Dear Neighbor,
Here is some information that I hope you will find helpful, including news and resources from your state government.
Event Next Friday: Senior Scam Town Hall
Please join me next Friday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., at the Sam Corey Senior Center, 2108 Cedar St. in Holt, to learn more about scams that target senior citizens. I will be joined by special guests from the Department of Attorney General, state Sen. Sarah Anthony and Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth. Presenters will go over the common warning signs of phone, mail, email and text scams and provide tips to help seniors protect themselves. Please register for the event here.
House Dems Unveil Workplace Safety Package
Last week, my colleagues and I commemorated Workers Memorial Day by announcing the introduction of the Workplace Safety Package. Workers Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor workers who have died, been injured or suffered illness due to their jobs. According to the National AFL-CIO’s 2025 Death on the Job report, Michigan lost 166 workers in 2023. With only 67 workplace safety and health inspectors in our state, it would take 85 years to inspect every workplace once.
The proposed legislation would prohibit retaliation if an employee raises concerns regarding the employer’s management of workplace diseases or reports an occupational safety and health practice, hazard or communicable disease. Employees would have the right to refuse work if safety issues have been brought up and the employer doesn’t take action to remedy the situation. My bill in the package would prohibit retaliation if a worker raises concerns or criticizes an employer’s management of workplace diseases.
These bills would also raise penalties for employers who violate child labor restrictions, especially repeat offenders and in situations where a child is killed or suffers great bodily injury. They would create a commission to ensure employers and employees know how to protect workers and customers from infectious diseases.
The House of Representatives also adopted a resolution (HR 71) declaring April 28 as Workers Memorial Day in Michigan. This resolution pays tribute to the workers across our state who have lost their lives at work, and it calls on employers and the state to make workplaces safer. You can watch the full Workers Memorial Day press conference here.
House Dems Commemorate May Day with Pro-Worker Package
To recognize May Day (May 1), the House Democrats unveiled a package of pro-worker bills. The package includes worker protections, including legislation to bar employers from hiring or firing an individual based on their credit history, appearance, the health of a family member, or legal activities outside of work. It would require an employer to have “just cause” before terminating an employee after a probationary period. Employers would not be allowed to monitor employee communications unless there is an established monitoring policy, and they would also be prohibited from requiring an employee to attend a meeting or participate in communication if the primary purpose is the employer’s opinion about religious or political matters.
The Putting People First package also includes several bills to strengthen union protections in our state. This package would allow public sector employees to unionize with a vote of 50 per cent; this would save the state and local governments money by foregoing a long, drawn-out organizing election battle. Legislation in the package would presume an employer is engaging in unfair labor practices if the employer does any of the following within one year of a successful organizing drive:
- Subcontracts work,
- Closes some or all of their operation, or
- Moves some or all of their operations to a different location.
My bill would apply this unfair labor practice presumption to public sector employers. Additionally, this package prohibits the use of replacement workers during labor disputes, and it repeals two laws prohibiting local governments from entering into Project Labor Agreements and setting their own labor standards.
MI Poder Holds Advocates for Latinx Michiganders
Last week, I met with representatives from MI Poder. MI Poder is a statewide nonpartisan social welfare and civic engagement organization. They are also working to increase participation in the democratic process within Michigan’s Latinx population.
A top concern for these advocates is health care disparities in Michigan’s Latinx population as well as widespread fear of illegal and inhumane immigration enforcement practices that have resulted in the removal of American citizens and immigrants who were legally in the U.S.
Child and Family Charities Celebrates Grand Opening of Greenlawn Campus
Child and Family Charities recently celebrated the grand opening of their new campus located at the former McLaren Greenlawn hospital campus in Lansing. Child and Family Charities offers a full spectrum of prevention and treatment services with outreach to children, youth and families each year in the mid-Michigan area. This new campus houses all of those services in one location, including a shelter for runaway youth, behavioral health programs and a resource center for families.
Armed MI Capitol Protests Remembered as Majority Push Anti-Immigrant, Anti-Voting Policies
Last week marked five years since armed protesters flooded the Michigan Capitol in an effort to intimidate elected officials. I was in the Capitol on April 30, 2020, and I will never forget it. My colleagues and I saw hateful signs, firearms, a Nazi flag and an elected leader hung in effigy. This was an early sign that our democracy was headed toward a dark place.
House Dems are working to create a Michigan where everyone doesn’t just get by, but thrives — no one should have to worry if they can afford rent or medication or putting food on the table. We will always stand up and fight for our democracy, for Michigan and for a better tomorrow.
For their part, last week the House majority put up anti-immigrant policies along with voting proposals making it more difficult for married women who have taken their spouse’s last name to vote. Fortunately, the voting policy failed to get the two-thirds needed to pass the House. It would have required any voter whose name does not match their birth certificate to prove their American citizenship before registering or voting. Currently, it is illegal for a non-citizen to register or vote. This proposal, which is still being considered as a potential ballot question, would hinder the rights of an estimated 2 million Michigan women to vote.
Watch state Rep. Pohutsky and I discuss our experience being in the Capitol on April 30, 2020 here.
For the most up-to-date information from my office, follow my official Facebook account. It can take up to a week for enews to receive approval. This is outside my control. The information included in enews is still important to share, but to stay more current, follow my official Facebook account.
Sincerely,
Kara Hope
State Representative
In Case You Missed It…
City of Lansing Now Collecting Curbside Yard Waste,
Delhi Township Offers Free Brush Drop-Off Dates
The City of Lansing is collecting yard waste on a weekly basis. Residents should follow yard waste guidelines and leave materials at their curbside to be picked up on their regularly scheduled collection day. More information can be found here.
Delhi Township is offering free brush drop-off days on Saturday, May 17, and Saturday, June 21, from 8 a.m. to noon, at Delhi Publicly Owned Treatment Works, 5961 McCue Road in Holt (enter through Recycle Center on Grovenburg Road). Waste will only be accepted in paper yard waste bags, and bags over 30 gallons will not be accepted. Brush and tree trimmings should be no longer than 4 feet and less than 4 inches in diameter and tied with string or twine into 12 inch bundles. Each bag or bundle should not exceed 30 pounds. Load sizes are restricted to no trailers larger than 5 feet x 8 feet or the back of a full-size pick-up truck. Tandem trailers or cube type vehicles will not be permitted. Proof of residency is required. More information can be found here.