Governor Looks To Skip Hurdles On Right To Work Issue, Goes Directly To Mich. Supreme Court

LANSING (WWJ) - With unions vowing legal challenges, Governor Snyder is asking the Michigan Supreme Court to rule quickly on the constitutionality of a right-to-work law that takes effect in two months.

The governor said he wants to resolve the uncertainty over the law's impact on state employees because new contract talks will begin this summer.

It appears that the state will present this as a special case. In the past courts have been reluctant to hear these cases, instead, allowing it to go through the regular judicial process, said WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick.

If the high court grants the governor's request for an advisory opinion, it could thwart opponents' plans to file lawsuits. Snyder is hoping for a ruling before the court's term ends in July.

Since the law was signed last month in a lame-duck session, questions have been raised on whether it will apply to state workers because the bipartisan Civil Service Commission, which sets compensation for state employees,  has separate powers under the state constitution.

That's one of the many questions the governor wants cleared up.