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.
Three Detroit public school employee unions are challenging the constitutionality of the law that allowed DPS Emergency Manager Roy Roberts to break collective bargaining agreements and impose pay cuts last week.
The Detroit Federation of Teachers, Association of Educational Office Employees and Federation of Paraprofessionals filed suit against Roberts and state Treasurer Andy Dillon in Detroit federal court on Thursday.
The Detroit News reports:
The unions are seeking a preliminary injunction to block Roberts’ executive order imposing a 10 percent pay cut on district employees. The order also calls for employees to pay 20 percent of their health care costs. The move was approved by Dillon, who oversees financial decisions for DPS while it’s under a financial manager.
Despite the request for action, “we are also anticipating and preparing for this case to go to trial,” said [DFT President Keith Johnson], who represents nearly 6,000 members, including 4,000 teachers.
Issued July 29, Roberts’ order affects nearly 10,000 employees — union and nonunion — and would save $81.8 million for the district, which has a $327 million deficit.
The 15-page lawsuit alleges that Roberts and Dillon violated a contract clause in the U.S constitution and a “takings clause” in the Fifth Amendment that says that “private property (shall not) be taken for public use without just compensation.”
Roberts was the first Emergency Manager to break a contract with school employees. The school employee case is the second federal challenge to the Emergency Manager law.
In April Detroit’s city pension systems — the General Retirement System of the City of Detroit and the Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit — sued Gov. Rick Snyder and state Treasurer Andy Dillon.
The pension systems, which represent about 32,000 current and retired city workers, claim that provisions of the Emergency Manager law that change the city charter and collective bargaining agreements violate the U.S. Constitution.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter