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Michigan Unions and Poor Face 85 Hostile Laws
An “emergency manager” bill allowing a state-appointed executive to unilaterally fire city councils and school boards and cancel union contracts has drawn the ire of Michigan’s labor movement for months. Resistance to the measure, including rallies of a few thousand and a promising repeal effort, have united elements of the state’s labor movement.
Michiganders collect petitions against Governor Rick Snyder and some of the many anti-worker laws the legislature is pushing forward. (Photo: Jim West.) The emergency manager law is just the beginning, however. Eighty-five bills now under consideration start from the view that Michigan’s economic problems are the fault of public employees and the poor, rather than driven by a merciless recession and the auto industry’s contraction.
TEACHERS IN CROSSHAIRS
While teachers relaxed over the summer, legislators attacked their tenure and seniority. School boards can now fire teachers for any reason during the first five years of employment. Districts have the power to fire tenured teachers for any reason, not only for “just cause.” Administrators also gained discretion over teacher layoffs and placement, based not on seniority but on “effectiveness.”
Another bill, introduced in October, would make dues checkoff illegal for teacher unions with more than 50,000 members, which means the Michigan Education Association.
MEA drew criticism from lawmakers in April for asking local affiliates whether enough support existed for a strike.
Public employees who use work email for union or political business are threatened with a thousand-dollar fine and a year in prison, under a bill moving through committees. Its author says the law would be enforced by workers reporting on each other.
A school privatization package would rescind the cap on charter schools. Another bill would take away domestic partner benefits for public employees, including those in union contracts.
Unions have staged several rallies, but look to Democrats to stem the tide.
The MEA issued a commercial and website titled “Stand up for kids, not CEOs,” that resembles a 2012 election ad. “It’s time we teach these Republican politicians a lesson,” declares the ad. Seven Democrats, however, voted for the provision facilitating teacher layoffs.
Attacks on workers and the poor go further than legislation. Michigan’s civil service has shrunk by 11,000 employees since 2001, and more devastating cuts to the social safety net are on the way.
Eleven thousand Michigan families will soon be cut off cash assistance, and a recent court ruling jeopardized heating subsidies for low-income households, just in time for winter.
A privatization effort in Grand Rapids has drawn scrutiny from veterans and public employee unions. Hundreds of workers at a state-run veterans’ home are being replaced by underpaid, undertrained contractors. Reports of incompetence and maltreatment are rolling in, and court hearings are scheduled.
Meanwhile, the emergency managers, appointed by the state to run cities and school districts operating in the red, continue to wreak havoc. In Ecorse, near Detroit, the manager forced 60 percent of firefighters to part-time schedules. They lost benefits and nearly half their pay with one day’s notice.
While two ambulances sat in the firehouse collecting dust, an emergency medical contractor took over.
Members of Firefighters Local 684 described an excruciating wait at the scene of a head injury, hearing the siren of the contractor’s ambulance as it searched up and down nearby streets for the location.
“They were holding the guy’s head together with a towel,” said President Scott Douglas. The contractor took more than 20 minutes to arrive. “I still don’t know if the guy made it.”
CIVIL RIGHTS LESSONS
There are signs of progress.
“We’re able to pull together in ways that we haven’t seen in a non-election year,” said Greg Bowens, AFSCME Council 25 spokesperson. Public employee unions entered joint negotiations with the state for the first time.
Community organizations and unions have come together to gather signatures for a fall 2012 referendum on repealing the emergency manager law.
Clergy in Detroit are organizing, too, holding three marches at the governor’s Detroit office ahead of October 1, when the new budget went into effect.
Pastor David Bullock of the Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church in Highland Park is pulling together an anti-poverty summit. Bullock intends to go beyond lobbying to bring lessons from the civil rights movement to the 21st century.
“We lost the point of protesting,” Bullock said. “It’s to disrupt power centers and to challenge them directly.”
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18 Comments so far
Show AllIn a lesser-noted section of the "emergency manager" legislation, teachers and other union members will be required to contribute to the purchase of their Telescreens and will no longer be compensated for wages lost during their daily Two-minute Hate.
"Unions have staged several rallies, but look to Democrats to stem the tide." And therein lies their main failure. Looking to Satan's bride for help in defeating Satan.
"The MEA issued a commercial and website titled “Stand up for kids, not CEOs,” that resembles a 2012 election ad. “It’s time we teach these Republican politicians a lesson,” declares the ad. Seven Democrats, however, voted for the provision facilitating teacher layoffs." Hmm. Do you suppose this fact might have helped them see the truth about Satan's bride, and where her loyalties lie? Probably not....
And this is why the cops and firemen all over the country should be part of the protests.
The cities are privatizing everything. Chicago sold the bridge tolls to a Saudi group. In the USA! And the tolls went up. They sold the parking meters to Chase and the price went up.
By privatizing everything, the costs of everything goes up.
Look what happened when contractors supplied the military. The military used to set up their tents, provide their own food, ect. Then the no bids came in and the prices triples.
This is how it works. Company A gets the contract and is paid x amount of dollars. they then subcontract it out to company B who gets less, then it goes to company C who gets paid pennies on the dollar.
sorry, I can't provide the link.
Look at the cost of prisons expenses since they started privatizing the prisons.
Not too long ago one of the articles on the right-hand side of the CD screen mentioned a study of the "savings" associated with privatizing government ativities. The group's acronym is POGO (I don't remember what it stands for).
The conclusion was that no money is saved by privatizing. Why? Because although the private contractors pay their people less than public employees make, the overhead costs charged to the contracts more than make up the difference. In general, the overall costs can be twice what it costs to have feeral employees do the job.
Exactly and well-stated. "Privatization" means "profit." That is the entire POINT of allowing for-profit corporations to control something. Do they think that by turning over the operations of something to a corporation that the corporation will then LOSE MONEY on their investment??
I'm shocked that more Amereichans are not up in arms about the whole massive privatization trend going on in this country at breakneck speed. Whenever a corporation is in charge of something, it has profit - and as high a profit as humanly possible - as its motivation. NOT the common good, NOT efficiency, NOT what's best for humankind or the country or city or populace. I would think this would be rather self-explanatory....
And the goal of every corporation is to INCREASE those profits, each and every quarter.
'While two ambulances sat in the firehouse collecting dust, an emergency medical contractor took over.
Members of Firefighters Local 684 described an excruciating wait at the scene of a head injury, hearing the siren of the contractor’s ambulance as it searched up and down nearby streets for the location.
“They were holding the guy’s head together with a towel,” said President Scott Douglas. The contractor took more than 20 minutes to arrive. “I still don’t know if the guy made it.”'
The joys and efficiencies of privatization. How many Enrons does it take to screw in a light bulb? And how many times do we have to experience failed privatization experiements before we laugh in the faces of those that promote privatization. Name me one time when privatization has lead to any benefits for the consumer or citizen. How many times can we fall for the same con or grift?
The answer is the unmitigated, total support of the Occupy movement. where is it in Michigan? Are there demonstrations in Detroit? Are the labor unions - auto and teacher - participating, showing their support? There is the answer. Be part of the Occupy movement. Stand with your Veterans for Peace, your Iraq Veterans
against War members. Hold the Constitution high and face the phalanx of corporate police. Be part of the solution, and stop trying to fight them within their own structure. Power to the People.
There is an occupy Detroit going on at Grand Circus Park in Detroit as we type. There are also protests in Lansing, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor!
del
In a democracy we usually get the government we deserve. The people (including many union members) voted for conservative Republicans, and now we (I'm from Wisconsin) are reaping what we sowed. Democrats are far from perfect, but they are usually far better than Republicans. Take the US House of Representative for example. It is controlled by Republicans, and what has the House done abut the economy and jobs? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
You make a good point Jim, one that I have made several times as well. I'm surprised that you did not get immediately crucified for stating anything remotely positive about the Democrats, as happens to me often on CD. I think its fine to criticize the Pres or the Democrats, but when the utter asinine behavior of the Repubs is ignored then the prior criticism becomes somewhat overstated.
Sorry, but I'm having a senior moment here.... please remind me: when the Democrats controlled the House of Representatives, just what did they do about the economy and jobs?
Bust the public workers union, teachers, fire fighters, and even cops. And you screw yourself. Charter schools paid for by you, the tax payer, after public schools are destroyed, only the wealthy kids will be educated, just like a college education, of course the working class can borrow the money at 30 percent or more in interest if they put their homes up for collateral. These bastards are fucking you. Bust the unions and you bust yourself.
Now is the time, the democrats aren't functioning and the republicans are doing all the talking and the screwing in of all light bulbs. Michigan needs a Non-partisan League/ peoples party, and run like there is no tommorrow, bring the third party into its own and make the two other sides compromise with those who speak justice and equality for all. Show them the strength you have and make them bend to it, otherwise each of you in Michigan will be broken like a single thread. With a united group of the 99% the threads come together and and add strength to each others causes.. Soon the threads become a twine and the twine becomes a rope and the rope becomes a cable, flexible and strong and can not easily be broken unless the threads pull away one by one and fray the power they have together. Solidarity! Fight for your rights!
We all need to remember that "privatisation" is what used to be called ENCLOSURE. The rich have been stealing public lands, resources, and utilities via enclosure since at least the 14th century.
"While teachers relaxed over the summer, legislators attacked their tenure and seniority."
Hello? What a ridiculous thing to say! This of all summers, was not one for "relaxing". Normal summers are when teachers go to school, prepare material, and work on working conditions (contract terms) for the next school year. Also, you imply that in this crisis period, teachers were lazy and careless, opening the door for the hard-working legislators to rip away at their rights. Maybe you ought to rephrase?
$1000 fine for using email and a year in jail? Ha, we're all Jean Valjean now! Odd how the punishments for the poor are always more severe than those for the wealthy - and for trivial crap, not usury or crashing global economies.