Lansing, MI – Nearly 200 protesters rallied here July 25. They stood for three hours on the steps of the Michigan “Hall of Justice,” to demand an end to Governor Rick Snyder’s use of Emergency Financial Managers (EFM).

The EFM law is a new dictatorial method used by Governor Snyder to impose cutbacks and privatization, as well as violate the local autonomy of elected officials. Snyder, a Republican who campaigned as “the Nerd,” presented himself as likeable and harmless, but he quickly went to work cutting funding, suspending elected officials and taking over school boards and local governments using unelected state appointed Emergency Financial Managers.

As protesters made speeches outside, the Michigan Supreme Court heard the case about an upcoming ballot initiative to do away with Emergency Financial Managers. Over 200,000 signatures were collected on petitions to put the EFM on the ballot for voters to decide in November. Instead of allowing a vote, the ballot to end EFM is being dragged through the courts by Republicans. The Sterling Corporation, which runs a group called Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility is trying to kill, or at least delay, the EFM ballot initiative in court by claiming the font size on the titles of the petitions was too small. In Michigan, this is what ‘democracy’ looks like. The Stand Up for Democracy coalition, which collected the petitions, is forced to eat up time and money in court, instead of campaigning for public support.

Speaking at the rally, Councilman Kermit Williams of Pontiac said, “Governor Snyder’s Public Act Four is not an act for the public, but an act for the corporations.” He added, “The EFM has more power than a governor. They can come in to local government and do what they want. The government has failed us today!”

Led by preachers, the crowd chanted, “Put it on the ballot. Let me vote!” and “The judges don’t decide. We decide!” Speaker after speaker representing African-American activist groups, local government officials and important unions were present: Black Women’s Political Caucus of Muskegon, AFSCME Council 25, UAW Local 6000, National Action Network of Detroit, the Reverend Pinkney of Benton Harbor with the Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO), Lansing Occupy and the Left Forum of Grand Rapids.

Pat Driscoll, a worker and member of United Steel Workers Local 1299, was in the courtroom with 60 or more people seeking a decision from the Michigan Supreme Court. Coming out of the court, Driscoll said, “They need to let the people vote. These big business types are using technicalities and maneuvers to keep this off the ballot. The Emergency Financial Managers are used to cut public services and break union contracts. It is all to protect the banks’ money after the big bank bailouts, and now the government is selling off assets for bargain prices, privatizing and forcing concessions on workers.” Later Driscoll added, “It is racist too, they are targeting majority African-American areas to start with.”

The Supreme Court is not likely to announce a decision until the end of August, delaying the ballot initiative another six weeks. When the referendum is put on the ballot, the EFM law is automatically suspended until the November vote. There are seven cities and/or school districts with EFM’s: Flint, Pontiac, Ecorse, Benton Harbor, Detroit, Muskegon Heights and Highland Park. The gains of the civil rights movement are being turned back in Michigan.

#LansingMI #privatization #Racism #bugdgetCuts #GovernorRickSnyder

Chicago, IL – Music and chanting rose outside the Illini Union building on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), May 15, as 100 workers, students, and supporters marched on the Board of Trustees meeting.

The target was the high salaries paid to administrators and a handful of faculty. These rich “rock stars” were serenaded by the members of Local 73 Service Employees International Union, including Willie English and chief steward Judy Jones, to the tune of Elvis Presley's “Hound Dog”:

You ain't nothing but a rich man

Crying all the time

You ain't nothing but a rich man

Crying all the time

You ain't never froze your wages

You ain't no friend of mine!

Job Cuts and Wage Freezes

The coalition of groups is angry because the state has a budget crisis, and the politicians, along with University administrators, are aiming to shift the crisis onto the backs of working people. According to Shirley McIntosh, Local 73 steward, who came along with 18 coworkers from the Patient Accounts department, “We have been working harder than ever in recent years as budgets have gotten tighter. It's not right for us to face losing our jobs and having our wages frozen.”

But that's exactly what is coming down on workers, faculty and graduate employees. University of Illinois President James Stukel has stated that 600 jobs will be cut from the three campuses. At the UIC Medical Center, job cuts have already started. “We're 18 admitting officers, and they're only going to have 6. It'll be tough for those left,” said Naomi Colon, whose position was eliminated in the Dental Clinics.

Eighteen more positions were reported cut in Psychiatry. In April, nearly 20 adjunct professors in the English Department lost their jobs as well. The unofficial word on wages is that workers should expect no raises for 2 years.

Finally, at the Board of Trustees meeting, a 10% tuition increase was passed.

Why is Money So Tight?

If you ask Governor Ryan, he'll say it's because of Sept. 11. If you look at the business pages, you'll read that there is less taxes being collected because there is a slowdown in the economy overall.

No one is telling the real truth: in the state of Illinois, even more than most states in the U.S., rich people and corporations pay almost no taxes.

The state has expenses – such as helping fund health care for the poor, educating our children, and paying the wages of the workers in state agencies. There is only one way to make up the difference now that less taxes are being collected. Those who have been raking it in over these years should have to cough it up.

Wins and Losses in the Budget Fight

5000 workers rallied at the state capitol on April 24. They told the politicians not to balance the budget by attacks on workers. They called for more taxes on the rich, like the tax on the estates that multi-millionaires leave to their children when they die.

Greg Hardison, a UIC union steward, said it best at the Local meeting before the Springfield rally – “Make the rich pay!” Local 73 President Christine Boardman, at the rally, echoed this message, and the crowd roared back its approval.

The fight by unions and community forces was partially successful. The legislators and the governor had to restore some of the cuts proposed earlier this year, and the rich took a $200 million hit. But the bulk of the billion-dollar budget shortfall will be at the expense of working people and the poor.

Struggle for Fairness and Equality

The battle lines are being drawn at UIC. At the May 15 rally, Rodney Telomen, Illinois Nurses Association co-chair said, “We've already informed the hospital directors: if they tell nurses to expect a wage freeze when we go to bargain, I predict we'll take a strike vote.” Both nurses and clericals have contracts that expire in August.

Local 73 members have a message for the bosses as well. “When jobs are cut, workers have more work to do. Plus, patients suffer,” said Tom Terranova, Local 73 staff representative. “That's why we said the only place to cut in UIC's budget is the top administrators' salaries.”

#ChicagoIL #News #SEIU #IllinoisNursesAssociationINA #UniversityOfIllinoisAtChicagoUIC #bugdgetCuts #tuitionIncreases