First-term Republican voted against working people on 10 out of 10 key bills
LANSING – State Representative Tom Barrett (R-Potterville) received a score of zero percent in a new legislative scorecard released today by the Michigan AFL-CIO. The state labor federation analyzed the voting records of all 110 State Representatives on 10 key votes during the 2015-16 legislative session. A copy of the scorecard is available online.
“Tom Barrett has been a huge disappointment as our State Rep,” said Ben Freeman, a member of IBEW Local 665 from Delta Township. “On every single vote that matters, Barrett chose to side with corporate CEOs over regular working people like me. I think that’s just wrong. We need a state rep who will go to work every day and fight for working men and women, and not just the big corporations.”
During the 2015-16 session, Rep. Barrett voted for HB 4052, which banned local communities from passing ordinances that raise the minimum wage, require earned family leave time, or establish a local prevailing wage ordinance. He also voted for HB 4610-11, which forces local road commissions to expand outsourcing of road construction jobs without establishing proper safeguards against contractor abuses.
“Barrett’s failing grade speaks volumes about who he’s really working for in Lansing,” said Ron Bieber, President of the Michigan AFL-CIO. “Eaton County is home to thousands of auto and manufacturing jobs, and yet Tom Barrett turned his back on working men and women on every major labor vote during his first term in office. It just shows he’s got the wrong priorities, and the people of Eaton County deserve better.”
# # #
