Middle-class incomes in Michigan fell between 1979 and 2007, even though the state's overall economy grew. A new study from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows that over the past three decades, Michigan’s middle-class workers did worse than middle-class U.S. workers in general because collective bargaining had eroded more in Michigan than in the rest of the country. 

Munger Elementary School in Detroit will have a new garden, thanks to Ford employees and members of UAWLocal 600. As part of this year's Ford Global Week of Caring, UAW Local 600 will help build raised garden beds for Bridging Communities to support students at the school. 

The U.S. auto industry is in the midst of its strongest growth period since 1996, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said today at the Ford Motor Co.'s Flat Rock assembly plant in Michigan. Ford just announced it will be adding 1,200 new workers to the Detroit-area plant in expectation that the revamped Fusion sedan will see an increase in sales this fall. Working together, the plant workers, who are members of the UAW, and the company have increased productivity and brought jobs back to the United States. 

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that a proposal to preserve collective bargaining rights for Michigan workers be placed on the November ballot. The four-member Board of State Canvassers—two Republicans and two Democrats—had deadlocked on allowing the issue on the ballot. Michigan State AFL-CIO President Karla Swift says:

Corporate special interests pushed Lansing politicians to pressure the court leading up to the decision. But the court confirmed there is no legal reason to deny people the opportunity to vote on the proposal.

Something as simple as a pair of “Cars” sneakers can make a huge difference in a family’s budget.  UAW Local 685 in Kokomo, Ind., handed out school supplies and shoes to more than 200 children Tuesday at its headquarters during the annual UAW giveaway, the Kokomo Tribune reported.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed three controversial election reform bills Tuesday—going against his fellow Republicans—that would have made it difficult for legitimate voters to participate in elections.

Great news from Michigan. Volunteers filed 650,000 signatures—more than twice the number required—to place a proposal protecting collective bargaining rights on November's ballot.

With all the great news out today about how U.S. automakers are pushing factories to the limit because of demand for new vehicles, surely
presidential candidate Mitt Romney is praising the auto industry’s comeback?

Well, maybe not. Here’s what he said in the face of the nation’s helping hand to the auto industry a few years ago:

While anti-worker bills in state capitols across the country still threaten middle-class families, Republican state legislatures are beginning to second guess whether to continue pursuing their extreme agenda attacking working families.

Yesterday morning, the Republican-controlled New Hampshire Senate tabled HB 1677, the so-called “right to work” bill.  This bill is the pet of Speaker Bill O’Brien, dubbed by a recent Concord Monitor editorial as a “self-drawn caricature of vindictiveness and power run [amok].”  “Right to work” failed last year, and so far this year it has failed to muster a veto-proof majority.

Just over a year ago, the 2010 midterm elections saw Republicans seize control of both branches of the legislatures in 11 states. Then, while talking up the notion of job creation, they set about cutting their state and local public workforces with a ferocity unseen in decades.  The most recent numbers, according to the Roosevelt Institute, are stark.

The 11 states are Alabama, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Together, they eliminated 87,900 state and local public jobs—more than 40 percent of the total cut.