- UNIONS BROUGHT 10,000 MEMBERS OUT TO STOP THE PASSAGE OF PUBLIC ACT 4 IN LANSING APRIL 13, 2011; NOW IS THE TIME FOR THEM TO EXERCISE THEIR ECONOMIC CLOUT WITH A GENERAL STRIKE
APPEALS COURT HEARING MAY 17, 2012, 10 A.M. CADILLAC PLACE (DETROIT STATE BUILDING AT SECOND AND W. GRAND BLVD)
Wednesday, May 09, 2012, 4:29 PM
By Tim Martin | tmartin4@mlive.com MLive.com
A coalition that wants to repeal Michigan’s law giving more power to state-appointed emergency managers is headed to court to try and revive its stalled effort.
Stand Up for Democracy is scheduled to make oral arguments before the Michigan Court of Appeals on May 17. The union-supported coalition is fighting a recent action by the Board of State Canvassers that prevented its proposal from appearing on the November ballot because some of the lettering on its petitions was deemed smaller than required by state law.
Stand Up for Democracy says its print was the proper size. But canvassers deadlocked on the proposal.
The coalition says it collected more than 225,000 signatures, which would be more than enough to make the ballot.
Stand Up for Democracy supporters say the election board’s vote was politically motivated, with Republicans opposing their effort to repeal the law.
“It was just crazy,” said Greg Bowens, a Stand Up for Democracy spokesman. “There’s really no other way to put it.”
Opponents of the Stand Up for Democracy effort plan to defend their stance when the Court of Appeals holds oral arguments on the issue.
Stand Up for Democracy considers Public Act 4 of 2011 undemocratic because it allows emergency managers to toss out union contracts and strip power from locally elected leaders. But supporters of the Michigan law, including Gov. Rick Snyder, say it provides the tools necessary to help financially struggling cities and schools fix their finances more quickly and effectively.
If the canvassers had certified the Stand Up for Democracy petitions, the law would have been suspended pending the outcome of a November vote. But as of now, the law remains in effect.
The state has appointed emergency managers to run the cities of Benton Harbor, Ecorse, Flint and Pontiac. Emergency managers run school districts in Detroit, Highland Park and Muskegon Heights.
Email Tim Martin at tmartin4@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TimMartinMI
