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Hundreds mass for “People’s Rally” at Michigan State Capitol in Lansing Feb. 23

 Capitol occupations and protests across country lead the way

By Diane Bukowski

LANSING – As tens of thousands of workers, students and community members occupied state capitols in Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio, and thousands more rallied here at Michigan’s capitol and elsewhere, the American Labor Improvement Association (ALLA), called for a “National Day of Protest” by public employees Wed. April 13, from 12 noon to 5 p.m.

The protest will take place at “YOUR LOCAL COUNTY, STATE, FEDERAL AND PUBLIC WORK LOCATIONS,” according to a flier published by Michigan AFSCME Council 25, representing 60,000 public workers in the state.  (See flier below.)

City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson (l) and State Rep. Coleman Young II flank Al Garrett, Pres. of Michigan AFSCME Council 25, representing 60,000 public workers

 “I commit to you AFSCME’s resources in this struggle for all working people, white, Black, Brown, green, all colors,” said Co. 25 President Al Garrett during a rally of at least 2,500 on the Michigan state capitol steps in Lansing Feb. 23, called by Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson. “This governor is setting up a dictatorship! Victory comes if we stay together!”

The Wisconsin State Journal (WSJ) said, “The The 97-union South Central Federation of Labor of Wisconsin is laying groundwork for a general strike if Gov. Scott Walker succeeds in enacting legislation that would strip most bargaining rights from most public employee unions.”

The paper said that the federation, which represents over 45,000 workers, voted Feb. 21 to endorse national work stoppages by union and nonunion workers.

Click on  http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_64c8d7a8-3e8c-11e0-9911-001cc4c002e0.html to read entire WSJ article. Also click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TmSNPpzkWc&feature=player_embedded#at=100 to watch video from Wisconsin published on AFSCME website, http://www.standforpublicservice.org/.

Youth at top of capitol steps led the way

“Two weeks ago who would have thought there would have been 70,000 people on the Capitol Square demonstrating on behalf of worker rights?” Federation President Jim Cavanaugh told the WSJ. “We have had an awful lot of statements of support from around the country.”

 (Click on VOD Alternet article, “Wisconsin ignites workers’ uprisings across the U.S.”, at http://voiceofdetroit.net/?p=4920, to read about protests in Ohio, Indiana, New York City, Atlanta, Boston and elsewhere).

“Bust Wall Street, not Unions,” declared signs carried by protesters in Lansing.

(Go to http://www.youtube.com/KennySnod#p/a/u/0/CVoejXESaJk to watch video of rally on capitol steps.)

Detroit youth demand NO TAKEOVERS

Hundreds came on five buses and in car pools that left from Detroit’s Northwest Activities Center. Firefighters and other union members from across the metropolitan area joined the protest on the steps, on the capitol grounds, and in committee hearings taking place in the House and Senate buildings across the street.

 The protesters chanted, “Whose city? Our city! Whose water? Our water! Whose pensions? Our pensions! Whose state? Our state!”

Dozens of Detroit Public School students stood at the top of the steps, chanting, “Public education is a right, by any means necessary we will fight!” and “They say Jim Crow, we say hell no!” They and several DPS teachers led a portion of the ralliers onto the State House of Representatives floor, which they briefly occupied before being turned away by Capitol guards.

Warren Schools clerical workers joined protest to stop school district takeovers

State Schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan just authorized the closing of 70 more DPS schools and other cuts proposed by DPS czar Robert Bobb, to ensure that the district pays its mammoth debt to the banks (see separate upcoming article).

Outside, Councilwoman Watson condemned anti-union and anti-home rule attacks represented by dozens of bills introduced by the Republican majorities in the House and Senate. In particular, packages of legislation in the House and Senate would allow state officials to establish virtual fiefdoms under emergency financial managers (EFM’s) across the state, as well as take control of Detroit’s Water and Sewerage Department.

Firefighters join Water Dept. workers

“Some of us will stay outside, some of us will go inside and have a confrontation with the governor,” Watson said. “Under these bills, our city charter would be removed, they are about to take over the water, there will be an emergency financial manager over the city, not voted on by you, not controlled by you, not even a city resident. We won’t let them dismantle pensions, the rights of unions, home rule, not today, not ever! YOU are in charge, you are not victims; this is OUR city, OUR state, OUR water, OUR land.”

Watson called on protesters to continue their fightback at a rally Sat. Feb. 26 at 12 noon at Triumph Baptist Church at 2760 E Grand Blvd. in Detroit. 

AFSCME Local 1023 President Sheila Pennington

The crowd chanted in response, “The people united will never be defeated.”

 In concert with the legislative attacks, Snyder introduced a budget Feb. 24 declaring his intentions to slash revenue-sharing for the cities, cut funds for schools, and otherwise assault local governments, forcing them into the hands of the EFM’s.

(Go to “Class War in Michigan at http://voiceofdetroit.net/?p=4622 to read about House Bills 4214-18, which were passed by the House despite the Feb. 23 rallies. Upcoming story will feature community responses at the Feb. 23 Senate Education Committee hearing on their version of the bills, which are being fast-tracked for Snyder’s signature.)

Linda Willis (r): Schools, Not Jails

“These attacks are happening all over the country, and then they have the audacity to turn around and blame it on us,” Cecily McClellan, Vice President of Detroit’s Association of Professional and Technical Employees (APTE), said. “They waste trillions of dollars on two wars, and now they want to defund our schools, our cities, our state government. This is about their taking control—we are looking at fascism, we must stand up!”

APTE President Dempsey Addison added. “These politicians have been been hired by the corporations for their own interests. They are destroying a public school system that is worth over $750 billion nationwide. They want us to sacrifice our children, our pensions, to send our sons and daughters to lose their lives on foreign soil for democracy, but we are losing democracy right here.” 

Whose city? Our city!

Sandra Hines of the Coalition to Restore Hope to DPS pointed to the revolution in Egypt as an example of what people in this country must undertake.

“Ever since we got off the boat from Africa, we have had to overcome so many obstacles, and we HAVE overcome,” Hines declared. “Now we have to have revolution in our hearts. Those people in Egypt showed us a real revolution in our lifetime. We’ve got to follow in their footsteps and have a real revolution in Detroit!” 

Bust Wall Street, not DWSD!

Mike Mulholland, Secretary-Treasurer of AFSCME Local 207, which represents Detroit’s water and sewerage department workers, said, “We did not create the financial crisis! The bankers did,, but they got paid off, while we get laid off. We are gathering here today because we have no choice!”

He called on the protesters to join students Wed. March 2 at noon at Wayne State University’s Gullen Mall and then march from there to the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center where public workers from the Detroit, Wayne County and the state will demonstrate.

State Senator Coleman Young II recalled the state’s proud labor history.

EFM threat affects local governments everywhere in state

“It was a group of like-minded men and women who stood together and saved labor, saved the middle class and really reinvented the great state of Michigan,” Young cried out. “This state is where we had the battle of the overpass, where we put the world on wheels, where we showed everybody what solidarity is about. We forged our rights in blood, sweat and tears. We are for job creation, and no more privatization. We WILL own our constitutional rights and liberties, control our water department, and defeat taxes on pensions!”

“We get what we are organized to TAKE!” emphasized Maureen Taylor of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (MWRO). Marian Kramer of MWRO added, “We cannot let this stop here. We have to constantly battle the capitalists like you battle a tank!”

Rev. David Bullock, state-wide chair of Rainbow:PUSH and pastor of St. Matthews Congregational Church in Highland Park, agreed.

Even Dearborn firefighters, led by woman who says "I've had to fight all my life!" joined the protest; shown here walking to committee meeting

“There are more than businesses in Michigan,” Bullock said. “There are workers and families who need a recovery too. The last time I read my history book, we were freed from slavery years ago. The last time I read my history book, America was the land of the free and the home of the brave. We must get ready to fight this fight, not just during the first quarter, not just at half-time, we have to see it through to the end.”

On the capitol grounds, Linda Willis, with the Moratorium Now! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shut-offs, carried a banner reading, “Jobs and Education, Not War or Jails.”

In a statement, the Coalition declared, “Don’t balance the budget on the backs of the workers and poor. TAKE IT FROM THE BANKS AND THE CORPORATIONS. THERE’S PLENTY OF $$$!”

American Labor Improvement Association calls for general strike

EDITORIAL 

Libya and imperialism 

Published Feb 23, 2011 4:32 PM 

Of all the struggles going on in North Africa and the Middle East right now, the most difficult to unravel is the one in Libya. 

What is the character of the opposition to the Gadhafi regime, which reportedly now controls the eastern city of Benghazi? 

Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi

Is it just coincidence that the rebellion started in Benghazi, which is north of Libya’s richest oil fields as well as close to most of its oil and gas pipelines, refineries and its LNG port? Is there a plan to partition the country? 

What is the risk of imperialist military intervention, which poses the gravest danger for the people of the entire region? 

Libya is not like Egypt. Its leader, Moammar al-Gadhafi, has not been an imperialist puppet like Hosni Mubarak. For many years, Gadhafi was allied to countries and movements fighting imperialism. On taking power in 1969 through a military coup, he nationalized Libya’s oil and used much of that money to develop the Libyan economy. Conditions of life improved dramatically for the people. 

Egypt and Tunisia border Libya on opposite sides; U.S. could use Libya as a base against their revolutions if Gaddafi falls to monarchists

For that, the imperialists were determined to grind Libya down. The U.S. actually launched air strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi in 1986 that killed 60 people, including Gadhafi’s infant daughter – which is rarely mentioned by the corporate media. Devastating sanctions were imposed by both the U.S. and the U.N. to wreck the Libyan economy. 

After the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 and leveled much of Baghdad with a bombing campaign that the Pentagon exultantly called “shock and awe,” Gadhafi tried to ward off further threatened aggression on Libya by making big political and economic concessions to the imperialists. He opened the economy to foreign banks and corporations; he agreed to IMF demands for “structural adjustment,” privatizing many state-owned enterprises and cutting state subsidies on necessities like food and fuel. 

The Libyan people are suffering from the same high prices and unemployment that underlie the rebellions elsewhere and that flow from the worldwide capitalist economic crisis. 

Current flag of Libya; green reflects the people's devotion to Islam, and is also the national color of Libya.

There can be no doubt that the struggle sweeping the Arab world for political freedom and economic justice has also struck a chord in Libya. There can be no doubt that discontent with the Gadhafi regime is motivating a significant section of the population. 

However, it is important for progressives to know that many of the people being promoted in the West as leaders of the opposition are long-time agents of imperialism. The BBC on Feb. 22 showed footage of crowds in Benghazi pulling down the green flag of the republic and replacing it with the flag of the overthrown monarch King Idris – who had been a puppet of U.S. and British imperialism. 

Protesters raise Libyan monarchy's flag in Stockholm, Sweden

The Western media are basing a great deal of their reporting on supposed facts provided by the exile group National Front for the Salvation of Libya, which was trained and financed by the U.S. CIA. Google the front’s name plus CIA and you will find hundreds of references. 

The Wall Street Journal in a Feb. 23 editorial wrote that “The U.S. and Europe should help Libyans overthrow the Gadhafi regime.” There is no talk in the board rooms or the corridors of Washington about intervening to help the people of Kuwait or Saudi Arabia or Bahrain overthrow their dictatorial rulers. Even with all the lip service being paid to the mass struggles rocking the region right now, that would be unthinkable. As for Egypt and Tunisia, the imperialists are pulling every string they can to get the masses off the streets. 

There was no talk of U.S. intervention to help the Palestinian people of Gaza when thousands died from being blockaded, bombed and invaded by Israel. Just the opposite. The U.S. intervened to prevent condemnation of the Zionist settler state. 

Imperialism’s interest in Libya is not hard to find. Bloomberg.com wrote on Feb. 22 that while Libya is Africa’s third-largest producer of oil, it has the continent’s largest proven reserves – 44.3 billion barrels. It is a country with a relatively small population but the potential to produce huge profits for the giant oil companies. That’s how the super-rich look at it, and that’s what underlies their professed concern for the people’s democratic rights in Libya. 

Getting concessions out of Gadhafi is not enough for the imperialist oil barons. They want a government that they can own outright, lock, stock and barrel. They have never forgiven Gadhafi for overthrowing the monarchy and nationalizing the oil. Fidel Castro of Cuba in his column “Reflections” takes note of imperialism’s hunger for oil and warns that the U.S. is laying the basis for military intervention in Libya. 

Victim of U.S. interventionist war against Iraq

In the U.S., some forces are trying to mobilize a street-level campaign promoting such U.S. intervention. We should oppose this outright and remind any well-intentioned people of the millions killed and displaced by U.S. intervention in Iraq. 

Progressive people are in sympathy with what they see as a popular movement in Libya. We can help such a movement most by supporting its just demands while rejecting imperialist intervention, in whatever form it may take. It is the people of Libya who must decide their future. 

Articles copyright 1995-2011 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. 

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GADDAFI TELLS PALESTINIANS: REVOLT AGAINST ISRAEL

By Ali Shuaib and Salah Sarrar

Palestinian youth support Dearborn rally for Egyptian Revolution

TRIPOLI, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Palestinian refugees should capitalise on the wave of popular revolts in the Middle East by massing peacefully on the borders of Israel until it gives in to their demands, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Sunday. 

Gaddafi is respected in many parts of the Arab world for his uncompromising criticism of Israel and Arab leaders who have dealings with the Jewish state, though some people in the region dismiss his initiatives as unrealistic. 

He was giving his first major speech since a popular uprising in neighbouring Egypt forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign, an event which electrified the Arab world and prompted speculation that other Arab governments could also be toppled. 

“Fleets of boats should take Palestinians … and wait by the Palestinian shores until the problem is resolved,” Gaddafi was shown saying on state television. “This is a time of popular revolutions.”

Union members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1733 gather in Memphis to protest unfair labor practices in 1976. Photo: Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images

by Michael Honey

COLOR LINES

Wednesday, February 23 2011

WHO ARE THE EVIL PUBLIC WORKERS? BLACK PEOPLE

In light of the clash of wills in Wisconsin, we should remember the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One of King’s slogans that we rarely hear is this one: “all labor has dignity.”

King spoke these words in Memphis on March 18, 1968, in the midst of a strike of 1,200 black sanitation workers that had lasted over a month. After rousing them to a fever pitch, King called for a general strike by all workers to shut the city down on behalf of the sanitation workers.

Striking AFSCME sanitation workers, Memphis, 1968

What was the demand of these workers? Improved wages and benefits, yes, but their key demand was that the City of Memphis grant collective bargaining rights and the collection of union dues, without which they knew they could not maintain their union.

These are the very two items that Wisconsin’s Gov. Scott Walker wants to take away from public employees. He knows, as did Mayor Henry Loeb in Memphis, that if you can kill union bargaining rights and dues collection, you can kill the union.

Also like Loeb, Walker is a fiscal conservative. As he cuts taxes for business he raises costs for workers and says ending union power will benefit the fiscal health of the state. Walker wants to end the right of public employees to bargain collectively, even though the workers have accepted a tripling of their health-care costs and a wage cut to help offset the state’s fiscal crisis.

Jericho Road, by Prof. Michael Honey

In nearby Ohio, Gov. John Kasich wants to take away the right to join a union for 14,000 state-financed child-care and home-care workers, among the most overworked and underpaid of public servants. In other states, Republicans want to adopt “right to work” (for less) laws that would take away the requirement that workers in unionized jobs pay union dues. This would undermine the unions while, in King’s words, providing “no rights and no work.”

Even in Midwest states that have been union strongholds, Republicans now have public-employee unions in their cross-hairs. This is the latest and potentially most deadly phase of government assault on unions. Ever since the Reagan counterrevolution, government policies joined with private sector profiteers have vastly worsened racial-economic inequalities, created a gambling casino on Wall Street and paved the way for the current economic crisis.

Conservatives rationalize their attacks on unions by saying unionized public workers are unfairly privileged. But they only look privileged by comparison to the rest of the working class, which is suffering economic catastrophe and has almost entirely lost the benefits of unionization. Yet class envy is an easy means to divide and rule.

Racism is another part of the Republican arsenal of divide and rule. Thanks to the destruction of manufacturing jobs and unions, black and Latino workers in manual occupations have disproportionately suffered high rates of poverty and incarceration as many of their families disintegrate. The one toe-hold many black and minority workers (and especially women among them) still have in the economy is in unionized public employment. Now, the Republicans want to take that away.

AFSCME Local 457 President Laurie Walker, Lansing march, Feb. 23, 2011

In one stroke, by eliminating both bargaining rights and union dues, Republicans can insure that organized, dues-paying workers and particularly minorities and women will no longer provide a potent base for the Democratic Party. There will be few grassroots organizations left to counter the huge infusion of money into politics by the rich.

Workers in Wisconsin have agreed to make sacrifices to get state government out of its budgetary hole. But it would be a huge mistake for anyone to go beyond that and buy into attacks on public employee unions. Loss of unions will further decimate the spending power of working people, thereby intensifying the economic crisis while further removing the voice of workers from politics. That’s a downward spiral.

Republicans most especially want to undermine the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Founded in Wisconsin, AFSCME flowered after King died in the fight for union rights in Memphis in 1968. AFSCME became one of the largest unions in the country, with King regarded as an honorary member and practically a founder of the union.

March on state capitol, Lansing, Feb. 23, 2011

In King’s framework, killing public employees unions today would be immoral as well as foolish. He said the three evils facing humankind are war, racism and economic injustice, and that the purpose of a union is to overcome the latter evil. King said the civil-rights movement from 1954 to 1965 was “phase one,” to be followed by a second phase—the struggle for economic advancement. We are not doing very well in phase two, and unions remain essential to carry it out.

I’ve recently finished a new collection of King’s remarkable speeches, titled “All Labor Has Dignity,” which shows that throughout his life, King stood up for union rights. There is no more important time than the present for us all to follow his lead.

http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/02/its_1968_all_over_again_and_kings_fight_for_unions_is_still_essential.html

Michael Honey is a historian and Haley Professor of Humanities at the University of Washington, Tacoma. He is editor of “All Labor Has Dignity” (Beacon Press, 2011) and author of “Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike: Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign” (W.W. Norton, 2007).

Wisconsin uprising continues

Rallies planned in all 50 state capitols Sat. Feb. 26 12 noon.

Updates on Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio uprisings;  Michigan, Boston, New York City, Atlanta protests

Indiana GOPers Pull Union-Busting Bill

Here’s a run-down on events and key analysis on the fast-moving events in Wisconsin’s state capitol — and nationwide.

AlterNet / By Joshua Holland

Whose House? Our House!

February 21, 2011  |

  (VOD editor: the following updates as published by Alternet have been re-arranged to emphasize national spread of Wisconsin uprising and protests planned for this Sat. Feb. 26.)

The groups are planning “Save the American Dream” rallies in all 50 state capitals for Saturday at noon (local time). You can find out more about the rallies here.

Egypt supports Wisconsin

Update:

Nationwide protests are scheduled for this Saturday to fight back against balancing the budget on the backs of working people while corporate America shelters hundreds of billions in potential tax revenues. Find out more at US Uncut.

Over at the HuffPo, Van Jones argues that we may be seeing the emergence of a new movement centered on social and economic justice.

Ohio protest

Reinvigorated by the idealism and fighting spirit on display right now in America’s heartland, the movement for “hope and change” has a rare, second chance. It can renew itself and become again a national force with which to be reckoned.

Over the next hours and days, all who love this country need to do everything possible to spread the “spirit of Madison” to all 50 states. This does not mean we need to occupy 50 state capitol buildings; things elsewhere are not yet that dire. But this weekend, the best of America should rally on the steps of every statehouse in the union.

Moveon.org and others have issued just this kind of call to action; everyone should prioritize responding and turning out in large numbers.

Columbus, Ohio: protesters take over state capitol

On Saturday, the powers-that-be (in both parties) should see a rainbow force coming together: organized workers, business leaders, veterans, students and youth, faith leaders, civil rights fighters, women’s rights champions, immigrant rights defenders, LGBTQ stalwarts, environmentalists, academics, artists, celebrities, community activists, elected officials and more — all standing up for what’s right.

Update:  Big news out of Indiana, as the Indianapolis Star reports that GOP lawmakers have pulled their controversial right-to-work-for-lower-wages bill. They’ll send it to a committee for further study. But the Dems who fled the state will not return yet “because they have additional issues they want resolved.”

Indiana protest

Last night they issued a statement saying they had concerns about 11 bills, including other labor-related bills, education reforms and the proposed next state budget. They singled out two in particular: the right-to-work bill and one which lets state tax dollars pay for private school tuition for some families. 

Update: Solidarity rallies are being held across the country. In Boston, the local NPR station reports that “union members and Tea Party supporters clashed over the stalemate 1,200 miles away, between teachers and the governor of Wisconsin.”

Update:

Indianapolis: sit-in at state capitol

TPM reports that a conservative deputy attorney general in Indiana took to Twitter and called for Madison police to use live ammunition to end the protests in the capitol.  “[A]gainst thugs physically threatening legally-elected state legislators & governor?” he tweeted in an exchange with a Mother Jones editor. “You’re damn right I advocate deadly force.”

He’s not alone. A rally to show solidarity with the protesters in Wisconsin is being held at 4 pm today at the Gold Dome in Atlanta, and the Journal-Constitution points to another threat of right-wing intimidation posted on the hard-right Free Republic.

New York City workers support Wisconsin

If you are within three hours drive of ATL, come join us. Dan and others from RTC will be there, with the usual accoutrements. As always, each participant is responsible for compliance with all applicable local laws.”

Update:

Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, spent three hours greeting workers and union members who gathered in 26 degree temperatures around the Ohio State Capitol to protect their right to organize. He called it, “a defining moment in the history of our state that will determine the rights of workers for years to come.”

Atlanta rally to support Wisconsin

“The hundreds of workers who I personally spoke to feel betrayed. The federal government has no hesitation to hand out billions to Wall Street, but when it comes to workers there is an effort in Ohio and other states to destroy the right to bargain collectively,” said Kucinich.

“This is the beginning of a long and drawn out battle between state government’s corporate philosophy and the workers. I am proud to stand on the side of the workers.” 

Update:

Boston rally to support Wisconsin

CNN estimates 10-15,000 protesters in Columbus, Ohio. There are reportedly 1,500 at a protest in Canton.

Via Twitter, Matt Stoller sends this pic of a demo he describes as a “Fairly large block-long Cheesehead rally outside Fox News” headquarters in New York:

  Continue reading →

Greg Thrasher

 By Greg Thrasher, VOD contributing editor

Detroit like many other urban venues across the nation is on the edge of a massive gentrification and urban migration movement that not only means housing and property changes but a cultural and political upheaval is  also percolating and is currently underway. From the regionalization of the city’s water department to the resurgence of the mid-town area to a dismantling of DPS. Urban renewal, gentrification, suburban sprawl, regionalization, and even resizing of the city speaks to the new landscape in Detroit and other urban venues in America. 
 
Cities like Detroit are now the new Urban Frontier and as such all of these themes and movements create tension, economic shifts, cultural sparks and of course political posturing. From who gets to be the new sheriff in town to how the city is to be governed this new urban landscape brings with it all manner of opportunity including the specter of conflict and growth. How one navigates in the new Urban Frontier remains a critical issue for this new urban terrain for those living in the new urban frontier and for those observing it from afar.
 

Corktown presents an object lesson regarding the urban frontier; Charlie Duncan, (shown here) is a homeless Corktown resident who was attacked by Steve DiPonio last Oct. 6; DiPonio attempted to drag Mr. Duncan behind his truck, reminiscent of the Jasper Texas lynching. DiPonio currently faces trial for assault with intent to commit murder, but has an expensive attorney since his family owns a wealthy city contractor, Jay Dee Contractors. His trial is set for later this year.

Some have argued that old neighborhoods would never return become renewed and refreshed without the injection of new capital and new people. Others have argued that such injections of new people destroy the historical fabric of a community and make the new landscape a reflection of new money, different hues and different agendas.
 
Detroit’s demographics reflect a majority Black population yet the latest wave of gentrification is a different hue and class orientation. The emergence of class and elitism is reflective of this new urban frontier. The recent recession in the nation has slowed the emergence of the new urban frontier but it will not stop it.
 
With the new urban frontier expect the following: a more diverse array of public officials, an educational system that is driven by demands of class and higher expectations, an urban poor that becomes more hostile and hopeless. Plus with the new urban frontier demographic we can also expect a cultural terrain that is inspired by Robo Cop statues, gritty literature and cultural artifacts that do not embrace the lyrics of rhythm and blues but the sounds of world music and the chatter of social networks.
 

Steve DiPonio

"Robocop" William Melendez

The new Urban Frontier will be either a gateway to a better city or a guarded fortress. I expect a combination of everything under the sun…..

State Rep. Tim Melton (D-Pontiac)

By State Rep. Tim Melton

Rally at the Capitol

A rally will be held at the State Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 9 a.m., and Wednesday, Feb. 23, at noon. They are intended to voice the people’s opposition to the Governor’s budget, and a number of bills being considered in the Legislature.

Gov. Rick Snyder presented his budget to the state Legislature this week. He outlined his plans to address the upcoming $1.7 billion deficit for next year. The Governor also presented a plan to restructure taxes in the state. A significant portion of the tax proposal includes cutting business taxes while shifting much of these taxes to individuals. His proposal essentially contains enough cuts to address the deficit, and then brings in additional taxes from Michigan citizens in order to eliminate the Michigan Business Tax.

The Legislature is faced with another difficult budget to balance for next year. I have serious concerns about the Governor’s proposal. The proposal shifts the tax burden to seniors and the working class, while cutting local governments and the services they provide in their communities.

Here is a brief overview of the Governor’s budget and tax proposals:

Education

• Higher Education cut 22 percent ($222 million)
• $83 million incentive fund to universities to not hike tuition rates
• Cut $470 in K-12 per pupil funding ($452 million), and eliminates categorical spending
• Community colleges are not cut

State Employee cuts

• Asked for unspecified concessions ($180 million)

Revenue Sharing

• Statutory revenue sharing is completely eliminated ($300 million cut)
• Revenue sharing payments to Auburn Hills will be reduced to $1.27 million
• Pontiac will lose about 57 percent in revenue sharing (approximately a $6 million cut
• Incentives for “best practices” will require locals to compete for $200 million pot of money, but won’t be announced until March 2012 and awards/payment could be much later

Corrections

• $51 million in direct spending cuts
• $32 million savings from privatizing food and privatizing prison stores and others
• Closing one prison saving $19 million
• Eliminates the public works program

Military and Veteran’s Affairs

• Privatize resident care aide service ($4.2 million)

Agriculture

• Eliminates the Dairy Farm Inspection program ($600,000) allowing the industry to police itself

Judiciary

• Eliminates six Trial Court judgeships ($940,000)

State Police

• $3.2 million cut; close state police posts

Human Services

• Instituting 48 month time limit on welfare (federal 60 month limit)
  •  
  • 20 percent can extend beyond for hardship or disability, etc.
• Eliminate 300 positions in DHS.
• Family day care provider rate being cut from $1.60 to $1.35 an hour

Community Health

• No cuts to Medicaid reimbursement rates
• No cuts to Medicaid coverage

Tax Changes

• Replace Business Tax with 6 percent corporate income tax (approximately $1.5 billion cut)
• Only larger corporations pay
• Eliminate charitable giving tax deduction/credit
• Future business tax credits would end
• Current credits would be honored
• Phasing out film credits spend $25 million FY 12 from 21st Century Jobs Fund
• Eliminate credit for donations to public universities
• Tax increase on all income earners by freezing the income tax rate at 4.25 percent after October 1, 2011. Current law would drop the rate to 3.9 percent.

Tax Increases

• Tax public pensions ($128.8 million)
• Tax private pensions ($725 million)
• Change Homestead Property Tax credit to households ($320 million in additional tax revenue)
• Eliminate the Earned Income Tax Credit for working citizens ($340 million) – Estimates on the EITC credit elimination show approximately a $430 tax increase to individual working taxpayers in Auburn Hills and Pontiac
• 1 percent tax on all health insurance claims. Every claim filed by an individual will add a 1 percent cost
• Tax increase via cap in the income tax personal exemption at $75k single and $150k couple

Changes to Emergency Manager Law

House and Senate committees have been considering repealing and replacing the existing law on Financial Emergency Managers. Republicans have called for this legislation to be moved quickly because of pending financial emergencies to local governments. Despite the necessity for Financial Emergency Managers, I have some serious concerns about the legislation. I’m continuing to talk with committee members and legislative leadership to get some changes inserted in the bills.

Here is an overview of the bills:

• The process begins with a state review of a local government’s finances. The bills add a number of ways in which the state can begin the review and Financial Emergency Manager process. The local government must cooperate with state officials.
• The state will create a review team to focus on the finances of the local government, if a probable financial stress is determined in the preliminary review. The review team will create a financial consent agreement for the local unit of government. The bill allows the state to empower local leaders with some authorities of Emergency Managers.
• The Review team will report to the Governor within 60 days of their appointment. They may recommend whether the local unit is working to fix the financial situation and abiding by their consent agreement. The Governor may declare a financial emergency, and an emergency manager will appointed to run the local unit of government.
• The proposed legislation does a number of things to expand the powers of an Emergency Manager appointed to run a local government. These things include: Assuming all powers of the elected board and city manager or mayor, control all aspects of a community’s finances; terminate and impose union contracts; borrow on behalf of the local community; and dissolve the local unit of government.

These bills empower Emergency Managers to control all aspects of a local government, and supersede any local government provision. A few pieces modified of the bill include**: removing the ban that prohibited officials from the local government from running for election again, and allowing Emergency Managers to take over pension funds**. I fought for language that prohibits an Emergency Manager from taking over a pension fund, if the fund is over 80 percent funded. The bill is still early in the process. But, at this point, this added language would exempt the Pontiac retiree pension fund from takeover.

Youth. women and entire families celebrated the fall of Mubarak outside Dearborn City Hall Feb. 12

By Diane Bukowski

DEARBORN – “It’s just like an avalanche,” said Hasan Nawash. “This is a more significant loss to Israel and the U.S. than the fall of the Shah. The real Egypt is coming back in the most beautiful form, with the masses of the people, women, workers, the old people, the youth, professors, doctors, entire families. The people have been governing themselves for 18 days now. Today I’m proud to be an Arab, and proud to be a Palestinian.”

Nawash spoke at a celebration of the fall of Hosni Mubarak’s government, held at the Lebanese American Heritage Club in Dearborn, and sponsored by the Congress of Arab-American Organizations (CAAO) Feb. 11. The following day, a larger celebration was held outside the Dearborn City Hall.

Rally at Lebanese American Heritage Club Feb. 11

Osama Siblani, CAAO spokesman and publisher of the Arab-American News, told the gathering. “This is the most significant event in the history of the modern Arab world. Today we witnessed the rise of the Sphinx. We saw a 30-year dictatorship crumble before our eyes in 18 days. Nobody believed in them, but they believed in themselves. They marched for the rights of the Palestinians, the Iraqis, the Yemenis as well as themselves.  There will be a domino effect throughout the region, in Morocco, Lebanon, and Africa.”

Siblani added, “We urge the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress to take a firm and unwavering stance in support of the Egyptian people and the ousting of not just the dictator Hosni Mubarak but also his entire regime. We strongly urge the U.S. to reverse its support of oppressive totalitarian regimes in the Arab world in support of the ideals of freedom and democracy that we cherish here.”

.

Rally at City Hall Feb. 12

Speakers noted that Mubarak’s resignation took place on the anniversary of the fall of the Shah of Iran on Feb. 11, 1979. Arab-Americans of all nationalities joined in singing the Egyptian national anthem, as children cavorted in the aisles of the hall.

“This is the beginning of a bigger movement for independence, for the integrity of our people,” one speaker said. “This will be a great test for people of honor. We are proud of the Shia and Sunni brothers who supported this from Lebanon, and of the unity of Muslims and Christians. We are proud of the honorable position of President Barack Obama, and admire the army. We know it is not over, and there are many challenges ahead of us.

In a separate interview, Nawash said, “I am cautiously optimistic. We celebrated

Hasan Nawash

the rise of Obama but have been disappointed on all fronts, including the Palestinian question. The Egyptian army is still infiltrated at the top by generals with ties to all kinds of billionaires. We must be responsible and alert. The U.S. administration, with the role it plays in the world, will try to frustrate any people’s movement.”

Nawash said the Palestinian people will  target Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority, because of his collaboration with the U.S. administration.

Those celebrating at both events took time to pay tribute to over 365 Egyptians who died in the uprising, saying that they and their families had sacrificed their lives for the future of their people. A speaker announced that CAAO is starting a trust fund for the families of the victims.

They also paid tribute to the the thousands of Arab people in Lebanon and Gaza whose uprisings paved the way for the Egyptian Revolution.

“Today, we have conquered again in Tahrir Square,” they said.

Another rally was held Feb. 20 in front of the Dearborn City Hall, sponsored by the CAAO.

Child at Dearborn rally Feb. 12

US Greens celebrate Egypt’s giant step towards democracy, assert that the Egyptian people must build a new government according to their own interests, not US strategic demands.

DEMAND U.S. FREEZE $70 BILLION IN MUBARAK ASSETS 

Feb. 13, 2011

http://www.gp.org

WASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party of the United States congratulated the Egyptian people and called President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation a huge step towards democracy, human rights, and stability for their country.

“The Egyptian revolution is a victory for the people of Egypt, and also the victory for an idea — the idea that violent regimes can be overthrown through nonviolent means,” said Romi Elnagar, member of the
Green Party of Louisiana and wife and mother of Egyptian-Americans. 

Celebration of Egyptian Revolution in Dearborn Feb. 11

“While police and rampaging pro-Mubark thugs killed 350 and injured thousands more, the protesters themselves remained overwhelmingly peaceful.”

US Greens hoped for an end to the 30-year-old ’emergency decree’ and for a broad-based transitional government that embraced opposition parties, to begin the work of dismantling the brutally oppressive
Mubarak regime.  The next step will take place when the military relinquishes power and Egyptians establish a civil government with a constitution, free and fair elections, democratic institutions, and
the means to solve problems like unemployment and poverty.

Greens also urged the Obama Administration to cooperate in an investigation of the alleged $70 billion that Mr. Mubarak’s accumulated during his corrupt regime and to freeze any of his assets that are held in the US.

Around 1,200 workers strike at the Oil and Soap Factory in the city of Mansoura, Egypt, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011. Growing labor unrest, rekindled by the 18-day uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak, is deepening economic malaise and compounded by weeks of bank closures that are hampering business operations and the drying up of tourism - a major money earner for Egypt. (AP Photo)

“We call on the US government to avoid meddling and respect the right of Egyptians to rule themselves.  Aid for Egypt must be for humanitarian purposes, not military, and without strings attached.  If the Obama Administration tries to press the new Egypt into subordination, to satisfy the US’s strategic military and economic interests in the region, we will betray the Egyptian people and their right to democratic sovereignty,” said Laura Wells, 2010 Green Party candidate for Governor of California.

US Greens noted that much of the conflict in the Middle East and resentment of the US by Egyptians and other populations in the region centers around the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“Since making its 1979 ‘cold peace’ with Israel, the Egyptian government has supported Israel’s ongoing apartheid and dispossession of Palestinians, most recently complying with the siege of Gaza, in return for billions in aid from the US.   We look to the formation of a democratic Egypt which adheres to international law and reflects its citizens’ long-standing opposition to Israel’s oppression of Palestinians,” said Dr. Justine McCabe, co-chair of the Green Party’s International Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/intl ).

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

• Green Party ‘Egypt in Revolt’ page with news feeds
http://www.gp.org/egypt.html

PUBLIC EMPLOYEES TAKE TO THE STREETS IN EGYPT

Feb 15, 2011  |  

By TAREK EL-TABLAWY and SARAH EL DEEB
Associated Press

Bus drivers strike at a bus depot in the lower-income neighborhood of Shubra Mazalat in Cairo, Egypt Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011. Bus drivers and public transport workers in Cairo joined thousands of state employees on strike Thursday in spreading labor unrest that has pumped further strength and momentum into Egypt's wave of anti-government protests. Writing in Arabic on placard center-left reads "Increase basic pay" and on placard center-right "End of work pension: 60 months."

CAIRO, Egypt — Thousands of government

employees, from ambulance drivers to police and bank workers, protested to demand better pay Monday, in a growing wave of Egyptian labor unrest rekindled by the democracy uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Egypt’s military rulers asked for an end to the protests in what could be a final warning before an outright ban.

The military said it needed calm to implement what it promises will be an eventual handover to civilian rule under a new, more democratic system. It has set a swift timetable for change, saying it aims to have the constitutional amendments drawn up within 10 days and a referendum to approve them within two months ahead of elections for a civilian government, according to youth activists who met two of the top generals.

The coalition of young activists who organized the unprecedented protest movement pressured the military Monday for new steps to ensure the autocratic system that has pervaded Egypt for the past 30 years is dismantled. Protesters welcomed the military’s takeover after Mubarak’s resignation, but many remain wary of the military’s intentions.

In a list of demands Monday, they called for the dissolving of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party and for the creation within 30 days of a cabinet of technocrats. They want it to replace the current caretaker government, appointed by Mubarak after the protests erupted Jan. 25. 

Public transport workers on strike in Egypt

The military’s patience with the strikes, which are independent of the activists, may be running out as it struggles to restore stability and get Egypt’s economy functioning again.

Egypt’s dusty streets were transformed Monday into fertile ground for anyone with a grievance against anything.

Employees of the National Bank of Egypt, the largest government-owned bank, went on strike, a day after hundreds of them massed outside its headquarters.

Meanwhile, momentum is building to move against the international assets of Mubarak, his family and regime officials.

The U.S. is examining requests from Egypt’s new government to freeze the assets of top Mubarak aides, but not the president himself, a senior U.S. official said.

Chris Brown worked for Singapore Power International and DTE

By Diane Bukowski

DETROIT – In January, Mayor Dave Bing appointed Chris Brown, who was a managing director of Singapore Power International, and previously a DTE Energy Executive Vice-President, as the the city’s Chief Operating Officer. In that role, he was given oversight of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

Bing selected Brown because of his “wealth of corporate and operational expertise,” according to a news release from the Mayor’s office. Bing has not yet appointed an official DWSD director to replace Victor Mercado, now under federal indictment.

DTE CEO Anthony Earley (l) with Mayor Dave Bing at his side during 2010 Christmas tree lighting in Campus Martius

Brown replaced Robert Buckler, previously President of DTE Energy, a subsidiary of DTE, headed by Bing’s close ally and campaign contributor Anthony Earley.

Brown’s role in overseeing DWSD must be watched, said John Riehl, President of Local 207 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Local 207 represents 3,000 DWSD workers.

“Since Brown comes from private utilities, we will see what direction he will take DWSD in,” Riehl said. His local has fought massive internal privatization under previous directors including Mercado, and the City Council vote last year to buy 100 percent of the Detroit’s power from DTE instead of using the Public Lighting Department.

DWSD workers and customers now have increased concerns as a new Board of Water Commissioners on which suburban appointees will have increased power over contracts and rates takes over in April (click on http://voiceofdetroit.net/?p=4544  to read VOD story.)

Singapore Power Building

Singapore Power was created in 1995 to take over the electricity and gas businesses of Singapore’s state provider, the Public Utilities Board. Since 2007, it has also owned Australia’s Alinta Limited, which was formed in 1995 to take over the role of the State Energy Commission of Western Australia. Alinta eventually bought out suppliers across Australia and New Zealand.

Customers of Singapore Power have increasingly complained of falsely inflated rates, according to an article in the July, 22, 2008 issue of Straits Times.

“A record number of complaints about overcharging for electricity were investigated by Singapore Power last month,” said the Times. “SP Services, the power company’s customer service arm, said it looked into 1,093 cases where customers had complained that their bills for May were higher than in previous months. . . . A Straits Times check of 100 households found many that also said their bills for last month had jumped. About 10 per cent said their charges went up by extraordinary amounts, of between 60 per cent and 113 per cent.”

The Times said SP Services claimed the rates were accurate. The paper predicted, however, that the alleged overcharges would continue in the future.

Alinta Energy logo

In January of this year, the Western Australia Council of Social Service (WACOSS) issued a release saying Alinta had the highest rate of customer shut-offs in the previous year, of the country’s utilities.

“Alinta’s disconnection rates reveal the most worrying data of the [Economic Regulation Authority] reports, increasing for the second year in a row. Alinta disconnected 17,223 households in 2009-10, compared to 12,942 in 2007-08,” said WACOSS.

“WACOSS cautions against further price hikes and calls for careful consideration of essential service affordability following the release of the performance reports on electricity and gas retailers by the independent regulator today.”

DTE demo July, 2009

DTE has been the subject of continuing demonstrations sponsored by the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (MWRO) and other community groups for its draconian policies of shut-offs of heat and lights to thousands of its customers.

After toddlers Tro’vion, 4, Fantasia, 4 and Selena Young 3, died last March in a fire caused by a DTE shut-off, their grandmother Martha Young, said, “It sure was murder. My daughter begged the man not to shut her power off because there were babies in the house. He saw at least three or four of the children. She told him the utilities were included in her rent, but he wouldn’t wait for the landlord to get there. He said he was just doing his job.”

Travion, Selena and Fantasia Young, murdered by DTE

Seventeen people died that season as a result of shut-offs, said MWRO President Maureen Taylor.

 “We recognize that DTE Energy is a private company, but it is subsidized by the people, by federal and state sources,” she declared. “DTE continually violates Michigan Public Service Commission regulations which give limited protection to seniors and low-income people. Utilities are necessary for life and should be protected as a human right. We demand an end to shutoffs for seniors, low-income people and the differently-abled all year round.”

MWRO has also demanded affordable water rates for Detroiters and an end to shut-offs of that basic necessity, which have continued unabated under the Bing administration.

Ohio workers pack State Capitol

PROTESTS SPREAD TO OHIO FROM WISCONSIN 

By Mark Niquette – Feb 18, 2011 

Bloomberg News, Feb. 18 

(EDITOR: Go to VOD national page to read Stephanie Taylor’s column on the history of the use of military force against labor in the U.S. Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin has threatened to call out the National Guard as crowds have now grown beyond 50,000 every day, and appear determined to remain.) 

In what union leaders say is becoming a national fight, protests against legislation to restrict public employees’ collective-bargaining rights spread from Wisconsin to Ohio. 

In Madison, Wisconsin, crowds that police estimated at 25,000 engulfed the Capitol and its lawns yesterday during a third-straight day of protests as Democratic senators fled the legislative session. In Columbus, Ohio, about 3,800 state workers, teachers and other public employees came to the statehouse for a committee hearing. President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohioan, argued over whether the bills are “an assault on unions.” 

WATCH BLOOMBERG VIDEO AT —http://www.bloomberg.com/video/66862588/ 

Wisconsin protesters occupied capitol 24-7

Ohio firefighters Dave Hefflinger and Jerry Greer said they were. They stood near hundreds of workers elbow-to-elbow in the statehouse atrium and listened to a Senate hearing through speakers. Chants of “Kill the bill” echoed.

 “We’re here to support our brothers and sisters,” Hefflinger, a 27-year veteran, said in an interview. “They’re trying to take away what we fought for all of these years.” 

Hefflinger, 49, and Greer, 39, members of the department in Findlay, Ohio, drove two hours south to protest the bill. The measure would eliminate collective bargaining for state workers, prevent local-government employees from negotiating for health insurance and replace salary schedules with merit pay. 

With states facing deficits that may reach a combined $125 billion next year, Republican governors including Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, Ohio’s John Kasich and New Jersey’s Chris Christie are targeting changes in rules for collective bargaining and worker contributions for health-care coverage and pensions. 

Wisconsin Walkouts 

Union strong

In Wisconsin, Walker championed a bill that would make public workers bargain only for wages and require them to pay 5.8 percent of their pension costs; they pay nothing now. They would have to foot 12 percent of their health-care premiums, up from 6 percent. Police and firefighters wouldn’t be covered by the measure.

Fourteen Democratic senators disappeared from the Capitol yesterday, just as the Senate was about to begin debating, according to the Associated Press. Their flight brought the debate to a swift halt by denying the chamber a quorum, the news agency said. 

‘Don’t Blink’ 

Yesterday, University of Wisconsin-Madison students walked out of classes at the urging of student government and campus newspapers and marched to the Capitol, about a mile away. There, they joined protesters who filled the rotunda to chant, bang drums and sing, and spilled outside. 

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has threatened to call out National Guard; photo at left shows Guard threatening striking Memphis sanitation workers in 1968; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched with them and was assassinated shortly afterward

In a telephone interview Feb. 15, Walker said he spoke with Kasich about the demonstrations. When asked for advice, Walker said, “Don’t blink.”  

The White House’s political operation, Organizing for America, helped to build crowds using social media, the Washington Post reported today, citing an unidentified Democratic Party official. Obama himself spoke to Milwaukee television station WTMJ. 

“Some of what I’ve heard coming out of Wisconsin, where they’re just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions,” the president said. 

Boehner, a Republican from a Cincinnati suburb, responded with a statement saying he was “disappointed” that Obama criticized Walker. 

Dire Challenges  

Learn from history

“Republicans in Congress — and reform-minded GOP governors like Scott Walker, John Kasich and Chris Christie — are daring to speak the truth about the dire fiscal challenges Americans face at all levels of government, and daring to commit themselves to solutions that will liberate our economy and help put our citizens on a path to prosperity,” Boehner said. 

The bills are state-level skirmishes in a national battle, and the purpose is to undermine labor unions and the Democrats they support, said John Russo, a professor and co-director of the Center for Working-Class Studies at Youngstown State University in Ohio. 

“It’s really an ideological battle that’s being fought across the country right now,” Russo said yesterday in an interview while waiting to testify before the Ohio Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee. “This is a real teaching moment. Let’s have this debate about the role of the public sector.”

There were 50 witnesses scheduled, and Chairman Kevin Bacon said the committee would hear them without a break. 

“This is a true test of democracy,” Bacon said. 

Biggest Crowd  

Defend Ohio

The statehouse spokesman, Gregg Dodd, estimated the crowd at about 3,800 and said it was the largest gathering inside the statehouse since it was renovated in 1996. 

Mixing with protesters were members of Tea Party groups who staged their own rally in support of the legislation. 

Mike Wilson, who founded the Cincinnati Tea Party, said the bill is an effort to restore balance between governments and their workers, who he said are overpaid. 

“This bill is not on attack on public employees; it is not an attack on the middle class,” Wilson, 34, a technology consultant, said at the rally. “This bill is about math.” 

Joe Rugola, the former president of the Ohio AFL-CIO who also is executive director of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, said he represents bus drivers and janitors who earn about $24,000 a year. 

“I’m still looking for this privileged class of workers,” Rugola said in an interview while waiting to testify. “This is just part of a national attack on working people.” 

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Niquette in Columbus, Ohio at mniquette@bloomberg.net 

Public Worker Protests Spread To Ohio

Grace Wyler | Feb. 18, 2011 

http://www.businessinsider.com/public-worker-protests-take-hold-in-the-buckeye-state-2011-2#ixzz1ERDCeiwV 

All eyes are on Wisconsin as a battle unfolds between public employee unions and Republican lawmakers looking to limit their collective bargaining rights. But as overburdened state governments look to close deficits and cut costs, other states are in the middle of the same debate. 

In Ohio, a fight has been playing out more quietly over a bill that would end collective bargaining for all state workers and limit it for other public employees. The legislation would also eliminate salary schedules in favor of merit pay, a measure that has been heavily criticized by the state’s public safety workers’ unions. Unlike Wisconsin’s bill, the Ohio legislation includes firefighters and police officers unions. 

Firefighters joined fellow union members

About 3,800 firefighters, police officers, teachers and other public employees rallied outside the state Capitol during three days of state Senate hearings on the bill this week. Yesterday, about 200 Tea Party activists turned out to support of the legislation, the Columbus Dispatch reports.  

Ohio legislators are expected to vote on the bill in the next few weeks.