FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

News from Progress Michigan 

November 28, 2018

Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org

Sore Loser Republicans Should Go Home

Unaccountable, corporate-backed lawmakers using “lame duck” to further harm workers

LANSING — Republicans in the Michigan State Senate are using Lame Duck to gut popular policies that raise wages and provide critical benefits to working families and Progress Michigan is calling them out for doing the bidding of their corporate donors.

“Michigan Republicans saw historic losses in November and now they’re using their waning days of unfettered power to try and screw working families out of hard fought wage increases and earned sick time protections,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “Republican lawmakers are working behind closed doors to push policies on behalf of their corporate lobbying pals at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and Michigan Restaurant Association. The lobbyists are the ones calling the shots during lame duck and it needs to end. Today we saw the Senate wage a direct assault on policies that help working families get better pay and live healthier lives.”

The Michigan Senate voted today to gut the minimum wage and earned paid sick time laws that were passed in September, making the policies shells of what they once were. The earned paid sick time law would now only apply to employers with 50 or more employees and many restrictions were added to make it more difficult to take a sick day. The minimum wage law was changed so much that the full effect of it won’t be felt by workers for over a decade and tipped workers will still be forced to work for a subminimum wage under the proposed Senate changes.

“Republicans have taken days off from session to go hunting, to work on their campaigns, to hob-nob with lobbyists on Mackinac Island and just last month voters gave many of them permanent vacations from public office. They should use their final days in office passing policies to help Michigan families – or take their sorry asses home,” Scott continued. “I’d urge people to call, email and visit their state elected officials and demand they end this radical, corporate-backed charade of democracy known as the Lame Duck session. Tell the legislature to just go home.”

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