ORGANIZED LABOR IS THE BACKBONE OF A STRONG MIDDLE CLASS. WE MUST STRENGTHEN THE LABOR MOVEMENT, INCREASE UNION MEMBERSHIP, AND PROTECT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS

“The labor movement helped my family earn a spot in Michigan’s middle class. I know that when workers don’t have a collective voice to negotiate, employers can and do impose their own terms and conditions on their employees that put profit over people. That’s why a vote to repeal Michigan’s so-called “Right to Work” law would be the proudest vote I’d ever cast!” - Ethan

 

• Strengthen the freedom of workers to organize into unions by passing legislation to protect workers that are organizing their workplace, penalize employers that use intimidation tactics and threats to dissuade workers from voting for the union including a ban on mandatory attendance at anti-union meetings, and passing “card check” legislation which would allow a union to be certified if a majority of employees sign a union card. 

 

• Prohibit companies with state contracts or receive state funding from interfering in organizing campaigns and require that they recognize a union when majority support is demonstrated 

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• Repeal Michigan’s so-called “Right to Work” law because it creates a system where people can enjoy the benefits of a union contract without having to pay union dues thus weakening the union and the bargaining power of workers. 

 

• Reinstate Michigan’s Prevailing Wage Law because the workers that build Michigan deserve to be paid fairly and taxpayers deserve the assurance that public projects will be completed on time, on budget, and done right the first time. 

 

• Repeal Michigan’s ban on the entrance of Project Labor Agreements with construction managers of state projects, municipalities, and school districts. 

 

• Protect the right to strike and ban the replacement of striking workers. 

 

• Defend union release time against Republican attacks because attempts to take it away only make it more difficult for union representatives to enforce contracts and ensure employees are informed about the benefits they’ve earned at the bargaining table. 

 

• Repeal Michigan’s ban on payroll deduction of union dues for school employees and recognize it for what it is--another example of the war on working people that Republicans in Lansing have been waging. 

 

• Repeal the anti-democratic Emergency Manager Law which not only robs local communities of their ability to choose their leaders but often results in ripping up labor contracts negotiated by the hardworking people that work for that municipality or school district. 

 

• Oppose Privatization that often results in the destruction of local public sector unions and delivers diminished services as a direct result of the private company needing to maximize profit for shareholders, not deliver a high-quality public good. 

 

• Repeal Michigan’s law that forces public employees to pay at least 20% of their healthcare premiums instead of allowing their union to negotiate for healthcare at a lower cost. 

 

• End payroll fraud and worker misclassification where workers are misclassified as “independent contractors” when they should be “employees” thus making them vulnerable to being cheated out of wages and overtime pay as well as denying them the rights of an employee like the ability to form and join a union. 

 

Learn more about my plan to ensure economic security for Michigan’s working families by clicking here!

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