Oh, great. Rep. Bill Rogers, the guy who sponsored two bills to diminish, threaten and punish unionized teachers in Michigan is now heading up a group reform Michigan’s entire education system. State Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Genoa Township, is spearheading an education-reform work group he said will be “proactive instead of reactive” in pursuing changes to education funding and how students […]

Back in March, I wrote about Michigan Republicans’ efforts to further penalize teachers who go on strike in our state. From the article I linked (no longer available): State Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Genoa Township, on Tuesday introduced legislation creating penalties for public schoolteachers and the Michigan Education Association for inciting or participating in strikes. House Bill 4466 would fine the […]

It’s beginning to become a bit of trend here in Michigan: tea partiers have a rally that is dwarfed by a liberal/Democratic/labor rally. This week was no exception. Yesterday, the biggest protest rally yet by union members on the steps of the State Capitol building drew an estimated 4,500 attendees. Thousands rally at Capitol against Michigan budget, cuts to education, […]

Over 80 bus drivers in Detroit got the “flu” today so they could join the We Are the People protest rally happening at the Capitol building in Lansing. Extra delays of 30 minutes or more for city bus riders will be the norm today after more than 80 Detroit Department of Transportation drivers called in sick to join protests in […]

I’m a little late getting these details out but here is the information I have on the We Are the People rally tomorrow, Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at the State Capitol Building. WE ARE THE PEOPLE RALLY AT STATE CAPITOLA broad coalition of students, seniors, workers to protest Gov. Snyder’s budget plan WHAT: Rally to protest Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget […]

Arlo Guthrie totally gets it right: Back in 1776, a whole new nation was formed. Thirteen British colonies tried unsuccessfully to have the concerns of their citizens heard or taken seriously by the empire across the Atlantic. So the colonists formed themselves into a union. The preamble to the Constitution begins with these words: “We the people of the United […]

Talking Points Memo has an exclusive report detailing sweeping Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy to three of the biggest universities in Michigan. The universities involved are Michigan State University, University of Michigan, and Wayne State University. The Mackinac Center For Public Policy, based in Midland, Mich., submitted the FOIA requests last Friday […]

To fully tell this story, you have to go back to the beginning of the protest rallies in Madison, Wisconsin. On February 17th, Governor Walker told the press that his office had received “over 8,000 emails” which he said were mostly supportive of his efforts to smash the unions. “The more than 8,000 emails we got today, the majority are […]

The fun never ceases in Michigan these days, does it? What now? This: Republicans in the state House have introduced legislation to fine striking teachers and even revoke their licenses. State Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Genoa Township, on Tuesday introduced legislation creating penalties for public schoolteachers and the Michigan Education Association for inciting or participating in strikes. House Bill 4466 would […]

THIS is positively astounding. In 2007, Judy Taylor, an artist based on Mount Desert, won a competition to create a mural for the lobby of the Department of Labor (MDOL). The work was to depict the “History of Labor in the State of Maine,” and was commissioned by the Maine Arts Commission. Taylor’s work is of 11 panels which you […]

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder laid out his plans to force encourage local municipalities and agencies to consolidate services to become more efficient. He’s going so far as to withhold state revenue-sharing funds to force their hand. Gov. Rick Snyder called Monday for local government employees to pay at least 20% of their health insurance premiums, and for less expensive retirement […]