Potential Threats in the Next Two Years from Michigan Legislature
We bring you a special series of posts to inform you about potential threats coming out of the Michigan Legislature in the next two years. Given recent Republican attacks on collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin and Ohio, as well as in Michigan with Rick Snyder’s passage of Right to Work (for Less) in 2012, we have reason to believe efforts to weaken unions — and further disempower all working people — will continue. Beyond informing you, the purpose of these posts are to encourage you to inform others, stay in touch with your union, and get involved however you can. Now is the time to ask yourself what kind of action you’d be willing to take and under what circumstances.
We categorize legislative threats here in two ways: 1) single-blows to collective bargaining rights for all public employees ala Public Act 10 in Wisconsin and 2) smaller, more complicated threats, usually targeting a single benefit, procedure, or routine of only some groups. While the first kind presents a clear and straightforward danger to unions, it is important not to discount the threat of the second, which can cause “death by a thousand cuts” — by dividing unions and dividing issues along the lines of identity or type of worker. These smaller measures are more difficult to respond to collectively both because they are often couched in complicated bureaucratic language, and because it can be difficult to see how they apply to groups other than those specifically targeted.
Throughout these posts we put forth and support the idea that these kinds of “little cuts” are as worth fighting against as single-blow measures (should the need arise). This idea has grown out of multiple conversations amongst our members, other unions, and other campus and community groups working toward economic justice. We believe that if we can succeed in the former we will be more likely to succeed in the latter: Rallying around an issue that does not on its face appear to be “your issue” creates solidarity. It connects you to a broader struggle and builds coalitions that enable all working people to be stronger in that struggle.
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