Reblogged from eclectablog.com
The following guest post was written by Ron Bieber, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO. You can sign up to receive legislative action alerts from the Michigan AFL-CIO HERE. You can also follow them at facebook.com/miaflcio, twitter.com/miaflcio, and twitter.com/ronbiebermi.
Enjoy.
Lame duck sessions are when bad bills happen to good people. That’s been true in Michigan after every major election since Rick Snyder took office.
For lawmakers who lost their campaigns or are subject to term limits, lame duck offers one last chance to cast votes for highly controversial bills without having to face any immediate consequences at the ballot box.
That’s exactly what happened in 2012, when Lansing Republicans ignored the will of the people by passing a new Emergency Manager law that was nearly identical to the one that had just been repealed by voters. The 2012 lame duck session was also when Republicans rammed through so-called “right-to-work” legislation.
Unions organized a massive rally and put up a tough fight at the state capitol, but Republicans responded by locking the doors to the building, and using pepper spray on peaceful demonstrators. The bills passed without a single public hearing, and Governor Snyder signed the legislation behind closed doors.
For working people, the 2012 lame duck was a truly shameful chapter in our state’s history. And after last November’s election, it looked like Lansing Republicans were prepared to launch another all-out assault on the rights of working families.
2016 lame duck agenda targeted unions, voting rights
Led by the billionaire DeVos family, Republicans in the legislature were ready to push through a 2016 lame duck agenda that was absolutely terrible for working people. They sought to:
- Eliminate pensions for new Michigan teachers and school employees, forcing billions in cuts to local schools.
- Cut health care benefits for retired police officers and firefighters, forcing them to pay more out-of-pocket due to the dangerous nature of their jobs.
- Slash over $400 million per year from the school aid fund to help pay for more corporate tax breaks.