Michigan: Whose interests do they represent?

When House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) indicated last week that he is open to conversations about so-called “Right to Work” legislation, Michigan’s workers should wonder who it is the Representative has been speaking with, because it certainly hasn’t been us.

Bolger claims that “Right to Work” is in the best interests of Michigan’s workers, but does he want us to believe he)was he looking out for us when he voted against the Hire Michigan First Plan? Hire Michigan was a plan to give tax breaks to contractors and businesses that agree to hire residents of Michigan first for job openings here. That means jobs for us!

Someone please explain to me why Representative Bolger, a member of the MichiganWorks! Workforce Development Board and the Small Business Association of Michigan, would vote against legislation that gives preference to companies that hire residents of Michigan! Exactly what kind of work force is he trying to develop? Fortunately there were enough votes in the state House of Representatives to overrule Bolger’s.

Representative Bolger is also a member of the Kalamazoo and Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce, whose parent organization (the Michigan Chamber of Commerce) has been pushing for so-called “Right to Work” legislation. Oddly enough, Bolger has on four separate occasions voted against legislation that would require the Chamber’s members (corporations in the state of Michigan) to give full disclosure of their campaign contributions to state-level candidates. It seems Representative Bolger does have a history of looking out for others when he casts his vote in the state assembly. It’s a shame that he’s not looking out for us.