September 2013: Legislative Update
Medicaid Expansion Passes, but Without Immediate Effect Medicaid coverage for more than 400,000 low income Michigan residents has been passed by both houses of the legislature and signed by the Governor.
Low Pay Is Not OK!
Fast food and retail workers are part of a $200 billion industry, yet they are among the lowest paid workers. Today, thousands of workers are striking in Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Pontiac and across the nation to take a stand for a higher minimum wage. Click here to add your support to the fight for a higher…
Fast Food Strikes Statement from President Swift
The Michigan State AFL-CIO stands in solidarity with the thousands of low-wage workers who are on strike in Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Pontiac and across the nation today. Every worker deserves the right to a living wage and a voice on the job. Our elected representatives must enact federal and state minimum wage standards that reflect…
Michigan AFL-CIO Congratulates Local Recipients of AFL-CIO “Dreams of Jobs and Freedom” Scholarship
Scholarship Honors the Legacy of the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington (Freemont, MI) – Today the Michigan AFL-CIO congratulated a local winner of the AFL-CIO “Dreams of Jobs and Freedom” Scholarship. Anna Zeerip received a one-time $5,000 award for the academic year beginning in fall 2013 through summer 2014. To commemorate the 50th anniversary…
Medicaid Expansion Statement from President Swift
Michigan State AFL-CIO President Karla Swift on the Passage of Medicaid Expansion Medicaid expansion is a victory for over 400,000 of Michigan’s most vulnerable families, but the way in which it was passed was plagued with political gamesmanship and months of delays. Today’s vote made it clear that the Tea Party controls some Lansing politicians.…
At the Capitol: Nurses Are Watching
This is a featured guest post by Ashley E. Forsberg, a registered nurse from Delta Township and Michigan Nurses Association Member. I’ve been sitting in the Senate gallery with other nurses, anxiously waiting for our legislators to return from a caucus to vote on Medicaid expansion – HB 4714, a bill that will provide health…
Welcome
Welcome to the new Michigan State AFL-CIO website! It’s our mission to make this site a one-stop shop for Michigan’s working families. It’s a work in progress, and we would love your input! Please contact Digital Director Elizabeth Battiste at ebattiste@miaflcio.org if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions. Stay tuned to our blog for…
August 2013: Legislative Update
Medicaid Expansion is Good Public Policy Sometimes a decision is so simple, so obvious, that it is an outrage when it doesn’t get done. Welcome to the 2013-14 conservative-led State Legislature. Medicaid expansion is one of those decisions; the benefits are there for people, hospitals, business and the state budget, yet ideologues continue to hold…
Joint Statement on Detroit’s Bankruptcy Filing
Joint Statement from Metro Detroit AFL-CIO President Chris Michalakis and Michigan State AFL-CIO President Karla Swift on Detroit’s Bankruptcy Filing Every step of the way, the citizens of Detroit were told that they had to give up their right to democratic representation in order to avoid bankruptcy. Now that this filing has come anyway, it…
Hotel Workers Rally for Fairness and Dignity on the Job
Detroit Community Members Urge Crown Plaza to Respect Workers (Detroit, MI) – Today workers and community allies rallied outside of the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Washington Boulevard, urging the hotel to treat their workers with dignity. Over the course of four hours, hundreds of supporters pressured the hotel to do the right thing. “I know…
