On November 6, Michigan voters will have the chance to lead the nation in protecting the right of workers to bargain collectively. The Protect Working Families campaign has gotten Proposal 2 officially on the ballot, despite a series of dubious legal challenges led by corporate special interests. This proposal guards against corporate and legislative attacks against a fundamental right of workers by adding the right to collective bargaining to the state constitution. Members of the University of Michigan community should vote for Proposal 2, and they should know the reasons why it is critical to the future of our state and our country.
In the current political climate, it is easy to forget that collective bargaining is, at its simplest, when two or more workers come together with their employer to negotiate hours, compensation, and working conditions. Workers democratically decide among themselves what to bargain for, and often address safety, quality standards, and due process in hiring and firing in their contracts. Many of the basic workplace rights and protections we take for granted today are the result of decades of collective bargaining efforts: the base 40-hour work week, the weekend, the minimum wage, and child labor laws.
Often, but not always, collective bargaining takes the form of unions. The Graduate Employees’ Organization and the Lecturers’ Employee Organization at the University of Michigan are two examples of successful volunteer-run unions. We have achieved a degree of job security and respect not usually enjoyed by teachers in similar positions at other universities. We represent two groups of workers who are usually considered cheap, expendable labor by colleges and universities, and who are often paid poverty-level wages with no benefits. By bargaining with the University, we have achieved living wages, child care, and better health care benefits.
But it’s not just about wages and benefits. We have used bargaining to guarantee class-size limits on a departmental basis, which means that we are able to give our students the individual attention they need. We also bargained for a guarantee of adequate safety training for instructors conducting classes in sciences labs, and for professional development money for research and to improve our teaching. Over time, the fair wages and benefits we have fought for have also helped to recruit and retain talented and diverse teachers who provide the quality education for which the university is renowned.
Overall, workers who bargain collectively help establish a baseline of expectations for wages, benefits, and safety that ripples outward to affect all of our workplaces. Fair wages enable workers to support a strong local economy that strengthens communities. Historically, collective bargaining has particularly helped increase wages for women and people of color.
The corporate special interests who tried to keep this proposal off the ballot have already paid for over 8 million dollars worth of commercials to circulate misinformation. Contrary to what these ads imply, this amendment doesn’t add any rights workers don’t already have, and it doesn’t force people to join unions. It doesn’t put a single worker in a union who isn’t already in one. It doesn’t require anyone to pay dues. Collective bargaining simply prevents those who want to eliminate working people’s rights from being able to do it.
Politicians and CEOs want to take power out of the hands of workers and give it to the wealthy few. It is no coincidence that in the same four decades that collective bargaining has been eroded by anti-labor legislation, income inequality has soared, public education has been systematically de-funded, and austerity budgets now threaten the basic services that keep our communities safe and productive. That’s why Proposal 2 is vital, not only to our economy, but to the quality of life of all Michiganders.
Help protect collective bargaining and protect good jobs: vote yes on Proposal 2 on November 6. Reach out to other voters to make sure they, too, understand what is at stake.
Kathryn Frank,
President, Graduate Employees’ Organization
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