arenas, hospitals and other specified locations.

In a letter to Snyder following the Connecticut school shooting where 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, AFT President Randi Weingarten and Michigan AFT President David Hecker wrote Snyder and urged him to veto the legislation.

Faced with a shrinking margin for the 2013 legislative session, Michigan Republicans not only majority-muscled through a “right to work” for less bill in its lame-duck session that stood little chance of passage next year, but several other last-minute controversial measures as well.

It seems appropriate that after Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) shepherded through the state House and Senate the right-wing extremist and corporate CEO backed  “right to work” for less legislation—that he had long-called "too divisive" to pursue—without any public input, that he would sign the measure in secret yesterday.

Here are some details of the legislation that, if it follows the pattern of “right to work” laws in other states, will lower the standard of living for Michigan workers. 

The Michigan House just passed the second “right to work” for less bill by a 58-52 vote. The latest action was on legislation applying to private-sector workers. It followed earlier action on a measure applying to public employees.

But the Detroit Free Press reports that in a parliamentary maneuver, the House Republicans asked for a reconsideration of the bill to keep Democrats from asking for the same thing, which would have delayed final passage until Wednesday. Technically, the Republicans could remove that request later today and the bills will automatically head to Gov. Rick Snyder.

Thousands of union members, community activists and workers’ rights advocates will march on the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich., Tuesday as the state legislature is expected to take its final step in ramming through—without public debate or hearings—a divisive “right to work” for less bill.

The action—organized by a growing coalition of labor, community, faith and other groups—will begin at 8 a.m. at the Lansing Center at 333 E. Michigan Avenue and the march to the state Capitol kicks off at 9 a.m. For more information, visit WeAreMich.org.

In 2010, the Detroit Free Press endorsed Republican Rick Snyder in his race for Michigan governor. The paper’s editorial board said it believed Snyder’s promise that he would be a “new kind of governor…a pragmatist focused like a laser on initiatives that promised to raise standards of living for all Michiganders….In short, we trusted Snyder's judgment.” But in a scathing editorial denouncing Snyder’s “abrupt about face” in backing “right to work” for less legislation, the state’s largest newspaper wrote:

That trust has now been betrayed.

Workers from across Michigan and across the nation are gearing up for a day of action in Lansing on Tuesday. Tomorrow, you can show support for Michigan’s working families wherever you are. Wear red on Monday, Dec. 10, to support for Michigan’s working families.