LANSING - State legislators have some work to do to help Michigan workers, was the message sent by more than 1,200 union members and supporters who converged on the grounds of the State Capitol on June 29.

The message was sent to the state legislature, which was told that work needed to be completed on raising the minimum wage, increasing unemployment benefits, and voting for Gov. Jennifer Granholm's $2 billion plan to create and attract jobs to Michigan.

Sen. John Edwards was the featured guest at the rally. Noting that the U.S. and the Michigan minimum wage haven't budged from $5.15 per hour in more than eight years, Edwards said, "The national minimum wage is a national embarrassment. It's not just an income disparity, it's an asset disparity. We have enormous work to do in this country to close that gap."

There are proposals to raise the minimum wage in both the Michigan legislature (to $7.15 per hour over a two-year period) and in Congress (to $6.65 per hour). Republicans control the legislative levers of power in both governments - and the minimum wage bills are stalled.

"Almost 1/2 million people in Michigan would benefit from raising the minimum wage," Edwards said. "When someone is working to support their family they ought to be able to provide a decent life for their kids."

According to the Michigan AFL-CIO, at $5.15 an hour, a full-time, year-round minimum wage worker earns just $10, 712 a year - $5,000 less than the federal poverty level for a family of three. Forty percent of minimum wage workers are the sole breadwinners in their families.

"If the Legislature won't raise the minimum wage, we're headed to the ballot in '06," said Michigan AFL-CIO President Mark Gaffney. "That process has already begun. It's a simple matter of fairness - anyone who puts in a fair day's work should receive a fair day's pay. It's time for the Michigan Legislature to stand up for Michigan workers and raise Michigan's minimum wage."

Unions at the rally were also pushing for passage of Granholm's plan to create a $2 billion bond for increasing economic development in the state, and to transform the Single Business Tax to make it more fair and balanced.

The other issue on the minds of ralliers: unemployment insurance benefits. Michigan, even with the second-highest jobless rate in the nation, hasn't extended unemployment insurance for years because of inaction by the Republican legislature. A future extension of benefits isn't on the radar screen.

UNIONISTS WORE their colors at the June 29 rally in Lansing.

U.S. SENATOR and former vice presidential candidate John Edwards speaks to rally attendees on the Michigan Capitol building steps. Photos by John Kreucher