SEIU Michigan State Council Legislative Agenda
Legislative Priorities for 2007-2008
Cynthia Ann Paul
The following is a summary of the legislative issues that SEIU is pursuing:
ELECTION AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM INITIATIVES
Ø Permit early voting, vote by mail, “no reason” absentee voting and election day registration.
Ø Support reforms preventing our ballot initiative process from being exploited by out of state interests and perpetrating fraud on Michigan’s electorate.
Ø Repeal Public Act 117 of 1994.
PUBLIC SECTOR CAMPAIGNS
Ø Appropriations
Ensure adequate funding and staffing in state departments where SEIU members work and sufficient funding for local government, road commission, K-12 and head start employees, while fighting cutbacks and/or privatization attempts.
Ø Budget Stabilization
Ensure Michigan has adequate, fair and stable revenue sources that do not shift the tax burden onto working families in order to stabilize the state’s budget and reduce its structural deficit. This includes the Single Business Tax (SBT) replacement.
Ø Prohibit any TABOR efforts, whether it is legislation or a ballot initiative, that will restrict public spending based upon a rigid formula of inflation plus population.
Ø Public Service Accountability (PSA). Legislation and budgetary language that maintains accountability and reliability when public agencies consider turning over public services to private corporations by requiring: privacy safeguards, whistleblower protections, accurate review of the contracts full cost, responsible contractor language, contractors subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and guaranteed continuity of service delivery.
Ø Retirement Legislation
1) Secure and increase pension and health care benefits for state, municipal and public school employees; and
2) Provide state employees the opportunity to choose a “defined benefit” retirement plan.
3) Adopt a permanent 80 and out formula for the state employee retirement system.
HEALTH CARE SECTOR CAMPAIGNS
Ø Restrict Michigan’s hospitals and nursing homes from mandating employees work overtime;
Ø Improve the staffing levels in Michigan’s hospitals and nursing homes;
Ø Ensure adequate and stable Medicaid funding for Michigan’s home caregivers, nursing homes and hospitals.
Ø A permanent wage pass through for nursing home workers;
Ø Expanding educational and training opportunities for ALL health care workers; and
Ø Ergonomic Standards that give healthcare workers the protection they need to safely move and treat patients without the risk of a debilitating injury to themselves or injury to their patients.
BUILDING SERVICE CAMPAIGNS Justice for Janitors legislation and other efforts to ensure building service employees are not displaced and maintain their current benefit levels when different entities assume cleaning and building service contracts.
SECURE INCREASES IN MICHIGAN’S UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFTIS AND ELIMINATION OF THE TIP CREDIT SEIU is advocating with other unions to increase Michigan’s unemployment benefit formula and restore indexing to the maximum benefit rate. We are also seeking an immediate elimination of the tip credit that reduces the minimum wage for food service workers.
WE OPPOSE and Will Fight:
Ø Efforts to make Michigan a right to work state;
Paycheck protection legislation;
Ø Efforts to repeal current living wage and prevailing wage laws/ordinances on a State and local level;
Ø Efforts to loosen compensatory time restrictions and take away worker’s overtime pay;
Ø Reducing eligibility coverage and benefit level under Michigan’s worker’s compensation law and unemployment law;
Ø School Educational Flexibility and Empowerment bill package;
Ø Expanding the current cap on university sponsored charter schools;
Ø The state employer from implementing a monthly pay period.