"Kill the Bill....Kill the Bill" shouted hundreds of municipal labor union members as protests continued for a second day at the state Capitol in Lansing. Hundreds of unionized firefighters and police officers marched on the Capitol.
They are calling on the Legislature to reject a bill that would repeal the requirement that puts local government labor disputes into binding arbitration.
Local government officials say binding arbitration leads to expensive settlements. Unionized workers say binding arbitration is a fair way to settle disputes, and its a concession unions made in return for giving up the right to strike. Jason Sneft is a firefighter from the city of Jackson.
“This is probably step in a long couple years of many steps of trying to eliminate union actions.”
Drivers honked their horns in support as uniformed firefighters and police officers lined both sides of the street in front of the Capitol. The binding arbitration measure is not scheduled for a vote yet.
The House is expected to vote on another bill that would give state-appointed local emergency financial managers the power to discard union contracts.
