More protests planned for Lansing this week

As the Michigan Legislature and Governor Snyder continue to attack the public sector and organized labor the level of resistance keeps growing.

This week there will be crucial legislative decisions being made in the State House. On Tuesday, March 15 at 10:30am House Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on HB 4287. This bill prohibits the use of project labor agreements in any projects using state funds or tax breaks. This is another attack on out building trades!

Then on Wednesday, March 16 the House Education Committee will take up HB 4306, a bill that forces local school boards to privatize services. In response to these draconian pieces of legislation there are protests planned for both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

On Tuesday, March 15, the Michigan League for Human Services and AARP are holding a rally at the State Capitol from 11am – 1pm. The focus of this rally is to “let lawmakers know it is not OK to cut services and shift taxes from businesses to vulnerable families with children and seniors.”

On Wednesday, March 16, the Michigan AFL-CIO and other affiliate unions are holding a rally at the Lansing Capitol that will begin at noon. According to the AFL – CIO, they are gathering to “Protest the anti-worker legislation (over 40 pieces) such as Emergency Manager bills, ban on Project Labor Agreements, and cuts to education.”

Lastly, it should be noted that there is now an organized campaign to Recall Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. The effort to collect the 900,000 necessary signatures to recall Snyder cannot begin until July 1. The campaign is being done by a group with the website Fire Rick Snyder, which doesn’t provide any information on who is behind the campaign.