Michigan Says, 'Sorry We Slapped Your Wrist Too Hard': Winners and Losers of the Week
In our regular weekly feature, we'll be taking a look at the winners and losers of the week in the struggle for the rights of working families. The winners will be the persons or organizations that go above and beyond to expand or protect the rights of working families, while the losers will be whoever went above and beyond to limit or deny those rights.
Winners: Michigan teachers, who massively rejected a big push from the extreme right-wing Mackinac Center for Public Policy for them to opt out of paying union dues under new "right to work" rules in the state.
Runners-Up: The cities of Sequim and Shelton, Wash., which fought back local right to work efforts funded by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
Loser: Michigan Department of Corrections Director Daniel Heyns, for withdrawing a $98,000 fine against prison food outsourcing company Aramark, saying the punishment was "too harsh" after it was discovered that the company was not preparing sufficient meals for prisoners and other violations. AFSCME Council 25 President Nick Ciaramitaro called the withdrawal of the fine "outrageous" and said that things got worse after the fine was issued.
Runner-Up: Cablevision CEO James Dolan, for what the Communications Workers of America (CWA) call Dolan's "latest step" in a pattern of intimidation against employees, including what CWA calls a "sham" vote in Brooklyn this week at a contractor hired by the company.
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This has been reposted from the AFL-CIO.
