In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times  column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

The Senate Reforms Committee took substantial testimony today (5/10) on HB 4361, the tax bill that includes taxation of pensions on an age-related sliding scale.  The committee is slated to meet again tomorrow morning and take a little more testimony before reporting the bill to the floor.  We have been told that the Senate plans to vote on it on the Senate floor on Thursday, telling members to be prepared to stay all night.

The Governor and the legislature are taxing the pensions of retirees, raising the taxes on low-income working families and cutting education in order to fund a tax cut for large corporations!  This is not shared sacrifice!

Please call your state senator today or tomorrow to urge a “NO” vote on this unfair shift of taxes to retirees.  Click here to find your Senator’s phone number.  A phone call is better, but you may also send an email by clicking here.  Do it today!

Today, March 15, the House passed the last two bills required to finish the Emergency Financial Manager legislation.  It now goes to the Governor and he has said he will sign the bills.  The way to keep EFMs away from our school districts and local communities is to keep them out of financial trouble.  We can’t do that given Governor Snyder’s proposed budget which includes cuts to schools, universities and local community Revenue Sharing.  If you are able, we hope to see you in Lansing tomorrow for a budget protest rally at the State Capitol.  If you can’t make it to Lansing, please call your State Representative or Senator, find out when they are having local events – coffee hours, town halls, etc. – and then attend with a few friends, or lots of friends.  Local action, in person, with your Representatives and Senators is very effective.