Thursday, December 6, 2012

RTW4Less scheduled to hit Mich. guv's desk Tuesday


(UPDATE: ADDS House is voting on bill now.)

Yup, Michigan could be a right-to-work-for-less state as soon as Tuesday. A bill was filed in the House today, and lawmakers are voting on it right now. The Senate will take it up Tuesday and Gov. Rick Snyder will sign it into law. It's written so it can't be repealed.

Furious workers protesting the bill were locked out of the Michigan State Capitol this afternoon. They marched down the street to the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. That's just a taste of what's going to happen over the next few days. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, when a giant rally is planned.

In the meantime, according to the Michigan State AFL-CIO,
Not easy to see, but @UAW President Bob King is not being allowed to enter the Capitol. #SaveMI http://t.co/0h6fVJJV
The Lansing State Journal reports,
State police have blocked the outside doors to the Capitol, saying no more people are being let into the Capitol for fear of the building’s structural integrity. 
Senate Democrats said they have filed a lawsuit seeking to lift the lockdown. 
A State Journal reporter witnessed one woman being escorted away in handcuffs. An exact number of arrests was not immediately available. 
Just before 1 p.m., union members were forming a line surrounding the state Capitol as part of demands that they be let inside. An estimated 700 to 1,000 people are inside the Capitol. About 500 people are in front of the Capitol. 
State police said two platoons of 32 state police officers are stationed at Capitol today
Marcy Wheeler at emptywheel notes that Gov. Rick Snyder refused to answer questions about whether Ponzi scheme Amway heir Dick DeVos's largesse had anything to do with the decision to support the union-busting bill. She concludes:
Dick DeVos just bought the right to force down wages $1,500 for every worker in this state (as right to work legislation has been shown to do in other states). 
But the funniest part of the press conference, IMO, was the way Snyder said he’s doing this because IN passed right to work last February. Over and over, he said we’re doing this because … Indiana! The governor of the beautiful, more diverse, and better educated MI now aspires for his state to be the less beautiful, more racist, and less well educated IN.
Stay tuned for news about the rally on Tuesday. Or just go to Lansing, if you can.