House Bills 5400 and 5401 amended the definition and sentencing guidelines of the state's 1988 “ethnic intimidation” statute for the first t
Ryan Adamczeski at The Advocate:
Michigan's hate crime law has been updated to include sexual orientation and gender identity after Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed several bills into law last week.
House Bills 5400 and 5401 amend the definition and sentencing guidelines of the state's 1988 “ethnic intimidation” statute to include sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, and age, designating them as protected groups against hate crimes if they are found to be a motivating factor for violent behavior.
State Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is an out lesbian, said in a statement that “it’s incumbent upon those of us with the authority to unilaterally denounce such sentiments; otherwise, there’s no stopping this behavior."
“Over the past decade, we have seen not just an uptick in hate crimes, but a normalization of racist, antisemitic and bigoted language, symbolism and actions – including a close adviser to the President giving the Nazi salute during an inaugural rally just this week,” Nessel said. "I applaud the Governor for signing these long overdue changes to the state’s statutes.”
The bill amending the hate crime statute's definition was first introduced by Democratic state Rep. Noah Arbit in 2023, but failed to pass after conservatives falsely claimed that the law made it a felony to misgender someone. Arbit noted in a conversation with CBS at the time that the bill did not contain the word "misgender" in its entire text, calling the claims "far-right fiction."
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signs hate crime laws protecting sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or age status.
See Also:
LGBTQ Nation: Michigan expands hate crime law to protect LGBTQ+ identities
Democrats, empowered by voters in 2022, overturned a “right to work” law as part of a sweeping pro-labor agenda that’s a model for other sta
"For the first time in almost 60 years, a state has formally overturned a so-called “right to work” law, clearing the way for workers to organize new union locals, collectively bargain, and make their voices heard at election time.
This week, Michigan finalized the process of eliminating a decade-old “right to work” law, which began with the shift in control of the state legislature from anti-union Republicans to pro-union Democrats following the 2022 election. “This moment has been decades in the making,” declared Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber. “By standing up and taking their power back, at the ballot box and in the workplace, workers have made it clear Michigan is and always will be the beating heart of the modern American labor movement.”
[Note: The article doesn't actually explain it, so anyway, "right to work" laws are powerful and deceptively named pieces of anti-union legislation. What right to work laws do is ban "union shops," or companies where every worker that benefits from a union is required to pay dues to the union. Right-to-work laws really undermine the leverage and especially the funding of unions, by letting non-union members receive most of the benefits of a union without helping sustain them. Sources: x, x, x, x]
In addition to formally scrapping the anti-labor law on Tuesday [February 13, 2024], Michigan also restored prevailing-wage protections for construction workers, expanded collective bargaining rights for public school employees, and restored organizing rights for graduate student research assistants at the state’s public colleges and universities. But even amid all of these wins for labor, it was the overturning of the “right to work” law that caught the attention of unions nationwide...
Now, the tide has begun to turn—beginning in a state with a rich labor history. And that’s got the attention of union activists and working-class people nationwide...
At a time when the labor movement is showing renewed vigor—and notching a string of high-profile victories, including last year’s successful strike by the United Auto Workers union against the Big Three carmakers, the historic UPS contract victory by the Teamsters, the SAG-AFTRA strike win in a struggle over abuses of AI technology in particular and the future of work in general, and the explosion of grassroots union organizing at workplaces across the country—the overturning of Michigan’s “right to work” law and the implementation of a sweeping pro-union agenda provides tangible evidence of how much has changed in recent years for workers and their unions...
By the mid-2010s, 27 states had “right to work” laws on the books.
But then, as a new generation of workers embraced “Fight for 15” organizing to raise wages, and campaigns to sign up workers at Starbucks and Amazon began to take off, the corporate-sponsored crusade to enact “right to work” measures stalled. New Hampshire’s legislature blocked a proposed “right to work” law in 2017 (and again in 2021), despite the fact that the measure was promoted by Republican Governor Chris Sununu. And in 2018, Missouri voters rejected a “right to work” referendum by a 67-33 margin.
Preventing anti-union legislation from being enacted and implemented is one thing, however. Actually overturning an existing law is something else altogether.
But that’s what happened in Michigan after 2022 voting saw the reelection of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a labor ally, and—thanks to the overturning of gerrymandered legislative district maps that had favored the GOP—the election of Democratic majorities in the state House and state Senate. For the first time in four decades, the Democrats controlled all the major levers of power in Michigan, and they used them to implement a sweeping pro-labor agenda. That was a significant shift for Michigan, to be sure. But it was also an indication of what could be done in other states across the Great Lakes region, and nationwide.
“Michigan Democrats took full control of the state government for the first time in 40 years. They used that power to repeal the state’s ‘right to work’ law,” explained a delighted former US secretary of labor Robert Reich, who added, “This is why we have to show up for our state and local elections.”"
GRETCHEN WHITMER JUST REFUSED TO INVESTIGATE MICHIGAN’S BOTCHED PRIMARY — EVEN AFTER ABDUL EL-SAYED GOT THREE TIMES MORE VOTES IN DETROIT THAN THERE ARE REGISTERED VOTERS!
The cover-up continues in Michigan.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer says she refuses to investigate the results of the state’s botched primary election, even though there’s credible evidence of tampering.
“I’m not going to give in to conspiracy theories,” Whitmer said. “There were no anomalies with this election.”
She made that statement despite the fact that Abdul El-Sayed received three times as many votes in Detroit as there are registered voters.
“The election is over.”
When the numbers are this impossible and the governor still won’t look… you know exactly what’s going on.
Share this everywhere so Michigan and the whole country see the denial!
As AI companies race to expand, states across the country are approving massive new data centers with very little public oversight. The U.S.
...Especially if your state governor just got caught on a hot mic bragging about ramming through data centers no matter the civic opposition.
Michigan Governor caught on hot mic with Oracle CEO Clay Magouyrk, discussing citizen opposition to AI data centers, bragging how she ignore
"As AI companies race to expand, states across the country are approving massive new data centers with very little public oversight. The U.S. already has more than 4,000 data centers with thousands more planned or under construction.
These facilities consume enormous amounts of electricity and water and in some areas, utility companies are already predicting that rapid data center expansion could strain power grids and increase energy costs for residents. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, data centers could account for roughly 12 percent of all U.S. electricity demand by 2028.
And while the real long-term effects on public health have yet to be seen, researchers warn that these facilities can create noise pollution, threaten water quality, and deplete natural resources in surrounding areas.
Despite these risks, many data centers are approved behind closed doors with fast-track permits and non-disclosure agreements, leaving communities in the dark about the true environmental and financial costs.
Demand your governor and state representatives safeguard our communities and oppose the construction of these massive data centers."
Find scripts and contact info for your governor here: https://5calls.org/issue/ai-data-centers-expansion/
Disappointed Whitmer isn’t running for president, since it’s not like there’s anywhere else for her to go right now — she’s term limited as governor, Michigan’s not going to have a new opportunity to run for Senate for a while — I’m guessing she’s hoping she’ll get a cabinet position like Granholm before her. But it would be great to have our first woman president right after the current piece of shit, as a huge rebuke to all of that, and she was a really strong candidate for that
