In a news conference, Gov. Rick Snyder said he believes the legislation will lead to "more and better jobs for Michiganders." He cited the recent adoption of right-to-work legislation in Indiana as a reason for his support, saying that Indiana had made gains to attract new businesses after approving a similar law.

While unions have been dealt setbacks in Wisconsin and Indiana, among other states in the industrial Midwest, it is an especially deep blow to unions for a right-to-work law to pass in the state that gave birth to the United Auto Workers, a union that has long claimed credit for the rise of the blue-collar middle class in postwar America.

Gov. Snyder's willingness to sign the legislation—a reversal of his previous position that right to work was a divisive issue that he would prefer to avoid—highlights the diminution of union clout both in Michigan and nationally.