Michigan Gearing Up to Fire All Teachers
The Michigan Education Association has been quietly holding votes on a resolution to authorize a series of job actions including informational picketing, contacting representatives and a state-wide work stoppage, according to mlive.com. Naked Empire reports that MEA President Iris Salters sent out a letter requesting locals to delay major purchases and to start saving enough to have reserves for at least two months. The resolution is in response to funding cuts of $715 per student and the financial martial law bill that would allow the governor to shred teacher contracts and place districts under the control of CEOs.
Teacher strikes are illegal under Michigan law. Public Act 112, enacted in 1994, stipulates that teachers be fined a day’s pay for each day they refuse to work. However, state representative Paul Scott has introduced additional legislation that would fine the union if it were to go on strike and potentially strip teachers of their credentials. The latter, of course, is a moronic threat since, if it were carried out, Michigan would have virtually no qualified
