Tag Archives: Dick DeVos

Matt and Rene Greff, after supporting Snyder for Governor, now work to unseat him

By Mark | June 19, 2013

Democratic stalwarts Matt and Rene Greff, the owners of Ypsilanti’s Corner Brewery and Ann Arbor’s Arbor Brewing Company, angered a number of their progressive brethren in 2010 when they publicly came out in support of their friend, Rick Snyder, who was then running in the Republican primary for Governor. The Greffs shared their reasons for […]

Posted in Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Affordable Care Act, ALEC, Arbor Brewing Company, Corner brewery, electoral politics, guns in schools, John Cherry, Koch brothers, Mark Brewer, Mark Schauer, Matt Greff, Mike Cox, Pete Hoekstra, Peter Hoekstra, Rene Greff, Rick Snyder, Scott Walker, Virg Bernero, Wisconsin | 62 Comments

Coup d’etat in Michigan… following the money, connecting the dots, and assessing Snyder’s role

By Mark | December 12, 2012

This afternoon, as over 10,000 protesters surrounded the Capitol building in Lansing, Governor Snyder singed into law legislation that would make Michigan the 24th right-to-work state. When asked why it was so urgent that this be done now, during the lame duck session, outside of the accepted procedural process, Snyder essentially blamed the unions, who, […]

Posted in Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Americans for Prosperity, Cindy Estrada, collective bargaining, corporatocracy, Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation, Emergency Manager, Flint Sit-Down Strike, Frank Keating, John Engler, Koch brothers, labor history, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Paul Singer, Proposal 2, Proposition 2, Rick Snyder, right-to-work, Ron Weiser, tea party, UAW, unions, West Michigan Policy Forum | 39 Comments

For those of you who were wondering what the Republican endgame would look like, just turn your attention toward Michigan, where women’s rights, gay rights, public education, and unions are all being systematically dismantled before our eyes, in one fell swoop

By Mark | December 7, 2012

Not only did both houses of Michigan’s Republican-controled legislature, with the aid of billionaire conservative activists like Dick DeVos and the Koch brothers, jam through controversial right-to-work legislation this afternoon, in violation of long-honored rules, as members of the public were forced from the Capitol by armed police and pro-labor protestors were assaulted with pepper […]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged abortion, Brandon Dillon, HB 4054, HB 4157, HB 4466, HB 5711, health care, Jeff Irwin, Koch brothers, public education, Rick Snyder, right-to-work, Roger Kahn, threats to public education, war on women | 59 Comments

Will Michigan follow Indiana and be the next “right-to-work” domino to fall in the right’s ceaseless quest to rollback worker rights?

By Mark | December 5, 2012

When the citizens of Michigan recently failed to pass Proposition 2, which would have established the right to collective bargaining in our State Constitution, we signaled to members of the Republican party that now was the time to launch their all out attack on organized labor. When Prop 2 lost by 15-points, we demonstrated to […]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged agency fee, collective bargaining, corporatocracy, freedom to work, Greg McNeilly, health insurance, Indiana, Jase Bolger, labor, labor history, Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Proposition 2, Randy Richardville, Rich Studley, Rick Snyder, right-to-work, Robert Vodicka, UAW, unemployment, union busting, union security, unions, veto, voter suppression, Washtenaw Community Action Team, Windquest Group | 32 Comments

ALEC, the move to codify the extremist Republican agenda, and the Michigan connection

By Mark | March 26, 2012

Reading a column by Paul Krugman just now on the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in pushing so-called “Stand Your Ground” legislation around the country, I was reminded by a recent article in Mother Jones about how ALEC, working through the Mackinac Center, played a role in passing Michigan’s Public Act 4, […]