5,000 protest anti-labor bills and budget cuts in Lansing

LANSING, Mich. – An estimated 5,000 people gathered at the state Capitol Wednesday to protest Gov. Rick Snyder's plans to undermine collective bargaining with Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) legislation that was passed March 15 in the Michigan legislature.

Mary Wilson, left, attended the demonstration in Lansing with Tyese Cembly, both of Local 387. The two were among many UAW members from across Michigan who rallied against Gov. Snyder's anti-worker legislation on Wednesday. Photo by Beenish Ahmed

They were also protesting the governor’s proposed budget, which includes reductions for corporate tax, while enacting a tax on pensions and cuts to funding for necessary state programs, such as public education.

A diverse crowd of citizens from across the state came to Lansing to express their anger at the attacks on public sector workers, collective bargaining rights and the EFM legislation. For some, it was their first time joining in a protest. 

Terry Isom, a UAW Local 599 member, said this protest marked his first outside of Flint.

“I found a need to be here today, because it’s getting critical,” Isom said on why he made the trip to Lansing.

Others recognized the sweeping implications of the proposed budget cuts that will affect every sector of society.

“We're here from the UAW, but we're here for everyone. This affects us all the same,” said Kathy Wilson of UAW Local 387, who works at Ford Motor Co.’s Stamping Plant in Woodhaven.

Activists line the floors of the Rotunda at Michigan's state Capitol. Photo by Susan Kramer

Many of the union and community leaders who climbed to a podium atop the steps of the Capitol shared similar sentiments.

UAW President Bob King was the first to speak, laying out just how pervasive the negative impact of Snyder's proposed budget will be.

“The middle class of Michigan and of this country go to work every week and every day.  We built this country, and now Republicans are trying to take away nearly $2 billion from working people in America. And who do they want to give it to? The wealthy and the corporations,” King told the crowd who met his comments with resounding chants of “That's not right!”

He added that the “Republican Party of reverse Robin Hoods” – that steals from the poor and working class to give to the rich – is wrong to cut from teachers’ salaries and student programs. King said it is unconscionable that the hard-working brothers and sisters who paved the way for us and now live on fixed incomes must to pay higher taxes as utilities prices and gas prices rise.

David Hecker of the Michigan Federation of Teachers clarified how big a role organized labor plays in society.

“We are the people. We are Michigan. We make the cars. We build the roads. We clean the streets. We keep neighborhoods safe. We educate our children. We plow the snow. We pick up the trash. We build the buildings. We stock the shelves. We care for the sick and elderly,” Hecker said.

UAW members voice their outrage at the governer's plans. Photo by Susan Kramer

Hecker and other labor leaders warned Snyder and fellow Republicans who hope to undermine workers that they will not be able to do so without a fight.

Also Wednesday, Michigan House Democratic Leader Richard Hammel, D-Mount Morris, and Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, introduced an amendment to the state’s Constitution to protect the right of every citizen to join a union and to collectively bargain. They were met with cries of overwhelming support from the crowd.

Hammel told demonstrators that they would always be welcome in his office.

“I'm a UAW member who now has an office in this Capitol, and I will not forget where I came from,” Said Hammel, a UAW Local 651 member since 1978.

Other speakers included JoAnn Watson of Detroit City Council, Gilda Jacobs of the Michigan League of Human Services, Jeffrey Breslin, president of the Michigan Nurses Association and Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, among others. Their powerful words rallied the crowds outside before sending protesters back into the Statehouse where chants of “This is our house” and “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out” resounded through the Rotunda.

Snyder is due to sign into law the bills which will allow him full authority to declare financial emergencies wherever he chooses and appoint financial managers who have complete control over towns and school districts. The bill, which was passed this week, would allow these EFMs to disregard union contracts and undermine collective bargaining.

The imposition of Snyder's “financial martial law” will, according to its critics, not only undermine the authority of elected officials, but will set a dangerous precedent for corporate oversight over democratic elections.

Beenish Ahmed