Conference Dates:  Sept. 24 - 27, 2012
Location:  Portland, Oregon
Conference Registration Cut-off date is:  September 1, 2012

The group CARE for Michigan summarizes our reservations on this proposed amendment to the Michigan Constitution that would require local utilities to produce 25% of the state's electricity by 2025.

Click here to visit their Web site.

 The Michigan State AFL-CIO has a handy legislative information page on their site.  Click here to go to it.

Please pay special attention to their legislative report (their offical endorsements are on page 2) and their spreadsheet of legislative voting records.

We hope this information helps you make good voting decisions in the upcoming election.

By Susan J. Demas, Political columnist for mlive.com

House Republicans must think voters are awfully stupid.

Apparently, they think the average voter can be bought off with 50 cents more jingling in his pocket each week, thanks to what they adorably call "tax relief."

Click here for the rest of the article.

Michigan legislators are voting on SB 1040, a phony “reform” bill. It will cost taxpayers more than $1 billion, cut benefits and raise costs for retired school employees, and make it harder to provide a quality education for our children.

Stand up for 200,000 Michigan retirees and all Michigan schoolchildren.

Click here to tell the key legislators: Vote “NO” on phony reform; Vote NO on SB 1040.

A message from Protect Our Jobs:

Michigan citizens from all backgrounds who work hard and play by the rules are joining together and taking a stand.

For more than a year, Lansing politicians and corporate special interests have made one attack after another on Michigan workers: cutting middle-class families’ wages, health care benefits, retirement security and safety protections.

They’re not done yet — there are more than 80 bills waiting for a vote in the state Legislature that would strip basic protections from working people.

These political attacks on basic collective bargaining rights have done nothing to put Michiganders back to work. Instead, all they’ve done is hurt middle-class families, small businesses and local communities.

Enough is enough.

Citizens from across Michigan will soon begin collecting signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that will enshrine into our state Constitution the basic right of every worker to collectively bargain.

Collective bargaining gives all workers a voice and the ability to come together to negotiate a fair contract. Without these protections, rich CEOs can arbitrarily fire workers and outsource jobs to countries like China and Mexico.

To rebuild Michigan’s economy and help small businesses create jobs, we must all work together to protect Michigan workers and strengthen the middle class.
Michigan workers helped to create the middle class. Now we must protect our collective bargaining rights to rebuild our economy.

Please sign up to get involved in the campaign — after all, this is about protecting your job, your wages, your benefits, your safety and your voice.

The Council and Local 223 will be attending the Labor Day Parade in Detroit on Labor Day, September 5.  We will be meeting at the parking lot next to DTE Corporate Headquarters located at One Energy Plaza; Detroit, MI.  There will be free transportation to the parade site.  The first shuttle bus leaves at 7:30 AM to take people to the parade site, and the last shuttle bus leaves at 8:30 AM.  The AFL-CIO has notified us that this year's parade will be attended by President Obama.

Please join us as we march in Solidarity.

Members of the Utility Workers Union of America Local 337 delivered a total of 44 holiday turkeys to local families last week.