Tag Archives: Michigan House of Representatives

Vindictive Michigan Republicans seek retribution against U-M and Wayne State for renegotiating union contracts prior to the March 28 roll-out of right-to-work legislation

By Mark | March 19, 2013

A bill passed this morning by the House Higher Education Subcommittee, in a 4-3 vote along party lines, would cut an additional $41 million in state funding from the University of Michigan, and $27.5 million in funding from Wayne State University. According to a report in today’s Detroit Free Press, this is being done to [...]

Posted in Education, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Al Pscholka, anti-science, domestic partner benefits, higher education, Higher Education Subcommittee, lame duck, Randy Richardville, Rick Snyder, right-to-work, those anti-science Republicans, union busting, unions, University of Michigan, Wayne State University | 20 Comments

Will Michigan Republicans make a move to rig the 2016 election by changing the way our electoral votes are cast?

By Mark | January 31, 2013

According to Michigan Radio, state Republicans, despite the serious push-back they’ve been getting from voters, and the fact that a similar measure has apparently fizzled in Virginia, have every intention of moving forward with plans to radically change the way our electoral votes are cast for President in hopes of making it more likely for [...]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Michigan, Politics | Also tagged disenfranchisement, election reform, Elections Canada, electoral college, gerrymandering, Jase Bolger, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Peter Lund, Presidential politics, Randy Richardville, Rick Snyder, SB723, Virginia, voting | 14 Comments

Calling what happened during Michigan’s lame duck session “very, very bad,” former State Senator Joe Schwartz blames term limits and the unprecedented influence of corporate money

By Mark | January 22, 2013

As we recently discussed, Michigan Radio, as part of their Issues & Ale series, hosted a panel discussion in Ypsilanti late last week on the subject of Michigan’s newly passed right-to-work legislation. The panel, which included former Republican State Senator Joe Schwartz, Kristin Dziczek, the Director of the Labor & Industry Group at the Center [...]

Posted in Media, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Ave Maria, Ave Maria graduates, Center for Automotive Research, collective bargaining, Community Capital Forum, Corner brewery, corporate takeover of politics, F. Vincent Vernuccio, get the money out of Washington, Gretchen Driskell, Issues & Ale, Jack Lessenberry, Koch brothers, Kristin Dziczek, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, MEDC, Michael Shuman, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Radio, Michigan Senate, Mike Finney, money in politics, partisan politics, Proposition 2, Pure Michigan, right-to-work, Ron Weiser, tea party, term limits, Tom Monaghan, union busting, unions | 25 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, labor history, marketing, Pure Michigan, Rick Snyder, right-to-work, threats to the middle class, unions, Wall Street Journal | 34 Comments

Exploring the role of ALEC in Lansing’s lame duck attack on Michiganders

By Mark | December 26, 2012

A week or so ago, I put together a rudimentary post on how the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) contributed toward the recent flurry of regressive legislative activity that took place in Michigan. Well, our friend Bob Sloan, writing for PolicyMic.com, just dug quite a bit deeper. Here’s how his piece begins. Fact: 282 bills [...]