Detroit Living Wage

Why Elections Matter

Erica Kimble, Detroit Director

I first of all want to thank all of the Local 3 members who voted in the non-partisan portion of the ballot this election and voted for Justice Hathaway in Michigan’s Supreme Court race.  Because your efforts we were able to vote off of the Supreme Court the very conservative, pro-corporate, pro-insurance, anti-consumer and anti-labor judge, Justice Taylor.  Justice Hathaway’s defeat of incumbent Clifford Taylor was nothing short of a miracle and an early Christmas present for Michigan’s working families.  Not only will she help to restore integrity, balance and fairness once again to Michigan’s highest court but she may ultimately be the deciding judge to tip the Supreme Court in favor of restoring Detroit’s Living Wage Ordinance (DLWO).

Last summer, Justice Stephens with the Wayne County Circuit Court held the (DLWO) invalid pursuant to the Lennane case of 1923.   This matter has been appealed and is currently before the Court of Appeals, with oral arguments scheduled for the 3rd of December.  SEIU Local 3 and the Michigan State Council has been at the forefront of this issue and has filed an amicus curiae (which stands for friend of the court) brief in this case arguing that Justice Stephen’s decision was in error.  This matter will ultimately end up before the Michigan Supreme Court in 2009.  And until the recent election of Justice Hathaway, legal pundits had little hope of Justice Stephen’s decision being overturned and the (DLWO) being reinstated.

Let’s pray that Justice Hathaway remains the strong and steadfast advocate and voice for Michigan’s working families that she has always been during her previous legal and judicial career and is indeed the judge that tips the scales of justice to reinstate Detroit’s Living Wage Ordinance.