State Emergency Financial Manager Bills Passed (March 9, 2011)

Today the Senate passed a six bill package referred to as the Emergency Financial Manager bills. We do not yet have the Senate Journal available, so we cannot definitively say what is in the bills, but we can give you a pretty good summary.

First, I wish to emphasize that it's not over, even though the end is near. Three of the six bills have now passed both houses in identical form and passage of these bills by the Senate today completes action other than the formality of enrolling the bills and sending them to the Governor. For three other bills, the House of Representatives still needs to act on what the Senate did today and they can still be amended or defeated although I realize that's a long shot.

PLEASE ORGANIZE YOUR MEMBERS AND URGE THEM TO CONTACT THEIR STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND URGE HIM/HER TO EITHER DEFEAT HB 4214 SB 158 OR REMOVE THE ANTI-COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ASPECTS OF THOSE BILLS AND GIVE THE EMPLOYEES A FAIR AND EQUAL CHANCE TO HAVE THEIR VOICE HEARD IN A FINANCIAL CRISIS OR EFM TAKEOVER.

THE BILLS:

HB 4214 is the main emergency manager bill, entitled Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act (LGSDFAA). This is a brand new forty-six page bill with extremely complicated standards and procedures for forcing local units and school districts to take drastic measures to reduce costs and provides that an emergency manager appointed by the State Treasurer or, in the case of school districts or ISDs, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction may be sent in with virtually complete freedom to run everything.

HB 4214 provides three stages in which a district or local unit can be categorized if it has financial difficulties; fiscal review, consent agreement and receivership. In the first stage the district is subject to a thorough review of its financial situation by a review team that makes recommendations to the State Treasurer/Superintendent. That may include requiring a deficit reduction plan which must be followed. If that fails to solve the problem, the Treasurer/State Superintendent may force the local unit or district to sign a consent agreement which would impose very draconian conditions that must be met. Finally, if the consent agreement fails to solve the problem the State Treasurer/Superintendent is authorized to appoint an emergency manager to take complete control of the local unit, replacing the elected governing board and executive employees, and exercising all powers of the local government or school district elected board and management officers.

Among the multitude of draconian measures in this and the related bills, when a local unit or school district is places into a consent agreement, Section 15 (1) of the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA) ceases to be applicable 30 days after the consent agreement goes into effect and it does not go back into effect until the consent agreement is ended. Section 15 (1) of PERA is the section that imposes on public employers the duty to bargain with the local union. An existing contract is not nullified or vacated, but there is no further duty to bargain into the future.

When an emergency financial manager (EFM) is appointed, Section 15 (1) of PERA is suspended for five years (or until the EFM leaves if that is less than five years). In addition, after "meeting and conferring" with representatives of the local union, if the EFM does not believe that a settlement can be reached on contract modifications in a reasonably short time, the EFM is empowered to vacate or change provisions of the local contract.

This amended version of HB 4214 has been returned to the House where it is eligible for a vote to approve on or after March 10, 2011. It could be amended and sent back to the Senate or the House could concur in the Senate changes.

SB 158 is a bill to amend PERA to provide that the right to bargain is limited by the terms of HB 4214 (above). It also requires that all future public employee contracts must contain a clause that specifically grants to an EFM the right to terminate all or parts of the contract as provided in HB 4214. This bill must lay over for five days before the House can act on it under the provisions of the Michigan Constitution. Thus, it cannot be acted on until Tuesday, March 15.

SB 157 amends the school code to exempt districts that are taken over by an EFM from being placed under the State Reform and Restructuring Officer if they are "failing" academically. This bill also cannot be acted upon by the House until next Tuesday, the 15th.

HB 4216 amends the Municipal Finance Act, HB 4217 amends the Elections Law on recalls and HB 4218 amends the Home Rule Cities Act to bring them into compatibility with the LGSDFAA. They passed the Senate today in exactly the same form as they passed the House earlier and, therefore, when the Senate passed them, the House merely "enrolled" them and sent them to the Governor for signature.

This is everything. When we get final copies, we'll get out a better analysis.

The final vote to pass each of these bills in the Senate was on straight party lines with all 26 Republicans voting in favor and all 12 Democrats voting against them.

Workers are Under Attack: Stand with Educators Fighting for Their Rights!

Wisconsin Governor Walker continues to push his anti-worker agenda as he refuses to negotiate. Educators in Wisconsin have repeatedly stated that this fight is not about pay and benefits – it is about the right to be heard.

This week, Governor Walker showed his true colors – an ideological agenda to silence workers. In a taped conversation with someone posing as his supporter, billionaire David Koch, the Governor bragged about using layoff threats to bully and intimidate working families into submission.

While the nation seems to have its eyes and ears on Wisconsin, attacks are happening all across the country. Teachers, school support staff, nurses, firefighters, and middle class workers and families are under relentless attack in state after state by an unprecedented, well-funded, and coordinated national campaign. But, as the fight continues, workers and their supporters are standing up and demanding to be heard. Rallies with unprecedented turnout have been held in states across the nation. Read about rallies around the nation.

The labor movement in this country has been responsible for safety standards, the minimum wage, fair employment practices, and more. For educators, our collective bargaining rights allow us to raise concerns about class size, school safety, and other important teaching and learning conditions. To express your support for workers’ rights across the country, please sign our national petition and follow the latest news about the attacks on our rights.

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Tell the Senate to Stand Strong against House-Passed Education Cuts

The House of Representatives has passed a "continuing resolution" (CR) for the rest of the current fiscal year (FY 2011). The draconian education cuts contained in the House CR would dash the dreams of countless American students, put additional strain on state budgets already cut to the bone, and stall the engine that drives our economy. Thousands of students would lose Title I services and Head Start slots; local tax burdens would increase as education costs are shifted to state and local levels; millions of students would lose Pell Grant assistance; and thousands of education jobs would be lost. See how much your state would lose. See how your representative voted.

But, the fight is not over! Congress returns on February 28 with a looming deadline, as the current CR is set to expire on March 4. The House will have to negotiate with the Senate and the President in order to craft a CR that can be enacted into law. Your voice is critical as negotiations continue – particularly to tell the Senate to stand firm against the cuts.

Take Action TODAY: Tell the Senate to reject the House-passed education funding cuts and to invest in education for our nation’s future.

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Cheers and Jeers

Cheers to:

The American public, who, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll strongly oppose laws to take away collective bargaining and silence workers’ voices and rights.

Jeers to:

The 235 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who voted against the interests of children, educators, and our nation when they passed the full-year continuing resolution (CR) for the rest of this fiscal year. The CR contains draconian cuts to programs like Title I, IDEA, Pell Grants, and Head Start that will crush the dreams of millions of students and take our nation backward.