Obama characterized the bill being rushed through the Michigan legislature as political and part of a race to the bottom:

"And by the way, what we shouldn't do. I've just got to say this, what we shouldn't be doing is trying to take away your rights to bargain for better wages and working conditions. These so-called right to work laws, they don't have to do with economics, they have everything to do with politics. What they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money.

You only have to look to Michigan, where workers were instrumental in reviving the auto industry, to see how unions have helped build not just a stronger middle class but a stronger America. [...]

"We don't want a race to the bottom. We want a race to the top. America's not going to compete based on low skill, low wage, no workers rights. That's not our competitive advantage. There's always going to be some other country that can treat its workers worse."