The Building Tradesman Newspaper

The nation’s union presidents, led by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Change To Win Chair Joe Hansen, emphasized the positive impact of mobilizing tens and hundreds of thousands of union members nationwide for politics in the bitterly contested Wisconsin gubernatorial recall, downplaying the fact their candidate, Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, lost to Right Wing GOP Gov. Scott Walker. ..

LANSING – The courts are tossing up roadblocks to stop at least some of the Republican agenda against organized labor in Michigan. ..

LANSING – More than double the amount of signatures necessary have been gathered by the Protect Our Jobs Coalition, which almost assuredly means that there will be a proposal on the Nov. 6 ballot to enshrine union rights in the Michigan Constitution. ..

BLOOMFIELD HILLS – When Gregor and Elizabeth Affleck commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a house for them, they wrote to the renowned architect: “We have seen the other houses and we don’t like them and we like yours.” ..

Gov. Rick Snyder and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced June 15 an agreement that lays the groundwork for the New International Trade Crossing, a move that Snyder said “positions Michigan to thrive in the global economy” while protecting the state from shouldering the project’s costs. ..

Some arguments can best be won with the opportune use of a good example. ..

DETROIT – Erected in 1974, the nondescript office building at Third and Abbott streets has certainly housed an eclectic range of tenants over its lifetime. ..

A nearly identical version of the bill previously passed the Senate, also along party lines, and it will likely be resolved and made into law with Gov. Snyder’s signature by the time you read this. The bill basically is what Republican lawmakers hope is an end-around to a February ruling by a federal judge, who overturned the first state GOP law adopted last summer that attempted to outlaw PLAs. U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts ruled that the federal National Labor Relations Act, which spells out the rights of workers and unions, preempts Michigan’s attempts to kill PLAs. ..

The state House (HB 4059) and Senate (SB 7) both have their own active versions of the bill. Both versions are an overt attempt to punish unions while not saving taxpayers a dime. A “fiscal impact” statement released May 24 by the Senate Fiscal Agency said:  “the bill would have no impact on State revenue or expenditures, or on local unit revenue.” Union leaders maintain that the legislation is another attempt by state Republicans to reduce union clout by issuing one-size-fits-all laws in Lansing that are better made by community leaders. ..