He told Stephen Henderson, editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press, that he had tried to mediate a solution to avoid the bill coming to a head.

"That wasn't very successful, so I said, 'This is being put on my agenda,' " Snyder said. "I thought it better to try to get something done one way or another, and get the issue behind us."

He and other supporters now say the legislation is critical to the state's economic success.

"Like it or not, the 49 other states in the union are competing with us for businesses and workers," Snyder wrote on his blog. "And across the nation, 23 states have enacted freedom-to-work laws -- including neighboring Indiana. Though Michigan is the comeback state, we don't exist in a vacuum. Our successes today could turn to failures tomorrow, so we need to maintain our competitive edge."

What's next?

The bills now go to Snyder for his signature, and he has said he will sign them. Democrats have suggested they may challenge the legislation in court because GOP lawmakers skipped the usual committee hearings in passing the bills.

The legislation cannot be overturned by a public referendum because they were in appropriations measures.