Superintendent Worries Teaching Less Attractive Than Factory Work

"If there were an open market for teachers, high-performing ones would probably be compensated better than they currently are," Van Beek said. "The problem is that union contracts distort the teacher labor market and prohibit schools from paying good teachers more. All teachers are paid the same regardless of their performance, and this artificially reduces the wages of the best teachers." more …

Commentary: Michigan Licensing Laws Must Change

Licensure schemes erect barriers to entry into occupations, make the road to entrepreneurship more burdensome, and allow those with licenses to face fewer competitors and command higher prices. Since the 1950s, licensure has grown pervasive. At that time, the number of U.S. workers needing a license to work was one in 20. Now it’s almost one in three. more …

SEIU Sues State, Governor to Keep Home Health Care 'Dues Skim' Money Flowing

The union that was taking money from the state subsidy checks of 60,000 home health care workers has sued Gov. Rick Snyder and the state Department of Community Health a few days after the Attorney General ordered an end to the practice. more …

Ecorse Cuts Police OT in Half Once Union Contract’s Restrictive Language Was Removed

When Joyce Parker took over as emergency manager for the city of Ecorse in 2009, she was faced with a police union whose five-year contract had been expired for two years.

Faced with $8 million in debt, Parker wasn’t going to be able to save any money in police overtime with more efficient scheduling. That was because the contract wouldn’t allow it.

The provision of the Police Officers Association of Michigan contract read: “The City will not change the work schedule resulting in the loss of overtime.” more …

Learn to be a Citizen Watchdog

"You’ve heard of egregious examples of waste, fraud, and abuse at all levels of government," says a promotional flier from the Franklin Center. "But we can no longer afford to sit by and wait for the government or mainstream media to fully inform the public about what’s really going on behind closed doors.

"The time has come for citizen watchdogs to stand up and take action." more …

Teacher Union Poverty Claims Fail Fact Test

"There are plenty of reasons that contribute to people choosing to be teachers that are unrelated to their level of compensation: desire to make a difference, enjoyment of working with kids, summer vacations, long holiday breaks, etc.,” said Mackinac Center for Public Policy Director of Education Policy Michael Van Beek. “Why is it that suddenly all these teachers who ‘didn’t go into the profession to get rich’ worry that no one will go into the profession any longer?” more …

Taxpayers Agree: 401(k)s for New Hires

69 percent of taxpayers in Wisconsin favor shifting future state employees, those who haven’t been hired or promised pensions yet, to 401(k)-style retirement plans instead of the current defined-benefit plans. more …

Labor Group Targets Disabled Rehab Program Participants For Unionization

Labor activists are continuing their attempt to expand the definition of an "employee" and are now targeting disabled and other workers.

Peckham Inc., a private nonprofit that provides vocational rehabilitation and job training, is being targeted for unionization. more …

The Dangers of Painting — State Law Requires Training, Exam, Fees For the Right to Earn a Living

Want to make a little extra cash painting houses this summer? Thanks to Michigan’s licensing apparatus, it’ll cost you.

Michigan law requires painting contractors to pay $235, take 60 hours of state-approved prelicensure education, pass two exams and be over 18 years of age, according to the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm. Michigan is one of only 10 states that licenses painters — and only five states require any education to paint for a living. more …

Town Votes Down Windmill Plan, Board Moving Ahead Anyways

Apparently elections in Huron County's Lake Township don't mean much.

In February, Lake Township voters struck down a zoning ordinance that would allow wind turbines to operate near their homes by better than a 61 percent to 39 percent margin. Yet, there's a good chance township residents will have to live next to the turbines anyway. more …

Commentary: Pennies on the Dollar

The Michigan Quality Community Care Council — the “public employer” that was created to facilitate this peculiar unionization — does not receive public funds, denies that it is an employer, operates out of an unemployed woman’s basement and receives thousands of dollars from the SEIU to maintain its quasi functions. more …

Attorney General Orders State To Stop SEIU 'Dues Skim'

When the Service Employees International Union convention begins Monday in Colorado, there will be some bad news for its leaders out of Michigan.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette released a letter Friday that mandated that state agencies were to end the withholding of SEIU dues from private individuals who provide home health care. more …

Commentary: Improve Michigan’s Economy with Alcohol Sales at Farmers Markets

Michigan farmers are on the cutting edge of the “buy local” trend, a movement that could provide a great boon for businesses and the state’s overall economy. To give them a bigger boost, lawmakers should allow Michigan businesses to sell more of their products at more locations. One way lawmakers can accomplish this is by legalizing the sale of beer and wine at farmers markets. more …

GOP Budget Spends More on Film Subsidies

In picking budget priorities, Republican leaders in the state had a decision. They could either give more money back to taxpayers or spend it on an embattled cronyism film subsidy. They chose to pick economic winners and losers instead of letting taxpayers spend the money on what they prioritize. more …

BREAKING: Attorney General Orders Home Health Dues Skim to End

Michigan’s 60,000 home health care aides should no longer have so-called union dues skimmed from their subsidy checks as a result of an informal but binding opinion letter issued today by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. more …

Teacher and Spouse Make $140K Per Year, 'Adamant' That Their Children Will 'Never' Be Educators

A teacher with 24 years of service and a master's degree working at Rockford Public Schools earns $71,832 a year. A teacher at Rockford with 23 years of service with a master’s degree would make $70,189, according to the union contract. If a teacher worked 25 years and retired from Rockford, the annual pension would be an estimated $26,320. By contrast, in 2008, the median pension for the private sector was $7,584, according to the Congressional Research Service. more …

Michigan's Competitiveness Depends on Defined Benefit Reform For Teachers

Michigan at last stands at the threshold of pivotal reform that could easily save its taxpayers $10 billion by the end of this decade. Such reforms are essential if Michigan's public sector is ever to achieve an economic status competitive with real-world dynamics. more …

House GOP on Verge of Surrendering to MEA

Already passed by the Senate, closing the school pension system to new hires would be arguably the most transformational state budget reform since Gov. John Engler signed a similar measure for state workers back in 1996. That measure has helped taxpayers avoid some $4.3 billion in unfunded liability since then.

Unfortunately, House Republicans led by Appropriations Committee Chairman Chuck Moss, R-Birmingham, appear willing to give the union a victory by deep-sixing this reform. more …

Reality Check: Is Teacher Pay So Low They Cannot 'Eat and Have a Life'?

Rockford Public School high school teacher Craig Beach wrote a column for MLive in which he alleged that Republican lawmakers are ruining the teaching profession and talked about a colleague’s daughter’s views on teacher pay.

Beach quoted the young woman criticizing the teaching profession’s “extremely low pay” with “I want to eat and have a life.” more …

Government-Backed Green Energy Company Sweetens Package For Top Executives Despite Mounting Problems

One of the showcase companies of the green energy movement propped up by the federal stimulus questioned in recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission whether it can survive with its mounting debt and problems with defective batteries.

Yet, even with its struggles, its top executives were awarded sweetened severance packages that would give them an extra six-figures in payout if they lose their jobs. more …