#Michigan News

[iww-gnv]

DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — We’re drawing closer to a strike deadline on Sept. 14 as United Auto Workers members remain at odds with the Big Three over double-digit pay increases, eliminating a two-tier wage system, a 32-hour work week and better benefits. The UAW is confirming strike authorization votes are ongoing at their local unions and now, a new video singles out a Ford Motor Co. worker who says she’s fighting for more. The fourth generation worker, Sara Schambers, says it’s becoming increasingly harder to make ends meet. “In order to make the amount that Farley said, you have to live in these plants. You have to work 12 hours a day, five to six, sometimes seven days a week in order to make that kind of money,” Schambers said.

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[gramarobin]

[tocitynews]

Michigan Democratic Governor Whitmer Signs $23.4B Education Budget Including Free Community College, Pre-K –Flint Michigan reporting

Governor Whitmer:

“This balanced education budget—my sixth—makes record-breaking investments to support our students, invest in our schools, and empower our educators,” Whitmer said.

“With access to free pre-K for all, record funding for students, free school meals, on-campus mental health resources, and tuition-free community college for every high school graduate, this budget will improve outcomes, lower costs, and strengthen our education system.”

Under the new budget, free pre-K for 4-year-olds will be available for families making 400% or less of the federal poverty limit. That collective income limit is $81,760 for a family of two, $103,280 for a family of three and $124,800 for a family of four, according to the federal 2024 poverty guidelines.

The $54 million investment will provide free pre-K for about 5,300 additional children in the state, according to state officials.

The spending plan also includes a $30 million investment to expand the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which state officials say most students qualify for.

Democratic lawmakers say this investment would allow every Michigan high school graduate to receive an associate degree or skilled certificate tuition-free at a community college.

The scholarship expansion would also give more dollars to students attending private and public universities.

[wanderervenom]

From FOX 2 Detroit - Detroit election worker crashes transporting ballots on West Grand Blvd

Detroit election worker crashes transporting ballots on West Grand Blvd

[cheerfullycatholic]

The national March for Life in Washington, D.C., has become an annual pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers every January. But since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court last year, and the subsequent passage of Michigan's widely permissive Proposal 3 in November's election, the issue of abortion has taken on a new urgency at the state level. In response, pro-lifers in Michigan are turning their attention to Lansing next month as the epicenter of a new legal and spiritual battleground. The first Michigan March for Life is set for Nov. 8, 2023, at the state capitol in Lansing, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the passage of Proposal 3, which placed abortion rights on a pedestal in the Michigan state constitution.

[disableism]

Not just related to Michigan, as every state must do reviews.

“In just two months, a bureaucratic review will begin that experts say could cost hundreds of thousands of low-income Michiganders their health insurance — and threaten nonprofit clinics that treat more than 400,000 Medicaid patients across the state.

Beginning April 1, more than 3 million Michigan Medicaid clients will have to prove they are eligible for benefits extended since 2020 under a federal health emergency that barred states from removing anyone from Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic. Michigan’s Medicaid ranks grew by more than 700,000 since the pandemic hit.

Federal estimates calculate up to 15 million U.S. Medicaid enrollees could lose coverage during the benefits review, including 6.8 million people who could be booted from the rolls despite being eligible.”

[easyearl]

[iww-gnv]

DETROIT (AP) — Autoworkers at the first Ford factory to go on strike have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a tentative contract agreement reached with the company. Members of Local 900 at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, west of Detroit voted 81% in favor of the four year-and-eight month deal, according to Facebook postings by local members on Thursday. Two union officials confirmed the accuracy of the percentage Thursday. Neither wanted to be identified because the vote totals had not been made public. About 3,300 United Auto Workers union members went on strike at the plant Sept. 15 after the union’s contract with Ford expired. They remained on the picket lines until Oct. 25, when the union announced the tentative deal with Ford. Production workers voted 81% to ratify the deal, while skilled trades workers voted 90% in favor. Voting at Ford will continue through Nov. 17.

[iww-gnv]

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union significantly escalated its walkout against Detroit’s Three automakers, shutting down Ford’s largest factory and threatening Jeep maker Stellantis. In a surprise move Wednesday night, 8,700 members left their jobs at Ford’s Kentucky truck plant in Louisville. And Thursday morning, union President Shawn Fain hinted at further action against Stellantis. “Here’s to hoping talks at Stellantis today are more productive than Ford yesterday,” Fain wrote on X, formerly Twitter, without saying what might happen.

[iww-gnv]

ANN ARBOR, MI - A deal between the University of Michigan and its striking graduate instructor union was reached Tuesday morning, signaling the end of a months-long strike. The Graduate Employees Organization, on strike since March 29, accepted a 20% pay raise over three years for its Ann Arbor employees, as well as a number of other provisions, university officials said.