I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Under the agreement that established a new company, Chrysler Group LLC, with the assets of Chrysler, the UAW’s VEBA healthcare trust fund was given a 55% stake in the new company and a seat on the board of directors. Former Michigan governor James Blanchard has been named to fill that seat.
The United Auto Workers union said Wednesday that trustees of its retiree health care fund have named former Michigan governor James J. Blanchard to the board of the new Chrysler-Fiat venture…
Under the agreement brokered in the days leading up to Chrysler’s Chapter 11 filing, the United Auto Workers union is getting a 55 percent stake in the restructured company, which will be used to fund its retiree health care obligations. As part of the deal, the voluntary employees beneficiary association, or VEBA, that was set up to pay those costs received a seat on Chrysler’s board.
However, the union’s control in the boardroom will be limited. The trust essentially has no voting rights because it’s representative must vote with a majority of independent directors. Eight other company directors will be named by Fiat, the U.S. government and the government of Canada.
That’s one thing that has been missed by critics of the bankruptcy agreement brokered by the Obama auto taskforce. Many have complained that the UAW got such a large equity stake in the new company but ignored the fact that this stake comes with very little in the way of institutional control of the company. In a normal situation, a shareholder who controls 55% of the company would also control the board of directors.
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