LANSING (AP) -- The Michigan Supreme Court wants a lower court to explain why it dismissed a lawsuit challenging the unionization of at-home child-care workers.

In an order released Thursday, the justices sent the case back to the state appeals court.

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is suing on behalf of three women who say the union is illegal because child-care providers are not public employees.

It's a partnership between the United Auto Workers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It was created with help from Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration.

The union gets slightly more than 1 percent of the millions in state subsidies paid to 40,000 providers who watch kids from low-income families. There's a separate lawsuit in federal court.

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