Democrats have taken power in Michigan, and theyre using it.

On Friday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed a bill repealing the states decade-old right-to-work law, delivering a setback for the states conservative movement and a landmark victory for its labor unions.

Today we are coming together to restore workers rights, protect Michiganders on the job, and grow Michigans middle class, Whitmer said in a statement.

Right-to-work laws forbid unions and employers from entering into agreements that require every worker under the contract to pay fees to cover the cost of bargaining and representation. Unions despise the laws and say they lead to free-riding, in which workers choose not to pay union dues but still enjoy the benefits of a union contract.

Republican leaders passed the states right-to-work law a decade ago. But once Democrats regained the levers of power after last years elections, they quickly set about dismantling it. Both the state House and Senate recently passed repeal bills on party-line votes and sent the legislation to Whitmers desk.

Unions hailed the repeal on Friday. Rob Bieber, head of the Michigan AFL-CIO, said the state had restored the balance of power for workers.

After decades of attacks on working people, its a new day in Michigan, and the future is bright, Bieber said in a statement.

Right-to-work laws were made legal by Congress in 1947 and have spread to a majority of states since then, including some with historically strong labor movements, such as Wisconsin. Michigan Republicans, led by then-Gov. Rick Snyder (R), passed the Michigan law in 2012, delivering a blow to organized labor in a state thats the heart of the U.S. auto industry.