Petitions Collected for Repeal Michigan ‘Dictator Law’ Initiative
by Clyde Weiss | February 29, 2012
Members of AFSCME Council 25 in Detroit deliver petitions for a ballot initiative to repeal a law allowing unelected to nullify the collective bargaining agreements. (Photo by Jim West)
A Michigan coalition has gathered enough signatures to put to a citizens’ vote a law giving unelected officials the right to nullify public workers’ collective bargaining agreements.
The coalition, which includes AFSCME Council 25, will deliver the petitions to the Statehouse in Lansing today. Once the signatures are verified, the law will be put on hold pending the outcome of a November vote on whether to repeal Public Act 4, also known as the “local dictator law.” That measure allows managers appointed by the governor to remove elected officials from office; suspend or disband elected bodies such as school boards or city councils; and void collective bargaining agreements.
Gov. Rick Snyder signed the measure into law last spring, ignoring the protests of thousands of state employees and supporters of workers’ rights.
AFSCME Sec.-Treas. Lee Saunders, AFSCME Council 25 Pres. (and International vice president) Albert Garrett, and civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton were among those who spoke at a Detroit rally yesterday to celebrate the completion of the petition drive.
“This law is a threat to democracy,” Saunders declared. “In America, we don’t have kings or dictators or czars. We elect our public officials. We hold our government accountable for its actions. But this law rips all that to shreds. This law says Governor Snyder can appoint one of his cronies on a whim. That guy, in turn, can dismantle everything you’ve worked hard to build: your contracts, your property, your collective bargaining agreements, your public services.”
The law is also being tested in court. The Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice filed suit last June, challenging its constitutionality.
Stand Up for Democracy, a coalition of community groups, churches and labor organizations throughout Michigan, spearheaded the petition drive.
