The fight to preserve workers’ rights is FAR from over. Get informed.

One of the premier Democratic Party clubs in the state is the Western Washtenaw Dems, a club I’m proud to be a member of. Started in 1999 by former House Speaker Pro Tempore Pam Byrnes, the group is both a social club for Democrats on the western side of Washtenaw County as well as an active political force in our county. They regularly sponsor important and timely speakers, panels and forums and this Thursday is one that area Democrats won’t want to miss. It features Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan AFL-CIO president Karla Swift, Michigan AFT president David Hecker along with moderator Ron Motsinger from the IBEW.

Details and a downloadable flyer after the jump.

Exploiting legal loopholes is only allowed if you are Republican or conservative

With the date when Michigan officially becomes a Right to Work (for Less) state looming (March 28th), Michigan Republicans and the anti-union, anti-teacher conservative lobby group The Mackinac Center for Public Policy are in freak-out mode that unions would try to preserve some of their rights before they are stripped from them.

Click through for all of the gory details and hypocrisy.

Well, that went well, didn’t it?

Last month, the Michigan Economic Development Corp (MEDC) used the “Pure Michigan” brand to brag about screwing unions by making Michigan a Right to Work state. They spent $144,000 to run a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to do so.

This week, MEDC vice president of government affairs, Jim McBryde, told the House Tourism Committee that they are putting further misuse of the successful “Pure Michigan” tourism brand to promote Right to Work on hold.

Click through for details.

This isn’t over, not by a long shot

On the heels of a lawsuit filed recently in the Ingham County District Court challenging the constitutionality of Michigan’s new Right to Work law, a coalition of unions has filed a similar lawsuit in federal court. The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit and assigned to Judge Stephen Murphy, claims that the law violates the rights of private sector union members who are covered under federal law rather than the laws of the state of Michigan.

Details after the jump.

Hmmm…where have I heard THAT before…?

For the two years leading up to the cataclysmic events in December of last year that lead to Michigan becoming the country’s 24th Right to Work for Less state, Governor Rick Snyder told anyone who asked that Right to Work wasn’t “on his agenda” and that it was “too divisive”. That lasted right up until Dick DeVos and other rich Michigan businessmen reportedly delivered the ultimatum that Republicans do as they were told or face primary challenges funded by corporate interests.

Well, the “too divisive” label has now been used by Governor Snyder on another labor related issue: prevailing wage. Snyder says this, too, is “too divisive”.

Details after the jump.

I have a piece up at the AFL-CIO NOW blog that gives a good overview of the complaint currently in the Ingham County Circuit Court seeking to strike down the Right to Work bills that were signed into law in December 2012. The complaint contends that the bills violate he Open Meetings Act, the First Amendment and the Michigan and U.S. constitutions and, therefore, the votes should be invalidated.

Here’s my favorite part:

Although the Republicans still maintain majorities in both the Michigan House and Senate, their margins in the House narrowed considerably after the November 2012 election. They narrowed enough, in fact, that they would not be able to pass these bills today. The two bills involved were passed 58-51 with six Republicans joining Democrats. Five of those Republicans retained their seats and Democrats picked up another five seats. Therefore, the outcome of this complaint could well spell the end of “right to work” in Michigan.

You can read the rest here:

Coalition of Michigan Lawmakers, Unions and Citizen Journalist File Lawsuit to Block ‘Right to Work’ for Less

Enjoy.

The fight continues…

My good friend Bonnie Bucqueroux, a professor at Lansing Community College and owner of the esteemed Lansing Online News, has joined with the American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition labor groups to file a lawsuit intended strike down Michigan’s recent Right to Work law. The suit contends that the legislation was passed in violation of the Open Meetings Act when Republicans locked down the Capitol and wouldn’t even allow journalists, including citizen journalists like Bucqueroux, to cover the unfolding drama.

Details after the jump.

Bra·zen [brey–zuhn], adjective: shameless or impudent

On January 15th, Americans for Prosperity held a “Citizens Watchdog Training” in Warren, Michigan. As usual, the entrance fee was a nominal $10 because he entire event was heavily subsidized and underwritten by the Koch Brothers-funded corporate front group.

At the event, tea party Senator Patrick Colbeck was very forthright in explaining how multimillionaire Dick DeVos and Michigan Republican Chair Ron Weiser bankrolled the effort to make Michigan the country’s 24th Right to Work state. Audio and transcript after the jump.

My, my, Governor. That didn’t take long.

Remember when Governor Snyder and his Republican colleagues were telling us all how important making Michigan a Right to Work state was for improving our economy? “It’s freedom to work!” they said. “It will make us competitive with other states!” they claimed. “It will create more and better jobs!” they told us.

Turns out that even Governor Snyder doesn’t believe that tripe. Less than a month after his Economic Development Corporation spent $144,000 on a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal touting our new Right to Work status as one of the attractive benefits of setting up shop in Michigan, this week Snyder admitted it’s all a damn lie.

Details after the jump.

Oh, gee. What a surprise.

A new report out this week from Bridge Magazine reveals that Governor Rick Snyder’s claims about the benefits of Right to Work for Less (RTWFL) are a sham. It points to evidence coming out of Indiana which became a RTWFL state in 2012 that shows companies that have moved there did so for reasons that had nothing to do with crushing unions and driving down worker pay.

For example, Android Industries is portrayed as having moved to Indiana because of the new RTWFL status. However, the Bridge piece reveals that’s a load of manure.

Details and more after the jump.

It IS impressive…

If you thought the speed with which Michigan Republicans went to chit chatting about making Michigan a Right to Work for Less state and actually accomplishing that was impressive, you should keep watching because they aren’t done yet, not by a long shot. The frantic pace continued yesterday, just one day after they kicked unions to the curb and brought a record number of people to the Capitol to protest.

Read about the four major pieces of legislation that passed in the House after the jump.