Sometimes ya just gotta laugh The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has put together a website that tells the story of Detroit’s financial crisis. While most of what your read these days is peril and gloom and desperation, AFSCME has taken a more light-hearted approach, telling the story using humorous animated GIFs. It’s called “GIFtroit” and, […]

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Oh, this is rich Last week a judge in Indiana ruled that the state’s so-called “right to work” law is unconstitutional. According to federal law, unions must cover everyone at a workplace but Indiana law prohibits delivery of services “without just compensation”. Since Indiana’s right to work law allows workers to benefit from union collective bargaining but does NOT require […]

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They keep our country going strong. But many don’t earn nearly enough. The least we can do is show our appreciation. While many of us are enjoying a last blast of summer at barbecues, parades or festivals, others will be working on Labor Day. Firefighters, police officers and nurses will be on duty. Teachers will be preparing lesson plans for […]

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Nothing scares a conservative like a worker willing to hold a sign As we approach Labor Day, I feel obligated to make a couple of points about the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The first was a demand of the March for a “A national minimum wage act that will give all Americans a decent standard of living.” […]

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Rewriting history to blame unions for Detroit’s crisis is offensive and ludicrous

As I announced earlier this year at the Netroots Nation conference in San Jose, California, in 2013 the conference will be held at the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit. This will be an incredible shot in the arm for the city as thousands of progressive organizers and organizations come to Detroit for several days to share ideas and strengthen their relationships. It will also be a tremendously energizing moment for the many Democratic campaigns that will be in full swing next summer as we head into the final months of the 2014 election cycle.

This clearly has corporatist, Republican-supporting groups freaked out. They want to keep Michigan in the hands of their well-funded Republican legislators for as long as possible and the thought of losing the House or, even worse, having corporatist poster child Rick Snyder removed from office must give them cold sweats at night.

As part of their response, the Virginia-based Koch brothers front group the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity wrote an opinion piece for the Detroit News titled “Netroots nation comes home to the unions’ roost”.

Click through where I unpack the myriad lies and the blatant anti-union propaganda in this offensive op-ed.

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I would See the update below for a rally to support fast food workers in Detroit at 10 a.m. this morning. Arnobio Morelix, a student at the University of Kansas, did some figuring recently and determined that, if McDonald’s employees earned a living wage of $15 per hour, the cost of their “famous” dollar menu would only increase 17¢. This […]

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Scrub-a-dub-dub… Graphic by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog Last January, I wrote first about the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) crowing about screwing workers with Right to Work. In fact, they corrupted our beloved “Pure Michigan” brand to do so. Shortly after that, I broke the story of how they scrubbed their Right to Work bragging from the state […]

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Hardy har har har Judge Daphne Means Curtis of the Wayne County Circuit Court today dismissed a frivolous lawsuit filed by the corporatist front group Mackinac Center today. The lawsuit attempted to make new Right to Work rules retroactive to before the time when the contract was signed. The contract was negotiated and signed BEFORE the odious anti-union law went […]

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This story has legs

After my piece on the exploitation of Michigan 2013-2014 Teacher of the Year Gary Abud by anti-union groups like the Mackinac Center and StudentsFirst to promote their anti-union agenda, I was interviewed by Tony Trupiano on his Night Shift radio show about it. The segment ran Friday evening and you can listen to it after the jump.

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Solidarity

Over a year ago, Panera Bread bakers along the I-94 corridor Michigan voted to form a union. The parent company refused to recognize the union, forcing the workers to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) demanding that the company recognize and bargain with their union, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM). The NLRB ruled for the workers. However, due to a decision in Noel Canning v. NLRB overturning President Obama’s recess appointments to the NLRB, Panera Bread has refused to comply.

Click through for more details and information about June 21st rally to support the Panera Bread bakers.

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Working America is the largest coalition of non-union workers in the country. In fact, although it is a project of the AFL-CIO union membership precludes you from being a Working America member yet their ranks are swelling. This week, my pals at Working America unveiled a new website called FixMyJob.com. The site is simple to use; a series of screens […]

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