I really don’t like Governor Rick Snyder (R-MI); last year – he and other Republicans pushed through an “Emergency Manager Law” that allowed him to completely wipe out elected officials as he saw fit which ultimately was repealed by voter referendum. This year – after an election that would see a much smaller majority for Michigan Republicans – they have decided to push through a law that would make it illegal to require financial contributions to unions as part of membership. They call it “right to work” but it might as well be your right to get screwed; this is how you kill a union and the worker’s right to collectively bargain.
The bills would exempt fire and police unions from the financial contribution requirements which of course is political; Republicans in Wisconsin used the same formula as part of their divide and conquer strategy. And to make things worse – Republicans have made it impossible to repeal via a referendum. It passed in both the House and Senate and is about 5 days away from being passed by Governor Snyder.
The Detroit Free Press writes HERE:
State Rep. Vicki Barnett, D-Farmington Hills, who spoke against the bill to loud applause from the gallery, said it contains an appropriation of state funds designed to make it referendum-proof. Bills considered appropriation bills cannot be repealed through a ballot measure, as happened with the toughened emergency manager law, Public Act 4, on Nov. 6.
The Republicans are using a bill that was in the House Commerce Committee that was designed to create a commission to handle labor disputes.
They discharged it today from the committee and introduced a substitute bill introduced by Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, who has been drafting right-to-work legislation.
Police shut down the state capitol and only re-opened it when union officials obtained a court injunction forcing police to re-open the state capitol. This is what the state capitol looked like during the protests; police arrested several people and sprayed mace into the crowd as part of their crowd control methods (source).
The White House responded to the anti-union bill being offered up by Michigan Republicans – they’re against it:
“President Obama has long opposed so-called ‘right to work’ laws and he continues to oppose them now. The President believes our economy is stronger when workers get good wages and good benefits, and he opposes attempts to roll back their rights. Michigan – and its workers’ role in the revival of the US automobile industry – is a prime example of how unions have helped build a strong middle class and a strong American economy.”
Governor Snyder is up for re-election in 2014; it is my hope and interest that Michigan residents reject him by large margins. Despite voters rejecting the emergency manager law on November 6th – Governor Snyder is pushing for yet another bill giving him the same emergency manager powers that he enjoyed for the first two years of his tenure – Business week has the story HERE:
Under current law, the state must approve a bankruptcy request. The proposed new law would tie a Chapter 9 filing to a full state review of city or school district finances.
While the new bill would reinstate broad powers for emergency managers, local officials would have authority to approve certain decisions made by the managers, or develop alternate solutions that produce equal savings.
The proposal would also permit local officials to ask the governor to remove emergency managers after a year, or dismiss them with a two-thirds vote of the governing body, such as a city council.
