Under the requirements of the statute, transit systems have agreements with the unions representing their employees that provide minimum labor protections for the employees. It is generally recognized that the employees must retain the collective bargaining rights they possessed when federal funding first became available to the local transit operation. See, Amalgamated Transit Union v. Donovan, 767 F.2d 939, 947-949 (D.C. Cir. 1985). While a state is not precluded from making changes to its collective bargaining laws, those changes may impact the ability of the local transit operation to continue receiving federal funds.

The Michigan legislature has passed a series of laws that diminish the ability of Michigan transit operators to certify compliance with their bargaining obligations. PA 54 affects the ability of transit agencies to maintain the status quo between contracts. PA 4 (the emergency manager act) has the potential to eliminate bargaining for affected transit employees. And, PA 152 diminishes the ability of transit unions to bargain employee health insurance contributions.

An attempt to comply with the PA 152 limitation on union employee health insurance contributions may cause the U.S. Department of Labor to withhold its certification that AATA has complied with its section 13 (c) obligations.