7/29/2019 News-Herald Front Page Feb. 27

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The Voice of Downriver North Zone Edition

Southgate, Michigan 48195 Wednesday, February 27, 2013

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5 Sections, 60 Pages

2013, The News-Herald Newspapers

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By Scott HeldThe News-Herald

SOUTHGATE Both ofthe regions state senators

were here Monday and theirtakes on last years right-to-work legislation differedalong party lines.

Sens. Patrick Colbeck(R-Canton Twp.) and Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D-Taylor)addressed the SouthernWayne County RegionalChambers LegislativeForum at Crystal Gardensand Colbeck hit severalpoints the GOP-controlledLegislature used to defend

the law when it passed in aDecember lame-duck ses-sion.

The new laws, which

Gov. Rick Snyder signed,would allow employees toopt out of union dues andend closed-shop rules inthe state.

I will never back downon an opportunity toexpand freedom, Snydersaid of the bills, which gointo effect at the end of nextmonth.

Colbeck added that any-thing the state can do tomake it more attractive to

employers can only helpstrengthen families.

Were losing our youth.Theres nothing more

divisive than breaking upfamilies. When this goesinto effect March 28, thingswill really turn around inMichigan.

Division also was a keenpoint for Hopgood, but for amuch different reason. Hepointed out that the pack-age of bills was passed withalmost no discussion andthat an appropriation wasadded to the legislation toeffectively render it referen-

dum-proof.The way it was done, in

my mind, was very poor,he said. It was a disap-

pointment.He added that he believesthe new laws grant employ-ees in union shops the free-dom to freeload becausetheyd enjoy the protectionof a union contract withoutfinancially supporting theunion.

Hopgood launched awebsite (repealRTW.com)last week to drive the repeal

Downrivers state senatorsdebate right-to-work law

Photo by E.L. Conley

State Sens. Patrick Colbeck (left) and Hoon-YungHopgood were the Southern Wayne County RegionalChambers guests for Mondays Legislative Forum. PLEASE SEE DEBATE/2-A

Driver severelyinjured in school

bus accidentBy Laura ZoochiThe News-Herald

FLAT ROCK A schoolbus driver was severelyinjured Thursday after-noon when she was pinnedagainst a guardrail by a bus.

Police said a 911 call camein at 4:17 p.m. from the FlatRock Community Schoolsbus depot, 28639 Division St.

They said the womanhad been helping anotherbus driver position her buscloser to the battery charg-ing system.

The bus suddenly accelerated over the curb, police said,

striking the woman and pinning her against the guardrail.Police said she suffered severe trauma to her lowerextremities and was taken to Oakwood Southshore MedicalCenter in Trenton.

The bus has been impounded for further investigation.As of late Monday afternoon, school Supt. Joan

Donaldson said the womans condition had been upgradedfrom critical to stable.

Donaldson said the family is asking for privacy at thistime.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, shesaid.

Published reports have said the bus drivers legs weresevered in the accident, but Donaldson said she could notconfirm the information.

As of yesterday morning, there was no update frompolice. They are not releasing the womans name or age atthis time.

By David KomerThe News-Herald

TAYLOR State lawmakers arequestioning a groundbreaking 10-year teachers union security clauseagreed to by the school district.

The clause for the TaylorFederation of Teachers mandates anagency fee for nonunion membersto pay for negotiating expenses andenforcement of collective bargain-ing.

It runs until July 1, 2023, and

was agreed to by the district in arecently settled contract with theTFT.

Born out of a deficit-elimina-tion plan crafted to combat a $14million deficit and the recentpassage of right-to-work legisla-tion in Lansing the district andthe union finalized the plan beforea state-imposed Feb. 20 deadline.

The deal was struck after theunion agreed to concessions thatsaved the district about $17 millionover the next three years.

School Supt. Diane Allen saidthe states interest allows thedistricts comeback plan tobe heard and possibly to have itbecome a model for other districtswith similar financial problems.

We did what we needed to doto deal with a looming deficit,she said. We got all of our con-tracts settled and got a third year(approved) for our deficit-elimina-tion plan.

Allen said most districts onlyget two years, but the state wasimpressed with Taylors recoveryplan.

The Board of Education autho-rized a resolution for its attorneyto deliver a position statementto the House of RepresentativesCommittee on Oversight yesterday

A Feb. 19 e-mail sent by state

Rep. Tom McMillin (R-RochesterHills) requested that Allen, TFTPresident Linda Moore and schoolboard President John Reilly testify toexplain the agreement.

Gov. Rick Snyder signed PublicAct 349 of 2012 on Dec. 11, forcingMichigan to become a right-to-workstate. The legislation says nonunionmembers will no longer be requiredto pay fees and will receive equal

standing with paying union mem-bers. The legislation takes effectMarch 28.

After that, no other deals likeTaylors will be allowed.

McMillins e-mail to Allen, Mooreand Reilly says the committee plansto investigate how contracts such asTaylors have cropped up around thestate.

A contract like yours ... consider-ably longer than what has becomestandard practice, must have come

about through a commitment toworking together to reach significantconcessions, McMillin wrote. Thecommittee is interested in the back-ground of your particular agreementsince it appears to be the first of itskind in the state.

The school board decided it wasnot appropriate to testify, as attorneyRobert Huber cited Tavener v ElkRapids School District (1954). As a

result, Huber delivered the eight-page position statement detailingthe agreements genesis.

In January the district scram-bled to finalize union contracts intime to meet a hard Feb. 1 deadlineto submit its deficit-eliminationplan to the state.

The districts first attempt atsubmitting a deficit plan in Augustwas rejected by the MichiganDepartment of Education, whichwas threatening to withhold stateaid for February.

Without the state aid, the dis-trict would have failed to makepayroll. The only other option wasa suggestion by the state that thedistrict lay off about 150 teachers.

The district has a student popu-lation of about 7,300 and 500 teach-ers in the union.

The teachers union, working

without a contract since August2011, negotiated for the clause.Moore said union concessions in

the new contract will save the dis-trict upward of $17 million over thenext three years.

During the negotiations, the unionalso agreed to a 10 percent pay cutin exchange for the security clausebeing extended five years beyond thecontract term.

In the districts position statementto the state yesterday, it cited Aboodv Detroit Board of Education (1977)

School districts union securityclause gets Lansings attention

PLEASE SEE SCHOOLS/2-A

Taylor School District Supt.Diane Allen said the states

interest allows the districts

comeback plan to be

heard and possibly to have

it become a model for

other districts with similar

financial problems.

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