GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Gov. Rick Snyder in a

speech to the Michigan Press Association

dismissed concerns about a deflating effect of right to work on labor wages, focusing instead on his effort to play matchmaker between “talent” supply and demand.

Two of the four questions Snyder took after speaking Friday, Jan. 25, at a luncheon in Amway Grand Plaza Hotel dealt with the controversial bill that the Republican-led state Legislature passed in lame-duck session last month. The gist of his responses: Michiganders aren't going to be working union jobs anyway, so stop making right to work a divisive, political issue.

“Over 90 percent of the jobs that you’re looking at aren’t going to be in a situation where right to work is even relevant," Snyder said in the hotel’s Ambassador Ballroom. "Let’s keep in mind what the economy is really about. Why not embrace the great things going on and be more positive?

“Let’s not live in the Michigan of the past where we fought. Let’s learn from it and recognize that we’re in the Michigan of 2013, but let’s be planning for the Michigan of 2025 and a great place for all of these young people.”

RELATED: Recap Snyder's speech here

Snyder said he discounts data that suggests workers in right-to-work states have lower incomes “because it’s just conflicted studies done by special interests on either side” of the issue. Instead, he characterized right to work as a simple matter of worker rights: “I call it ‘freedom to choose.’”

Michigan should focus its energy on matching "talent" demand to "talent" supply, Snyder said. He plans to convene an economic development summit in March to talk about the demand side of the equation. Then, at an education summit in April, he plans to address the supply side.

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“We do the demand of talent in March with the private sector and we do the supply of talent in April with the (education sector) and we get them to talk,” Snyder said. “There’s a mismatch of supply and demand.

"There’s a demand for talent out there, skilled tradespeople, engineering talent. We have a broken system in our country to match the supply and demand of talent.”

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Johnathon Gustin, a sports editor for the campus newspaper at Delta College, asked Snyder one of the right-to-work questions. He cited data on labor wages being lower in right-to-work states, and was dissatisfied with the governor’s response.

“He mentioned that he wants to keep Michigan students in the state," Gustin said. "How do you do that when Michigan is among those other states that are at the economic level with right to work?"

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State Rep. Peter MacGregor, R-Cannon Township, one of several state lawmakers at the luncheon, said Snyder was “right on” with his remarks.

“To get a good job now in the state of Michigan you have to have a good K-12 education and then you have to get training beyond,” he said. “How many of those jobs are actually going to be union jobs? Really you shouldn’t be worrying (about right to work).

“Worry about getting that good education and building your own personal skills so you can get a good job. I think the future is going to be making sure that our youth is educated for the need.”

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