This post was written and reported by freelance contributor Dawn R. Wolfe through our Daily Kos freelance program.
In a move that even one Republican state senator says subverts the will of more than a quarter-million people, Michigan's Republican-led legislature voted this month to keep two popular employment-related proposals off this November's ballot. Instead, the state legislature voted in early September to adopt two proposals that would raise Michigan's minimum wage and require most employers to allow employees to earn paid sick time. But the effort wasn't an altruistic one. Instead, by passing the proposals themselves, the Republican majority ensured that a simple party-line vote will be all that's necessary to amend or completely gut both proposals.
The One Fair Wage campaign submitted more than 370,000 signatures to qualify its proposal for the ballot, and MI Time to Care turned in over 380,000. The One Fair Wage proposal would raise Michigan's minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2022 and, for the first time, mandate that tipped employees also receive the state minimum. Michigan's current minimum wage is $9.25 per hour, and the minimum for tipped workers is $3.52. MI Time to Care's proposal would require employers to provide one hour of paid time off for every 30 hours worked.
If voters had approved the proposals this November, it would have taken a two-thirds legislative majority to change them.
Both proposals are opposed by business groups including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and Michigan's Republican leadership is falling right in line. While they're refusing to spell out what might be in store for the new laws between November and the new year, Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof told the Detroit Free Press earlier this month that he and his colleagues are considering “a whole suite of things” that, in their opinion, would be “more friendly to Michigan.”
The move may be friendly to Michigan's wealthy special interest groups, but Democratic leaders and spokespeople for both ballot campaigns say that Michigan's Republican leadership is actually subverting democracy.
A spokesperson for MI Time to Care told Daily Kos that “special interests like the Michigan Chamber and Manufacturers Association were explicit in their desire to see the bills passed with the intention to later amend.” The spokesperson added that earned paid sick time isn't a partisan issue, but rather enjoys wide support among all voters, including Republicans.
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