The campaign to vote Yes on Proposal 3 also boosted voter turnout for the Democratic Party on November 8. On November 9 it was announced that the Democratic Party won both the Michigan House and Senate, as well as re-elected Democrats to all the top spots, led by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The last time Democrats held power like this was 1984.

It was ultimately grassroots organizing and door-knocking that provided a road to victory on reproductive healthcare during this voting cycle. Across the state more than a dozen members and friends of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization canvassed for abortion rights. They educated and talked to working people using the Reproductive Freedom for All literature, a partnership of the ACLU of Michigan, Michigan Voices, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan.

In Grand Rapids, doorknockers blanketed all three wards over six Saturdays, speaking with hundreds of registered voters. As volunteers they answered questions about reproductive rights and the ridiculous right-wing attack ads. Many people they spoke with said they were voting for Proposal 3 and the Democratic Party, but also expressed disappointment, and sometimes anger with the national Democrats.

“As a FRSO member it is important to help with causes that are good for workers and connect us face to face, to hear and discuss their needs and concerns,” explained Mike DeRuiter, who canvassed for Proposal 3.

Proposal 3 was on the ballot in Michigan’s November 8 midterm elections because of the most successful petition drive ever performed in the state. More than 730,000 voters signed forms to put the question of legalized abortion on the ballot. Voters were eager to keep the reproductive rights fought for in the past.

This came after the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June. This new ruling declared that the constitutional right to abortion was no longer in the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. It caused a chain reaction of loss of reproductive rights across the nation. According to the New York Times, “Most abortions are banned within at least 13 states.”

Right-wing opposition groups, especially the Catholic Church, also organized against Proposal 3, using deceitful tactics and unclear wording to undermine and confuse voters going into the midterms. Ad campaigns produced by these opposition groups present Proposal 3 as an extremist affront.

“The reactionaries don’t make sense. Everyone I talked to while canvassing thought that Proposal 3 was neither confusing, nor extreme, when we actually talked to them about it,” said Cherie Stoll who canvassed with FRSO.

Proposal 3 is simply an amendment to the Michigan Constitution. It promises to grant citizens of Michigan the same level of availability to abortion services they had with the 1970 Roe v. Wade decision. However, it does not ensure access to reproductive healthcare for poor women and LGBTQ people. It avoids funding for Black, Latino, American Indian and immigrants whose access to expensive medical procedures may be limited. Given the backwards abortion laws in neighboring Indiana, it means Michigan will see people coming over the border.

With seemingly settled issues such as abortion rights being attacked by the Republicans, it means there is still a long way to go in the fight for reproductive freedom.

#GrandRapidsMichigan #GrandRapidsMI #abortion #RoeVWade #reproductiveRights #AbortionRights

Photo credit: Jeff Smith”)

Grand Rapids, Michigan – Upset they still do not have a union contract after two years, ATU Local 836 bus drivers forced west Michigan politicians to end a press conference early. Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalyn Bliss, a Democrat, and several suburban mayors are refusing to negotiate a union contract with the bus drivers that serve their communities.

Joined by a spokeswoman for U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, the politicians were there to “celebrate the environment” with new buses that use compressed natural gas from fracking.

A group of ATU bus drivers and their supporters held signs reading, “No contract! No millage!” and “ATU bus drivers deserve a contract!” Then, joined by young people, they marched to the front of the podium and started chanting “Shut it down!” This brought the press conference to an end.

A leaflet at the protest read “Vote no on the Rapid millage on Nov. 7.”

The leaflet continued, “In 2011 voters barely approved a millage request that substantially raised their taxes by over $15 million, passing by a mere 136 votes. Most of this tax increase was used to pay for the wasteful Silver Line system, a system that mimics a route that already exists (Route 1 on Division) at a cost to tax payers of $40 million dollars.”

The union bus drivers point out that two free bus lines in Grand Rapids only serve college students and the downtown portion of the Silver Line, while working people must pay for bus service everywhere else.

The ATU bus drivers want to see public funds invested in the workers instead of giveaways to big energy companies and construction firms. The transit board is using new Michigan right-to-work laws in the attempt to break their union.

#GrandRapidsMichigan #GrandRapidsMI #PeoplesStruggles #Michigan