It’s not a racist dog whistle. It’s just racist. The national effort to raise the minimum wage (which hasn’t been done since July 24, 2009) is a winning issue for Democrats. Because of this, conservatives Republicans corporatists are freaking out. It’s got them so freaked out that economist Art Laffer, the father of “trickle down economics”, skipped past using coded, […]

It never ends… Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education included language in an appropriations bill they voted out of committee last week which will strip Michigan State University of a half million dollars in annual funding if they continue to offer a training program for members of a variety of building trades unions. The legislation strips the […]

SAVE THE DATE! On Wednesday night, I’ll be moderating an issues forum organized by the Plymouth and Canton Democratic clubs. The panelists are an all-star cast: Karla Swift, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO David Hecker, president of the American Federation of Teachers of Michigan Emily Dievendorf, executive director of Equality Michigan Libby McGaughey, Vice President of Planned Parenthood Advocates of […]

Michigan anti-union Republicans: Solving non-existent problems since 2011 Photo credit: Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog During the 2011-2012 legislative session, House Republican Tom McMillin introduced House Bill 5024 which would impose $1,000/day fines on individuals engaging in illegal picketing in our state and $10,000/day fines for unions that sponsor or promote illegal picketing events. In other words, the picketing […]

As groups around the state prepare to gather signatures to put a proposal on the ballot to raise Michigan’s minimum wage, a coalition of businessmen is preparing to fight the proposal tooth and nail. Before you bust my chops for using the phrase “businessmen”, take a look at video from the event. Other than Sen. Rebecca Warren, there do not […]

You know how Republicans are all about supporting “job creators”? It’s their reason for fighting any increases in the minimum wage, regulations that protect the environment or people, and a plethora of other things that Democrats fight FOR every day. Well, Republicans in Tennessee have made it clear that their adoration and idolization of “job creators” comes to a screeching […]

Score one for the good guys Today a United States District Court ruled that Republican legislation signed into law by Governor Snyder in March of 2012 is unconstitutional. The ruling says the law prohibiting Graduate Student Research Assistants (GSRA) from forming labor organizations was invalid because it was adopted in violation of the Michigan Constitution. The decision will open the […]

Perish the thought See updates below As Democratic candidate for governor Mark Schauer racks up endorsements around the state from elected officials, progressive groups, and labor unions, one group is notably missing from the list: the United Auto Workers (UAW). Although Schauer is clearly going to be the nominee come August of this year, the UAW’s lack of early endorsement […]

Never, ever forget Eclectagraphic by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog A year ago today, Michigan, the birthplace of the modern labor movement, became the country’s 24th right to work state. Though it has failed to kill the labor movement in the way its corporatist proponents had hoped it would, neither has it done anything that could even remotely be […]

They think their pensions are OK, too This guest post is by Roger Kerson, a Michigan-based media consultant for labor unions, environmental groups, and non-profit organizations. He was director of public relations at the United Auto Workers during the GM and Chrysler restructuring. As an associate of the Arlington, Virginia-based firm PRWRK, he has provided strategic counsel to the Transport […]

Michigan Republicans are starting look desperate and obsessed and controlled by the Mackinac Center It’s no secret that Michigan Republicans are hellbent on destroying unions. Teachers unions seem to be their prime targets, likely because teachers are particularly vulnerable because they are focused on educating our kids, not on political action and activism. When Republicans rammed right to work (for […]