Lansing- Ron Bieber, President of the Michigan AFL-CIO released the following statement in reaction to the state legislature passing citizens initiatives regarding paid sick leave and minimum wage rather than allowing the measures to go to the ballot.
“Lansing Republicans have repeatedly refused to address the issues of minimum wage and paid sick time. Now these same Republicans are publicly conspiring to stick a knife in the heart of these proposals with an unconstitutional ‘adopt and amend’ strategy. If their intent was good, I would applaud today’s actions. But Republican leadership has openly discussed their desire to gut the substance of these voter initiatives in lame duck to please corporate special interests. What these Republicans are doing is disrespectful to the citizens who signed petitions and to the working families who stand to benefit from these changes. The voters should reject these rotten tactics. We need legislators who want working people to succeed, not legislators who are manipulating the rules to benefit corporations and the wealthiest one percent.”
