Bicameral, 34-bill package aims to restore organizing, collective bargaining and workers’ rights

LANSING, Mich., Feb. 15, 2022 — The Michigan Labor Caucus held a press conference today to unveil its plan to put Michigan workers first by restoring organizing, collective bargaining and workers’ rights.

“Our plan is about working families finding security in our economy,” said Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski (D-Scio Township). “As the drivers of Michigan’s production, our workers deserve dignity and self-determination, not exploitation and abuse. Our workforce is fighting for fair treatment every day, and with this plan, we can give them the protection they need and empower them to secure their economic future and, along with it, that of our state.”

“Michigan would not be the state it is today without the people and unions who kept us moving forward, but time and time again, the people who built the middle class have been stripped of their rights,” said state Rep. Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park). “Our state is stronger today because of the ability of workers to come together and negotiate for the wages and benefits they deserve. Our legislative package empowers workers and restores many of the rights taken away from Michiganders over the years because we know that when workers succeed, our entire state succeeds.”

“We wouldn’t have made the progress we’ve made for workers’ rights if not for the unions, organizing and collective bargaining that got us here,” said state Rep. Terry Sabo (D-Muskegon), chair of the Labor Caucus. “While so many of our workers continue to suffer due to the pandemic, corporations are doing better than ever. This bill package ensures that the Michiganders who give our kids a quality education, stock our shelves and build the cars we drive also reap those rewards.”

Representatives from Michigan Education Association, Michigan AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 517M also attended the press conference to support the legislative package.

“On behalf of our one million members, let me say this package is full of protections that workers need,” said Derek Dobies, chief of staff of the Michigan AFL-CIO. “It shows that there are elected officials in Michigan still focused on putting workers first.”

“Employers have made it very hard for unions to get contact information on the members that we represent,” said Joey Combs, president of the SEIU Local 517M. “How can we represent every member if we don’t know who we represent? We stand in support with this bill package and everything the Labor Caucus is doing in support of working people.”

“Teachers and school support staff across Michigan are at a breaking point, and fewer young people are going to college to become educators,” said Paula Herbart, president of the Michigan Education Association. “We must do everything we can to support the teachers and school staff that support our students. This legislative package gives our educators a strong voice in the workplace, and it can help create stronger learning environments for our students so they can achieve and succeed at their highest levels.”

This bicameral, 34-bill package would restore organizing, collective bargaining and workers’ rights by:

  • Repealing a provision that prohibits the contracting out of non-instructional services from being a subject of bargaining. (Rep. Brenda Carter/Sen. Geiss)
  • Allowing principals and vice principals to organize and be represented by unions. (Rep. Breen/Sen. Bayer)
  • Restoring some prohibited subjects, like evaluations, of bargaining to provide school employees a voice in important decisions impacting classrooms and their jobs. (Rep. Hood/Sen. Chang)
  • Restoring some prohibited subjects of bargaining, like evaluations, to provide school employees a voice in important decisions impacting classrooms and their jobs. (Rep. Shannon/Sen. McCann)
  • Allowing school districts to collect union dues or fees via payroll deduction. (Rep. Rahbi/Sen. Ananich)
  • Restoring contract expiration rights. (Rep. Morse/Sen. Ananich)
  • Restoring the “reasonable and just cause” discharge standard in the Teacher Tenure Act. (Rep. Stone/Sen. Polehanki)
  • Creating the Reasonable and Just Cause Teacher Tenure Act. (Rep. Cynthia A. Johnson/Sen. Bayer)
  • Amending the Public Employment Relations Act to require every public sector employee’s introductory packet to contain information about their rights to organize, join or assist a labor organization and bargain collectively through representatives of their choice. (Rep. O’Neal/Sen. Polehanki)
  • Amending the Labor Management Relations Act to require every private sector employee’s introductory packet to contain information about their rights to organize, join or assist a labor organization and bargain collectively through representatives of their choice. (Rep. Manoogian/Sen. Hollier)
  • Amending the Public Employment Relations Act to require that any public sector employer’s decision to subcontract work, close or move to a different location be presumed anti-union animus and unfair labor practice if done within one year of a successful organizing drive. (Rep. Hope/Sen. Hollier)
  • Amending the Labor Management Relations Act to require that any public sector employer’s decision to subcontract work, close, or move to a different location be presumed anti-union animus and unfair labor practice if done within one year of a successful organizing drive. (Rep. Steckloff/Sen. Hertel)
  • Prohibiting the use of replacement workers during labor disputes. (Rep. Haadsma/Sen. McCann)
  • Offering a resolution to urge the NLRB to ban the use of permanent replacement workers. (Rep. Haadsma/Sen. McCann)
  • Amending the Public Employment Relations Act to require employers to provide contact information for all employees in the collective bargaining unit. (Rep. Cherry/Sen. Hollier)
  • Amending the Labor Management Relations Act to require employers to provide contact information for all employees in the collective bargaining unit. (Rep. Sneller/Rep. Geiss)
  • Expanding binding arbitration to cover all public employees to ensure a seamless continuity of services. (Rep. Sabo/Sen. Santana)
  • Allowing state employees to use binding arbitration. (Rep. Anthony/Sen. Geiss)
  • Prohibit health care facilities from using taxpayer money to deter unionization. (Rep. Brabec/Sen. Brinks)
  • Allowing workers injured on the picket line because of the actions of a private security force contracted by the employer to be eligible for worker’s compensation benefits. (Rep. Cavanagh/Sen. Moss)
  • Requiring restaurants and bars to post information explaining that tipped employees have the right to receive the standard minimum wage when their tip wage and tips are lower than the standard minimum wage level. (Rep. Young/Sen. Geiss)
  • Repealing the Domestic Partner Benefit Restriction Act, which prohibits public employers from providing domestic partner benefits. (Rep. Pohutsky/Sen. McMorrow)
  • Prohibiting an employer from monitoring employee communications unless the employer establishes a monitoring policy and communicates the policy to their employees. (Rep. Kuppa/Sen. Wojno)
  • Enacting the Workers’ Freedom Act to protect an employee’s right of association and free speech and provide a check on employers forcing their employees to listen to anti-union, religious and other political rhetoric. (Rep. Scott/Sen. Irwin)
  • Barring employers from hiring or firing an individual based upon their credit history. (Rep. Garza/Sen. Wojno)
  • Barring employers from hiring or firing an individual based upon their appearance. (Rep. Tyrone Carter/Sen. Chang)
  • Barring employers from hiring or firing an individual based upon a family member’s health. (Rep. Rogers/Sen. Alexander)
  • Barring employers from hiring or firing an individual based upon their legal activities engaged outside of work. (Rep. Thanedar/Sen. Bullock)
  • Requiring an employer to have “just cause” before terminating an employee after a probationary period. (Rep. Rahbi/Sen. Bayer)
  • Establishing a blue-ribbon commission to evaluate local and school funding. (Rep. Weiss/Sen. Moss)
  • Allowing conservation officers to elect to switch to the State Police Retirement System. (Rep. Cherry/Sen. McCann)
  • Placing all newly hired conservation officers into the State Police Retirement System. (Rep. Sowerby/Sen. McCann)
  • Holding employers that outsource good-paying Michigan jobs accountable. (Rep. Anthony)
  • Ensuring that the state does not subsidize employers who outsource jobs. (Rep. Camilleri)