Michigan legislators defy unions, OK right-to-work

Union workers fill the the Michigan Capitol rotunda as lawmakers were debating right-to-work legislation limiting union powers. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — In an audacious flex of political muscle, Republicans in a single day reached the brink of a goal that for years has seemed an all-but-impossible dream: making the labor bastion of Michigan a right-to-work state.

The GOP majority used its superior numbers and backing from Gov. Rick Snyder to ramrod legislation through the House and Senate on Thursday, brushing aside denunciations and walkouts by helpless Democrats and cries of outrage from union activists who swarmed the state Capitol hallways and grounds. At one point, police used pepper spray to subdue demonstrators who tried to rush the Senate chamber.