The Court of Public Opinion

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation's suit against the DHS [Department of Human Services] continues to draw national attention. The case, the first filed by the newly created public-interest law firm, seeks to prevent the state and two unions from siphoning off nearly $4 million in "dues" from subsidy checks that home-based day care operators receive when they care for the children of low-income parents.

The Wall Street Journal published an Op-Ed by the Mackinac Center's Michael Jahr and Patrick Wright. The piece highlights that the unionization scheme is not unique to Michigan:

Ms. Berry owns her own business — yet the Michigan Department of Human Services claims she is a government employee and union member. The agency thus withholds union dues from the child-care subsidies it sends to her on behalf of her low-income clients. Those dues are funneled to a public-employee union that claims to represent her. The situation is crazy — and it's happening elsewhere in the country.

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