Law enforcement officers support Prop 2 in Mich.

So does former President Bill Clinton, Sen. Carl Levin, community groups, faith leaders and dozens of Michigan elected officials.

In the video above, Levin says:

Proposal 2 is about assuring workers they can bargain about wages and benefits and working conditions. It gives firefighters and police officers a voice to ensure they have the right equipment and staffing to keep themselves and our communities safe.

The Deputy Sheriff's Association of Michigan is the latest group to support Proposal 2. Their statement yesterday said:

Collective bargaining gives police officers a voice to negotiate for life-saving equipment, access to ongoing training and input on appropriate staffing levels. 

“Deputy sheriffs know what it takes to keep our streets safe and that is why we must protect the right to collectively bargain,” said DSAM President Matthew VanLiere.  “AS  first responders, we negotiate for the training, equipment and manpower needed reduce crime and handle emergency situations.  That is why we support Proposal 2.” 

These frontline responders see collective bargaining at work every day. From gear and equipment to staffing and policies, collective bargaining helps them keep us safe.

Today's Teamster News 10.27.12

Can the Future of the U.S. Be Seen in Europe Today?  Iacono Research   ...Two reports ...  lay out just how bad conditions are for the poor in some countries as putting food on the family table has become more and more challenging while losing your job and your health care benefits has turned into a death sentence for some...
Michigan Vote a Test Case on Enshrining the Rights of Unions  New York Times   ...Tired of battling legislative efforts to roll back union rights in state after state, organized labor is trying a new strategy: going on the offense. The first target is Michigan, the cradle of the United Automobile Workers and a bastion of union power...
Pending trade pact could cost Maine shoe worker jobs, forum told  Kennebec Journal   ...Trans-Pacific Partnership, now in negotiations, would hurt state's New Balance factories, state representatives claim...
Ohio lawmakers want to slow Gov. John Kasich's plan to lease Ohio Turnpike  The Plain Dealer   ...Two Democratic state lawmakers hope to slow Republican Gov. John Kasich's plans to lease control of the Ohio Turnpike to the highest private bidder...
Milwaukee County DA responds to Rite-Hite letter to employees  Badger Democracy   ...Milwaukee County DA John Chisolm’s office has responded to an inquiry regarding the controversial letter sent to Rite-Hite employees, informing them of the consequences of an Obama re-election...
Teamsters:  'We feel like the family's grown' with addition of Genesys Convalescent Center  MLive.com   ...Employees are Genesys Convalescent Center in Grand Blanc Township have voted to become members of Teamsters Local 332 in Flint...

Detroit Free Press spits in readers' faces, opposes Prop 2

This is a call to action, Michigan brothers and sisters! The Detroit Free Press today published an editorial against Proposal 2, which would protect collective bargaining rights for tens of thousands of the newspaper's readers.

The editorial staff didn't even bother to meet with the proposal's supporters.

This is the same paper that proudly published a column about Jim Leyland, manager of the pennant-winning Detroit Tigers. The column said,

Jim Leyland belongs in Detroit. He should stay in Detroit ... because he is perfect fit for this city, dyed in the wool of a working man's clothes, a former factory worker himself -- a former mailman, for pete's sake!

Hello ... do we have a disconnect here?

Or is the Free Press simply pretending to support working people?

Anyway, the Protect Working Families coalitions needs you to go to the Free Press's Facebook page here and post a comment objecting to their position.

Tell them their shoddy journalism let down Michigan families. Tell them they have no claim to fair coverage. Tell them the 700,000 people who signed the petition to put Proposal 2 on November’s ballot deserve to be heard. Tell them you're canceling your subscription. But tell them!

Once more, the Free Press Facebook page's url is https://www.facebook.com/detroitfreepress?ref=ts&fref=ts.

Today's Teamster News 10.11.12

Workers Threaten To 'Take Action' On Retailer's Busiest Day [UPDATE]  Huffington Post   ...Employees at 28 Walmarts in 12 different cities walked out of work Tuesday, but things may get a whole lot worse for the biggest retailer in the U.S. come Black Friday...
Judges say South Carolina law doesn’t discriminate, but must wait until 2013 to take effect  Associated Press   ...A three-judge panel has upheld South Carolina’s law requiring voters to show photo identification but has delayed enforcement until next year — adding to the list of states that have had to postpone or drop strict ID or voting laws they wanted in place for the Nov. 6 elections...
Former Walker aide takes plea deal in politicking case  Associated Press   ...One of Republican Gov. Scott Walker's former top aides has agreed to plead to one felony misconduct charge in a deal with Milwaukee County prosecutors that would keep the governor off the witness stand...
Unions looking for boost in Michigan  Journal Gazette   ...Organized labor in Michigan seems to have taken a look at its neighbors and decided a pre-emptive strike on union-busting is in order. A referendum on Michigan ballots next month – Proposal 2 – would write collective bargaining rights into the state constitution and invalidate all laws restricting those rights.
Live From Battleground Ohio: One Door at a Time  In These Times   ... The plan is to have the parking lot shipshape for Thursday evening’s rally, which will feature Teamster President Jim Hoffa and AFSCME President Lee Saunders...
Arkansas Best, Teamsters agree on contract talks  City Wire   ...The dealing is set to begin Dec. 18 on a contract that will expire March 31, according to a statement issued Wednesday (Oct. 10) by Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best...
Union makes 'last best offer' to South Berwick  Seacoastonline   ...The Town Council next week will discuss the "last best offer" of the Teamsters union for two new contracts for the town's professional and public works employees...

Great new ad for Protect Working Families in Mich.

Working people in Michigan want to protect their right to collectively bargain. They formed a coalition, "Protect Working Families." Then they won a tough fight to put a constitutional amendment protecting those rights on the November ballot. Now they're working to persuade Michigan voters to vote for the measure.

As you can imagine they're up against millions of dollars from corporate CEOs and billionaires who prefer workers to be underpaid and docile. If you're interested and able to help out the cause, check out the Protect Working Families website and Facebook page.

Today's Teamster News 09.24.12

Suicide is now the cause of injury-related death in America, and the economy may be to blame  Washington Monthly   ...An extremely disturbing new study published in the American Journal of Public Health finds that suicides have replaced car accidents as the leading cause of injury-related death in the U.S...
Foxconn China plant closed after clash involving 2,000  Reuters   ...Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group, which assembles Apple's iPhones and makes components for top global electronics companies, closed a plant in northern China on Monday after about 2,000 workers staged a riot at a company dormitory...
400 Richest Americans Saw Wealth Grow 13 Percent To $1.7 Trillion  ThinkProgress   ...At the same time that their collective wealth hits new heights, the tax rate for the Forbes 400 has remained low, thanks to the high-income Bush tax cuts, which slashed the rate on investments and capital gains...
Wall Street Rolling Back Another Key Piece of Financial Reform  Rolling Stone   ...if you’re underwriting a municipal bond for a city or a town, and you happen also to give the city or town advice about some deadly swap deal that will put the city into bankruptcy for the next thousand years, you don’t have a fiduciary responsibility to that city or town...
Unions Seek To Entrench Power In Michigan Initiatives  Investors Business Daily   ...The unions seek to bring home health workers under their wing, keep emergency managers of local governments from changing union contracts, and make collective bargaining a constitutional right...
Nick A. Pico, 70, member, business agent of Teamsters  Philadelphia Inquirer   ...Nick A. Pico, 70, of Richboro, a longtime member and business agent of Teamsters Local 107 and a tireless pursuer of self-improvement, died of lung cancer on Thursday, Sept. 20, at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne...

Collective bargaining protects Michigan families

The Protect Our Jobs campaign in Michigan is out with this new ad.

The message: Collective bargaining gives nurses a voice to negotiate for safe staffing levels, protection from firing when they speak up about a patient’s care and the ongoing training they need to stay ahead of trends in medicine.

We love that working people in Michigan are going on offense this fall. They're proposing amending the state constitution to protect collective bargaining rights. After a long legal battle, the courts ruled that the proposal remains on the November ballot.

Want to help? Go to the Protect Working Families website here. (Btw we like this quote from Kristine Michaelson, RN, Marquette General Hospital:

People died to have the weekends off, they died for the 8-hour day. And a lot of these things that have been fought for many, many years ago are being lost and just taken away in the blink of an eye.)