Posts tagged Gretchen Whitmer
New union head for auto workers promises militant contract bargaining and activism
April 7, 2023 // FAIN: We're here to come together to ready ourselves for the war against our only one and only true enemy - multibillion dollar corporations and employers that refuse to give our members their fair share.
Michigan’s Repeal of Right-to-Work Law Helps Democrats, Not Workers | Opinion
April 5, 2023 // More importantly, preventing right-to-work protections ensures a steady flow of funds into the coffers of a union movement that has been bleeding members for decades. That's been true, even in Michigan, where the UAW—the auto workers' union that has now expanded to other industries—formed the activist heart of the movement, providing organizers, foot soldiers, and a bottomless well of campaign contributions for the Democratic Party. But after a sweeping victory in last year's midterm elections, Democrats found themselves back in control of both houses of the state legislature as well as the governor's office, where Gretchen Whitmer survived the blowback from her heavy-handed COVID regulations to win reelection. Among the first items on Michigan Democrats' agenda was to reward their loyal union supporters by repealing the state's right-to-work law. Helping ensure the cash flow to their union donors makes sense and might even be good politics in Michigan—which remains bluer than many pundits assumed during the Trump era. But the notion that repealing right-to-work laws is the path to bringing working-class voters back to the Democrats is a mistake.
President of Kalamazoo AFL-CIO chapter faces sexual assault allegation
March 30, 2023 // A Kalamazoo AFL-CIO chapter official was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at the Park Club in Kalamazoo, according to a Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety report obtained Thursday by News Channel 3. News Channel 3 has decided to name the suspect in this case, Jonathan Byrd, president and director of external affairs of South-Central Michigan Area Labor Council AFL-CIO, due to his political prominence. The report states that Byrd sexually assaulted a female guest at an April 2022 private gathering at the Park Club at 219 W. South St. hosted by Sen. Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo).
‘Right to work’ in spotlight after Michigan tosses law aside
March 28, 2023 // Liberal opponents of right-to-work laws say they suppress workers by undermining unions. Many progressives cite Martin Luther King, who said, “Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no civil rights.” A solid body of research shows that states with right-to-work laws are correlated with less pay, worse benefits and more on-the-job injuries. The laws also create what critics often call the “free rider” program, in which certain workers get the advantages of union-negotiated contracts without having to contribute to the union itself. Supporters of Michigan’s right-to-work repeal say it may be difficult to replicate their success elsewhere in the country. Most states with these laws on the books are led by Republicans who support them. Any hopes of a nationwide change are slim given the current makeup of Congress.
Opinion: Michigan posts ‘closed for business’ sign to please unions. Biden wants the same for US.
March 23, 2023 // One of the most damaging and shortsighted proposals would overturn the state’s decade-old right-to-work law, which gives workers the choice to opt out of paying union dues and fees and still keep their job. Unions can operate as they did before – they just have to earn the support of their members. Michigan is one of 27 states with a right-to-work law. No state has overturned its law in nearly six decades, which will make the Great Lakes State an extreme outlier.
Whitmer would violate her own directive by signing right-to-work repeal
March 23, 2023 // An appropriation attached to the bill gives it immunity to a voter referendum, something Whitmer once opposed Whitmer publicly opposes the practice of referendum-proofing legislation in this way, and she issued an executive directive prohibiting the practice in 2019. “I intend to veto legislation that circumvents the right to a referendum,” Whitmer wrote in Executive Directive 2019-07.
Michigan Senate passes public sector right-to-work repeal; Whitmer to sign
March 16, 2023 // The Michigan Senate on Tuesday approved a right-to-work repeal bill in a party-line vote. House Bill 4004, a repeal of Michigan’s right-to-work law in the public sector, will headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk, and she is expected to sign it. Last week, the Michigan House approved two repeal bills, 4004 and its private sector equivalent, House Bill 4005, in a single day, from committee to the full House. Tuesday the Senate did the same. Records show that the Committee of the Whole approved House Bill 4004 in the morning, and the full Senate voted in the afternoon.
Michigan: House Democrats introduce plan to offer tax credits for union dues
March 15, 2023 // F. Vincent Vernuccio is a senior fellow with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and president of the Institute for the American Worker. “The award for worst new labor giveaway goes to House Bill 4235," Vernuccio told The Center Square. "The bill would force Michigan taxpayers to pay government union dues. The bill gives a full tax credit for government union dues to public employees. This is not to be confused with a tax deduction. "This means that if a public employee pays $1,000 in dues, the state, courtesy of Michigan taxpayers, we'll take $1,000 off of their taxes. If they don't owe $1,000 in taxes the state will simply write them a check for the difference. No other state has gone this far and worse there's no cap on either the amount the state will pay or how much someone will get back. Unions could theoretically raise dues to $20,000 and the state would pay it."
Michigan House passes right-to-work repeal in party-line vote
March 10, 2023 // Repeal bills still need to pass the Michigan Senate and be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law News Story Michigan House passes right-to-work repeal in party-line vote Repeal bills still need to pass the Michigan Senate and be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law By James David Dickson | March 8, 2023Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Wednesday night, the Michigan House passed two bills that would repeal right-to-work protections for union members. (Screenshot: Michigan House TV) By a 56-53 vote, with one Republican absent, the Michigan House on Wednesday approved both House Bill 4004 and House Bill 4005, which would repeal the state right-to-work law. House Bill 4004 would repeal right-to-work protections for public sector workers such as teachers. That bill is expected to face constitutional challenges if signed into law, given that it violates the protections for public sector workers recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME.
Michigan House votes to repeal Right-to-Work, restore prevailing wage
March 9, 2023 // The legislation, now headed to the Senate for final votes as early as next week, would end a 2012 law that prohibits compulsory union dues or fees. The House also voted to restore a construction-industry “prevailing wage” law the GOP repealed in 2018. Democrats touted the union-backed measure as a restoration of worker rights to collectively bargain for wages, benefits and workplace safety. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer supports the repeal, but in the past has blasted GOP efforts to make policy bills referendum-proof by including appropriations, decrying it as a form of legislative "abuse."