Back in July, the superintendent of Northville Public Schools used the threat of an Emergency Manager to try to force union concessions. Now it’s Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s turn. Bing is threatening to bring in an Emergency Manager, too, and for the same reason. The City of Detroit is sliding closer to insolvency and may soon require the intervention of […]

They’ve pretty much villified and demonized the unionized teachers in Michigan and taken every available step to stripping them of any ability to bargain for and/or receive decent labor agreements. So who is next on the Michigan Republican’s hitlist? Police and firefighters, of course. Police and fire unions are opposing a bill they said would limit compensation and suitable health […]

The University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council (UMPNC) has been in contract negotiations with the University of Michigan for over six months. The University has been holding firm on not making any significant concessions which is making the possibility of a strike by the 4000 unionized nurses more and more likely. I have a friend who is a U of […]

Yesterday, Senate Majority Floor Leader Arlan Meekhof introduced SB 729. This bill makes Michigan a “Right to Work (for Less)” state BUT ONLY FOR TEACHERS. This is the concept first floated by Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville last month. To remind you, here’s a transcript from the Off the Record show where he first floated it: Tim Skubick: Right to […]

You know what I hate? I positively detest the phrase “union thugs” or “union goons”. It implies this organized group of people willing to harm others to make sure they get their way. When you look at what Republicans are doing to unionized teachers in Michigan, you realize that when Senate Majority Floor Leader Arlan Meekhof says making our state […]

The state House passed a bill today that would prohibit schools from deducting union dues from teachers’ paychecks. The bill doesn’t say they don’t have to provide this service, it says they are prohibited from providing this service. Why? It’s definitely not a cost-saving measure. School administrators agree that the cost to schools for providing this service to teachers is […]

I have a new piece up at A2Politico where I look at the Michigan Republicans attacks on teachers in our state. I also look at how, although teachers are fighting back, politically-speaking, they are also working hard to make things better for our schools, particularly the ones facing the biggest challenges. Teachers unions are also working to help poorly-performing districts […]

Detroit’s a special place. On Labor Day, it doesn’t just have one labor union parade. It has two. Yes, in Detroit both the building trades union and the AFL-CIO both held simultaneous parades to celebrate workers in general and union membership specifically. The theme of the day was “Labor and Community: We are One”. Thousands of union members walked along […]

A couple of weeks ago, I reported on a series of robocalls being conducted on the west side of the state warning people not to sign petitions because of the threat of identity theft. It’s a particularly odious tactic to suppress petition signature rates in the myriad recall and repeal efforts against Republicans across the state. Turns out the idea […]

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 […]

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 […]