Court rules in favor of Michigan collective bargaining vote

A proposal to preserve collective bargaining rights for Michigan workers must be placed on the November ballot, the state’s Court of Appeals has ruled.

The four-member Board of State Canvassers – two Republicans and two Democrats – had deadlocked on allowing the vote, with the Republicans opposed. Some 700,000 Michigan voters had signed petitions to place the measure on the ballot after a series of attacks on the rights of workers by Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican lawmakers.

Only a week ago Snyder filed a brief with the Court opposing a vote on the proposal.

“Corporate special interests pushed Lansing politicians to pressure the court before the decision,” said Michigan State4 AFL-CIO President Karla Swift. “But the court confirmed there is no legal reason to deny people the opportunity to vote on the proposal.

“Working people must now be ready” Swift said, “to counteract the corporate special interest money that is about to flood into our state to confuse the issue and defeat working families at the ballot box.”

Photo: Workers’ rights rally in downtown Ann Arbor. Ben Seese // CC 2.0