http://www.statenews.com With six work days left for the state Legislature this year, there are several issues that could see action before the holiday break. There’s no telling which, if any, will be passed, however. The Michigan House of Representatives and Senate will return to session Tuesday after a two-week fall break. en-us Gryphon 2.2.3b-tsn (woodward)/Foundry5 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:58:17 -0500 webmaster@statenews.com http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/29280 This story sourced the Mackinac Center as if it is research organization. It is in fact a Right Wing Propaganda Mill. The Mackinac Center was founded by Republican attorney Richard McLellan, then-Senator John Engler, D. Joseph Olson of Amerisure Insurance. It is financed by a who’s who of the conservative right wing which the Center refuses to discuss: the Walmart foundation; the Exxon foundation; the Coors, Van Andel, and Devos families foundations as well as various insurance companies. All of it’s programs have one thing in common: a fight to reduce the influence of unions in general and the MEA in particular. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:55:35 -0500 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/29280 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/29362 The author of the previous comment, Greg Steimel, as a “research consultant” on the payroll of the MEA. Readers can make their own judgements regarding Mr. Steimel’s failure to disclose that here. BTW, the source of the MEA’s funding is money extracted from school employees’ pay checks whether they wish it or not. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:16:36 -0500 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/29362 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/29834 I can’t believe I have to write this, but Jack McHugh, who criticizes me for not ‘disclosing’ that I work for the MEA, fails to disclose that he works for the Mackinac Center, the subject of my comment. A pretty hollow shot to take there, Jack. Notice he doesn’t dispute anything I wrote because he knows its all true. But then what he writes isn’t exactly true. Our members do pay my salary. If they don’t want to, they can become ‘fee payers’ and pay only for the cost of bargaining their contract. They can find out how to arrange this by visiting the anti-union Mackinac Center website, who’ll be very happy to help them out. So MEA members pay my salary. Jack, who pays yours? Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:47:11 -0500 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/29834 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/29886 Mr. Steimel, you need to read the story more carefully before you comment on it. The reporter, Kelly House, clearly told readers that I work for the Mackinac Center. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:47:56 -0500 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/29886 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/29887 PS. In 2007 MEA assessed “fee payers” at around 80 percent of the regular dues. This means the MEA claims that 80 percent of the budget is for representation. However, information the union is required to disclose to the federal Department of Labor shows that only a third of the MEA budget was spent on representation. The bottom line is that “agency fee” payers are almost certainly being overcharged. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:58:17 -0500 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/29887