Thursday, November 29, 2012

URGENT: Bill to impoverish Mich. pushed for lame duck session

A loony billionaire wants a Michigan law in the next few weeks that would weaken unions and drive down workers' wages. We must stop him.

The billionaire's name is Dick DeVos. He's the heir to a Ponzi scheme the Amway fortune. He and his wife want to eradicate public education. Now he's working on turning  Michigan into Mississippi.

Working America tells us:
Republicans in the Michigan legislature are seeking to take advantage of their pre-election majorities to sneak through a “right to work” (RTW) bill, which would ban union security clauses and harm the ability of workers to bargain with their employers. In states with RTW laws on the books, wages are lower, benefits are fewer, and workplace injuries and fatalities are more common. (Learn more.) 
Michiganders don’t want this, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference to right-wing legislators in Lansing...
The Michigan State AFL-CIO is urging citizens to come to Lansing today to lobby lawmakers against a RTW4Less bill. If you're anywhere near the Capitol, sign up here.

Working America suggests Michiganders send a message to one particular lawmaker:  Randy Richardville. Here's why:
One man has the power to stop all of this. No, not Governor Rick Snyder, who said RTW is “not on his agenda” but hasn’t said he wouldn’t sign a bill if it reached his desk. Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) has previously said he would not support RTW, but is feeling pressure from donors, Tea Party activists, and right-wing members of his caucus. He is the chair of the Government Operations Committee that could take up the RTW issue this week. 
We don’t agree with Sen. Richardville on every issue, but we certainly respect that he has opposed RTW in the past. He needs to know that Michganders want more jobs, not fewer rights.
If you're a Michigander, send him a message by clicking here. You can also sign a petition here. And if you tweet, use #righttowork and/or #mileg, and tryto get the attentions of Gov. Snyder (@onetoughnerd) and Richardville (@SenRichardville).

We can stop this thing!