Teachers, police, firefighters and other public employees plan to march on the state Capitol tomorrow.
They oppose a measure in the Senate that expands the authority of emergency managers named to run troubled local governments and school districts.
Unions say the measures strike at their bargaining rights.
Union leaders hope for a big enough turnout to persuade Senate Republicans to delay a vote.
Unions are particularly opposed to a part of the legislation that would allow emergency managers to vacate bargained contracts.
Mark Gaffney, president of the AFL-CIO of Michigan, says that’s unfair when the state is also looking to cut money for schools and local governments:
“You’re saying to a city that it’s easy to get a dictator and you’re taking money away from that city that puts you at the point where you might need him or her.”
Republicans say the measures offer local governments early help to avert a financial takeover, but once it happens, emergency managers need crisis tools to set things right.
Scott Kincaid, a member of Flint City Council, favors keeping the law and the authority it grants emergency managers.
"These bills give them unlimited authority to do certain things that, currently, we were able to solve our problems without doing those things. The system works right now, and I’ve experienced it. And it worked very well. We had financial problems in our community and we turned them around in 18 months."
Flint was placed under an emergency manager in 2002. The city recently asked the state for the authority to sell bonds to cover a $17 million budget shortfall and meet its payroll.
The state Senate is expected to vote on the emergency management bills as soon as tomorrow.
