Labor
Education advocates grapple with ‘disturbing’ higher ed budget
As Republican legislators and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer continue to battle over the Fiscal Year 2020 budget, key interest groups want to see a paradigm shift in how Michigan prioritizes higher education funding. A generation ago, Michigan, like other states, funded the vast majority of its state universities as a means of keeping college affordable. Now […]
Michigan U.S. House Dems vote to boost minimum wage to $15 per hour
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Thursday voted to hike the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025 — which could mean a pay raise for 1.5 million Michigan workers. The measure has little chance of being enacted by the GOP-led Senate, but will be widely touted by Democrats heading into the 2020 […]
Nessel joins other AGs in pushing feds for fairer labor practices
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined attorneys general from around the country in urging the federal government “to protect workers from harmful anti-competitive labor practices.” Nessel was a signatory to a letter — along with 17 other attorneys general — that pushes the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to explore a variety of practices […]
Attorneys spar over Legislature’s ‘adopt and amend’ move on minimum wage, paid sick leave initiatives
For almost two hours on Wednesday, competing factions made their cases to the Michigan Supreme Court on the constitutionality of Legislature “adopting and amending” citizen-led ballot initiatives. At issue was the GOP-led Legislature’s 2018 decision to buck 50 years of Michigan legal precedent, which had held that lawmakers can’t adopt a citizen-driven ballot question and […]
Whitmer wants to close ‘skills gap,’ but some experts call it ‘a lie’
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been vocal about wanting to “close the damn skills gap.” The Democratic governor tends to use the line almost immediately after her signature campaign slogan of “fixing the damn roads.” Since taking office, Whitmer has overhauled the existing state workforce development department and advocated for more K-12 and community college funding […]
Michigan AFL-CIO backs LGBTQ rights push in local governments
Updated, 12:03 p.m. 6/29/19 with additional communities that passed measures One of the state’s largest labor unions has encouraged local governments to formally recognize Pride Month during June. The Michigan AFL-CIO said in a statement that it backed efforts in almost two dozen communities around the state to pass resolutions or sign proclamations officially declaring […]
Levin, Slotkin, Tlaib say USMCA must be rebooted
Three members of Michigan’s congressional delegation are among the signatories to a letter urging the rewrite of a North American trade agreement. Freshmen U.S. Reps. Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Twp.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) joined more than two dozen of their freshman colleagues in pushing U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to reopen negotiations […]
Peters wants national manufacturing policy
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) says he has a plan to boost American manufacturing. The first-term senator — who’s now facing a challenge from Republican businessman John James — this week announced plans to establish what he’s calling a National Institute of Manufacturing. Doing so would help the country craft a national policy around […]
1.5M Michigan workers would benefit from $15 minimum wage bill teed up in U.S. House
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House is poised to pass landmark legislation that would hike the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and could substantially increase pay for 1.5 million Michiganders. The legislation is co-sponsored by all seven Democratic members of Michigan’s delegation. However, the effort faces steep hurdles in the GOP-controlled U.S. Senate. House […]
Inman attorney pushes for dismissal of charges
The attorney for embattled state Rep. Larry Inman (R-Williamsburg) has filed for federal charges against his client to be dismissed. The Northern Michigan lawmaker was indicted by a federal grand jury in May on allegations that he attempted to solicit a bribe for himself and other unidentified lawmakers in exchange for voting against prevailing wage […]
Stevens trumpets legislation shoring up union pension funds
Freshman U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Rochester) heard a lot of worries about pensions last year on the campaign trail. That’s why she couldn’t have been happier on Wednesday, the day after the House Education and Labor Committee passed House Resolution 397. Stevens is one of 173 bipartisan co-sponsors of the measure, known as the “Butch […]
AFL-CIO president hosts NAFTA town halls in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania
The president of the nation’s largest labor union announced Tuesday that he will hold a series of town halls about “union members’ struggles under NAFTA, and what working people want to see from the administration’s proposed USMCA [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement].” The AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka will travel to Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan over the course of […]