Tag Archives: labor history

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 | 15 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, Dick DeVos, Emergency Manager, Flint Sit-Down Strike, Frank Keating, John Engler, Koch brothers, 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

If the Christmas carols being sung outside of Rick Snyder’s home don’t cause his Grinch-like heart to swell, let’s try shutting down Lansing…

By Mark | December 11, 2012

If I were a good blogger, I’d be standing in the cold tonight with those folks singing Christmas carols outside of the Governor’s Superior Township residence, but, instead, I’m here at home, where I’ve been all day, tending to the needs of my sick family… making chicken soup, fluffing pillows, and doing all of the […]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Christmas carols, Daimler, democracy protests, Detroit Diesel, Grinch, Lansing, protests, Redford, Rick Snyder, right-to-work, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, threats to the middle class, unions | 41 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, Dick DeVos, freedom to work, Greg McNeilly, health insurance, Indiana, Jase Bolger, labor, 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

Boots Riley of The Coup… on Communism, Corporatism, hip-hop, and the need to beat down scabs

By Mark | November 28, 2012

Last night, I had the occasion to speak with world-renowned hip-hop provocateur Boots Riley on a wide range of subjects spanning from his childhood in Detroit, spent in a household of Communist organizers, to his current work, organizing people in his neighborhood as a member Occupy Oakland. And, of course, we touched on his equally […]