This 7-minute documentary, Dictators Over Communities of Color: Coming to a Town Near You , was put together by the New Media Adovocacy Project in cooperation with Michigan Forward and the Advancement Project. It’s well worth a watch and I would love for you to share it widely. This isn’t just something Michiganders should be paying attention to. Big shout […]

My breaking of the news about the anti-petition signing robocalls has received widespread coverage. In addition to the Rachel Maddow Show, several other news outlets have covered it, including the Herald Palladium, Michigan Messenger and WNDU. Michigan Forward, the group who is working to put the repeal of the odious Financial Manager law on the ballot, has now issued a […]

Remember me writing about how Northville, Michigan teachers were being threatened by the imposition of an Emergency Manager as they moved into contract talks? This scenario was entirely predictable. The latest call for an emergency manager in Metro Detroit is coming from an unlikely place — the affluent Northville Public Schools. Stalled contract negotiations between administrators and employees have school […]

If there was any doubt about whether or not the Snyder administration was freaking out about lawsuit by Sugar Law Center challenging the constitutionality of the Emergency Manager law (PA 4), this should remove all doubt. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, Aug. 18, 2011CONTACT: Tova Perlmutter or Frank Joyce 313-993-4505 Snyder Wants High Court To Ruleon Emergency Manager LawSugar Law Calls […]

Just ten short summer weeks after its start, Michigan Forward is reporting some good news. According to the Detroit Free Press, Michigan Forward is already half-way to having the required signatures to put the repeal of PA 4, the Emergency Financial Manager Law, on the ballot in Michigan. Organizers of a drive to repeal Michigan’s emergency manager law said Tuesday […]

The new powers granted to Emergency Managers in Michigan by Public Act 4 (the “Emergency Manager Law”) claimed another victim last month, one that went largely under the radar with the exception of a blurb in the News Herald. Effective in July, Emergency Manager Joyce A. Parker slashed the number of full-time firefighters from 14 to 6. The remaining 8 […]

Last month, I wrote about how the Northville School District was using the threat of an Emergency Manager to strong arm concessions from teachers in their contract negotiations. Snyder’s budget strips away money from the schools. The schools are forced into a bankruptcy situation. They turn to their employees and teachers for drastic concessions (a nearly 10% pay cut and […]

Unionized school employees in Detroit were dealt another blow today as Emergency Manager Roy Roberts wiped away their union contract and cut the wages by 10% across the board. This comes after Detroit Public School (DPS) employees accepted a major wage concession just a year and a half ago. Wielding power under a new state law to modify union contracts, […]

This scenario was entirely predictable. The latest call for an emergency manager in Metro Detroit is coming from an unlikely place — the affluent Northville Public Schools. Stalled contract negotiations between administrators and employees have school board members discussing the possibility of seeking an emergency manager, which under state law must be appointed by the governor. Emergency managers have the […]

When Michigan Republicans passed the legislation that became Michigan Public Act 4 of 2011 or P.A. 4 or the “Emergency Manager Act” or “local government and school district fiscal accountability act” or, as I call it, the Financial Martial Law Act, they took a subtle step that few noticed. They changed the name of “Emergency Financial Manager” to simply “Emergency […]

I can’t figure this out. You’ll recall that I recently blogged about Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joseph Harris restricting access to Jean Klock Park by changing the hours of operation. The change happened in May but flew under the radar until Michigan Messenger’s Eartha Jane Melzer reported on it. Now, it turns out, Joe Harris has changed the park’s hours […]