michigan chamber of commerce

Michigan lawmakers to consider blocking local 'paid sick leave' ordinances

Steve Carmody — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:57:00 +0000

A state House committee this week will discuss whether to prevent local cities and towns in Michigan from passing laws requiring businesses to offer paid sick leave to their employees.

San Francisco, Seattle and several other major cities have passed ‘paid sick leave’ ordinances in recent years. The intent is to protect people in low paying jobs, who stand to lose their job, if they try to take a sick day.

Stakes are high in Michigan's Proposal 2 campaign

Mark Brush — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 21:28:23 +0000

Michigan's Proposal 2 ballot campaign is being watched across the country. The proposal seeks to enshrine collective bargaining rights for public and private employees into the Michigan Constitution.

Steven Greenhouse wrote about the implications of Michigan's Proposal 2 in a recent New York Times piece.

Top business issues facing Michigan legislature in 2012 (If the election doesn't get in the way)

Steve Carmody — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:03:56 +0000

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce hopes the legislature will pass several pro-business laws before election year politics starts throwing obstacles in the way this year.

Rich Studley is the president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. He said there’s probably only a small window before this year’s elections start affecting the ability of the legislature and the governor to get any work done.

"We believe that between now and the May filing deadline …between now and the end of May and the start of June…there are five months that the legislature and the governor can still work on key issues," said Studley.

The chamber is pushing for the elimination of Michigan’s ‘personal property tax’ and would like to streamline environmental and other regulations.

The state’s largest business industry group is also encouraging the governor to move ahead with plans to build a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, even if he has to do it without the legislature’s approval.

One major issue not on the state Chamber of Commerce’s agenda is ‘Right to Work’. Chamber officials say their members have not reached a consensus on the issue. More than 20 states prohibit agreements between employers and unions that require workers to join the union or pay union dues.

Michigan Supreme Court asked to allow recall election to take place

Steve Carmody — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:59:01 +0000

The Michigan Supreme Court is being asked to stay a lower court ruling and allow Genesee County voters to decide if they want to recall State Representative Paul Scott.

Last week, a judge issued a temporary injunction halting next month’s recall vote.

Bobbie Walton is with the recall campaign. She’s optimistic that the state supreme court will allow the vote to go forward.