Lobby TODAY regarding the Retirement Proposals

This morning the Michigan Senate will be holding a committee hearing on SB 1040, the retirement bill, at 10am in Lansing. The MEA will have many members at the hearing and obviously, teaching school, you are in most likelihood unable to attend. BUT LET YOUR SENATOR KNOW VIRTUALLY what your feelings are!

Please WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVE or CALL. USE THIS LINK TO CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE MICHIGAN SENATE & WRITE!

Click this link! http://capwiz.com/nea/mi/directory/statedir.tt?state=MI&lvl=state

• Tell your senator and representative that these laws are punitive and they break the promises made to you by the State of Michigan regarding your retirement.

• Tell your senator and representative that charging employees from 8 to 11% of their salaries, as well as paying 20% toward your insurance, while inhibiting what can be counted toward your Final Average Compensation is punitive and serves no other purpose.

• Tell you senator and representative that charging employees from 8 to 11 % of their salaries, as well as paying 20% toward their insurance costs, will seriously inhibit your ability to provide for your families and save your own money toward future retirement.

• Tell your senator and representative they are punishing your families and inhibiting your ability to provide a college education to allow them to become productive adult citizens of Michigan.
  

• TELL THEM NO!!! STOP THE ATTACKS ON EDUCATORS!!!!!

Please WRITE YOUR REPRESENATIVE or CALL. USE THIS LINK TO CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE MICHIGAN SENATE & WRITE!Click this link! http://capwiz.com/nea/mi/directory/statedir.tt?state=MI&lvl=state

HB 4929 (collection of dues) is being challenged by teacher unions and House Democrats!

AS REPORTED BY the MICHIGAN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH SERVICE on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 1PM

Four Michigan school employee unions today filed a lawsuit today in federal court challenging a
recently signed law that bans the automatic deduction of union dues from public school employees' paychecks, HB 4929. The suit, filed in Michigan's Eastern District federal court,
asserts that the law violates the First Amendment and 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by "discriminating against school employees as retribution for political speech and treating school employees differently than other classifications of workers without reason."

The Michigan Education Association (MEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Michigan, AFSCME Council 25 and SEIU Local 517M are plaintiffs in the suit, which seeks injunctive and declaratory relief. The three commissioners on the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) are named as defendants in the case, since they are the public officials responsible for enforcing PA 53.

AFT Michigan President David HECKER said in a letter to Gov. Rick SNYDER the day he signed the bill that there were constitutional problems with it. Hecker has said, "By signing this bill, he clearly ignored the fact that there is no rational reason for this to be law, the House Fiscal Agency says this won't save money -- in fact, it may cost some districts money to enact the change. It's just another attack on collective bargaining rights for one group of Michigan workers."

ALSO REPORTED IN THE LAST 24 hours:

The bill is also under fire as part of a House Democrats lawsuit against the House Republicans, alleging they used the "fast gavel" on HB 4929 and two other bills to give them Immediate
Effect (See "House Dems Win Restraining Order On IE Squabble," 4/2/12). A court injunction has been imposed that means that this bill can NOT take immediate effect! In fact, if the court injunction is upheld in future challenges, this practice can not legally begin until March of 2013.