Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Thousands of protesters gather against Michigan anti-union bill

Protesters and police in the Michigan capitol. It's going to be a day of giant protest at Michigan's capitol as workers from across the state gather to fight the anti-union law Republicans are pushing through the state legislature in the lame duck session. Thousands of protesters are already jamming the state capitol and marching in the streets. Michigan police, too, are gathering in large numbers, with riot gear and pepper spray.

The Detroit Free Press has another editorial, titled "Drinking the Kochs' Kool-Aid," assailing Gov. Rick Snyder for his part in ramming this bill through and noting that "Michigan's proposed right-to-work bills mirror the ALEC language practically word-for-word." A New York Times editorial says:

A study by the University of Notre Dame in January found that the average wages and benefits for nonfarm workers in right-to-work states was $57,732, while in states without the law it was $65,567. States with antidues laws have higher rates of poverty and lower rates of health coverage.
Snyder's been told all this, and he's repeatedly indicated he doesn't care about the facts of what the law does (or anyway, he's not willing to admit that's the whole point) and he doesn't care about his previous posturing as a reasonable moderate. What Michigan is left with is this:
Snyder: "The goal is to bring MI together." MT @jeffrae: 40 police with riot helmets just went upstairs in the Capitol. http://t.co/...
' @AlecMacGillis via Twitter for BlackBerry® The state legislature is supposed to resume work on the bill today. We'll have more on that and the protests through the day.

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