The following candidates have been endorsed by their respective Central Labor Councils for the November 5, 2019 municipal elections.
Ingham County
Lansing City Council:
Carol Wood (At-Large), Patricia Spitzley (At-Large), Adam Hussain(Ward 3), Jody Washington (Ward 1)
East Lansing City Council:
Mark Meadows, John Revitte
Jackson County
City of Jackson
Derek Dobies (Mayor), Laura Beth Stephens (Ward 4), Colleen Sullivan (Ward 6)
Kalamazoo County
City of Kalamazoo:
David Anderson (Mayor), Jake Andrews (City Commission), Chris Praedel (City Commission)
Ballot Proposals:
Career Technical Education Millage – YES
Macomb County
City of Warren:
Lori Barnwell (Treasurer), Patrick Green (City Council At-Large), Melody Magee (City Council Ward 1)
Sterling Heights City Council At-Large:
Michael Radtke, Henry Yanez
Roseville City Council At-Large:
Charles Frontera
St. Clair Shores City Council At-Large:
Pete Accica
Marquette County
Marquette City Commission At-Large
Evan Bonsall, Andrew Lorinser
Monroe County
Monroe City Council (Ward 4)
Jason Matthews
Oakland County
Southfield City Council At-Large:
Jason Hoskins, Ghana Goodwin-Dye
Royal Oak City Commission At-Large:
Belem Morales, Kyle Dubuc
Farmington Hills:
Vicki Barnett (Mayor), Theresa Rich (City Council Write-In)
Madison Heights:
Brian Hartwell (Mayor), Emily Rohrbach (City Council At-Large)
Troy City Council At-Large:
Theresa Brooks
Hazel Park City Council At-Large:
Mike McFall
St. Joseph County
Ballot Proposals:
Career Technical Education Millage – YES
Washtenaw County
Saline City Council:
Jim Dell’Orco
Ballot Proposals:
Public Schools of the City Of Ann Arbor Proposal 1 – Yes
Wayne County
Westland City Council At-Large:
Michael Londeau, Michael Delph, Andrea Rutkowski, Michael McDermott
Inkster City Council At-Large:
Aaron Simms, Sandra Watley
Livonia Mayor:
Maureen Brosnan
Melvindale Mayor:
Wheeler Marsee Jr.
Trenton City Council At-Large:
Dora Rodriguez
September 25, 2019
Ron Bieber, President of the Michigan AFL-CIO released the following statement after the GOP-led legislature held a marathon session to quickly pass budgets in the final days of the fiscal year.
“Republican leadership didn’t take their responsibility to pass a budget seriously and chose to take a summer vacation instead. Now, the working families of Michigan have to suffer the consequences of the legislature’s last-minute attempt to get a budget done. Governor Whitmer should use her executive authority to either line-item or out-right veto certain individual budgets and force the legislature to fix their mistakes. The working people of this state deserve better than this rushed, sloppy attempt at a budget.”
President Ron Bieber of the Michigan AFL-CIO released a statement of support for the UAW members striking at GM facilities. The strike began at midnight on September 16th when their contract expired.
“The Michigan AFL-CIO and our one million active and retired members stand in solidarity with the UAW members on strike against GM in Michigan and across the country. It is because of the hard work of these men and women that GM is alive today making record-breaking, multi-billion dollar profits. This strike isn’t only about pay and benefits, it’s about securing American jobs and protecting working families.”
Communities Across Michigan Celebrate June as Pride Month
Michigan Labor Movement Supports Local Proclamations
Lansing – Approximately two dozen communities across the state of Michigan passed resolutions or signed proclamations declaring June 2019 as LGBTQ Pride Month. The Michigan AFL-CIO reached out to its network of local elected officials to encourage adoption of these resolutions and bolster support for expanding the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“We started June by proudly standing with Governor Whitmer and state lawmakers supporting expansion of civil rights protections for all working people. While we continue to fight to include these protections in our workplace contracts, we believe the best solution is to pass legislation to protect the freedoms of working people across not only Michigan, but the entire country,” said Ron Bieber, President of the Michigan AFL-CIO. “We are happy to see so many communities celebrating Pride Month and supporting the LGBTQ Community. Hopefully some reluctant members of the legislature will get the message that the time has come to expand the ELCRA.”
According to local officials, several of the roughly two dozen local governments passed Pride Month resolutions for the first time in 2019, including the City of Eastpointe and Calhoun County. June 28th of this year marks the 50th anniversary since the Stonewall Riot in New York City leading to the modern day Pride Celebrations throughout the month of June. In 1979, the AFL-CIO convention unanimously adopted its first resolution calling for the enactment of federal legislation banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The Michigan AFL-CIO adopted a policy platform at its recent constitutional convention that included amending the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
