Tag Archives: labor history

Making seed bombs with the awesome kids of Ypsi Middle School, and plotting to bring Billy Bragg to our May Day celebration

By Mark | April 29, 2013

I skipped breakfast this morning and headed over with Jeff Clark to make seed bombs with 7th and 8th graders at Ypsi Middle School. It was an incredible experience. The kids were enthusiastic, inquisitive, and just all-around awesome. And, thanks to their hard work, we now have over 500 seed bombs prepared for Wednesday’s big [...]

Posted in Agriculture, Education, Environment, Special Projects, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Billy Bragg, buses, child labor, colony collapse, commons, David Chapman, dismantling of public education, food forests, free skool, Jeff Clark, Jesse Tack, May Day, Phil Patterson, potluck, public education, seed bombing, threats to public education, Tonia Porterfield, Water Street, West Middle School, Ypsi Middle School, Ypsilanti Free Skool, zines | 10 Comments

Jack Lessenberry to visit Ypsilanti and answer the question, “What does right-to-work mean for Michigan?”

By Mark | January 14, 2013

Tomorrow evening, at Ypsilanti’s Corner Brewery, celebrated Detroit journalist Jack Lessenberry will be hosting a panel discussion on Michigan’s newly passed anti-union (“right-to-work”) legislation, and how it will likely impact working Michiganders, their employers, and the financial prospects of the state. There’s scant information available online, but a friend who works for Michigan Radio tells [...]

Posted in Media, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Center for Automotive Research, Corner brewery, Daniel Howes, F. Vincent Vernuccio, Jack Lessenberry, Kristin Dziczek, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Matt Greff, NPR, Proposition 2, Rene Greff, right-to-work, Ron Weiser, union busting, unions | 29 Comments

Someone should tell Governor Snyder that a “perfect storm” isn’t generally considered a good thing

By Mark | January 8, 2013

The state of Michigan took out an incredibly-costly full-page ad in today’s Wall Street Journal, proudly announcing to the world not only that we’ve officially joined the likes of Alabama and Mississippi in becoming a so-called “right-to-work” state, but that we’ve finally put the embarrassing pro-labor legacy of the The Battle of the Overpass behind [...]

Posted in Media, Michigan, Observations, Rants, Uncategorized | Also tagged Battle of the Overpass, cheap labor, hypocrisy, Jase Bolger, marketing, Michigan House of Representatives, Pure Michigan, Rick Snyder, right-to-work, threats to the middle class, unions, Wall Street Journal | 34 Comments

Rick Snyder… becoming a laughing stock in the national media

By Mark | December 12, 2012

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a morning news show where the hosts, when confronted by the response of a politician, actually laugh out loud in said guest’s face, but that’s exactly what happened this morning when our Governor, Rick Snyder, appeared on MSNBC and attempted to sell the idea that the new right-to-work [...]

Posted in Media, Michigan, Observations, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged laughing, Morning Joe, MSNBC, Richard Wolffe, Rick Snyder, right-to-work, unions | 14 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, [...]