General Strike Planned for Michigan: This is No Joke

My sources in the MEA indicate that the MEA is preparing for a teachers strike in May and will ask that other unions also join in this strike. The Michigan Education Association (MEA), which is the largest teachers union in Michigan, has asked all local affiliated teacher unions to approach their membership and ask the membership to authorize the MEA to take all and any actions necessary to put pressure on Michigan's state government, including going on strike. Michigan's striking teachers would be supported and joined by all union workers in the state of Michigan, from government employees, police, fire, and private labor unions like the UAW, with the intent on putting such pressure on the elected officials of Michigan that they would be forced to bargain and deal with the MEA.

After years of the MEA backing the Democratic Party and using its campaign finances and manpower to hammer Republicans and conservatives and tea party supporters, they have no supporters and allies in the GOP dominated legislature or the Governor's office. Because the MEA has been so heavily attached to the Democratic Party (especially the liberal/communist wing of the Democratic party) and yet only a third of the MEA members are Democrats, Republicans around the state are convinced that the MEA does not represent the legitimate interests of teachers and so there will be little backlash against them for their attempts to balance the budget and maintain fiscal solvency for our state. After years of the MEA disrespect and hostility towards the GOP, they can no longer expect respect and kindness towards them in the bargaining process- they burned too many bridges for too long.

This is not to say that teachers, represented by the MEA, could not find many areas of common ground with the GOP, the conservatives, and the tea party members, on a range of issues- for example, tax cuts for teachers or forcing local districts to use rainy day funds or pushing more power to the local level. This is to say that the MEA instead has decided to engage in a pissing match and it's going to get very messy.

The MEA will be authorized by locals over the next month to threaten a strike, which they will begin to do in late April. The GOP will respond by calling their bluff and passing bills that weaken tenure, strengthen districts in the bargaining process, remove health care benefits for teachers, expand the power of emergency financial managers, or require more money for retirement accounts. This is sure to make the MEA beyond angry and it will threaten the strike, but once it comes time to pass a budget, a budget that will absolutely destroy local school districts budgets, then the strike will be called.

The strike will likely occur in May. The locals won't give the MEA the authority until April and the school year is done and the state budget needs to be put together by June, so it will likely be in May.

You heard it here first.

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