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Public Act 312, the binding arbitration law that resolves contract disputes, is under legislative assault. The Mayor of Taylor, Cameron Preibe, along with other city officials from across the State have blamed Act 312 for the fiscal problems of their communities and the State. Apparently the economy, double digit unemployment, Proposal A and declining property values, as well as the lack of revenue sharing are non-factors.
Since the inception of the Act forty years ago, there have always been critics of the law who have called for its repeal. Up till now, they have been widely ignored. What is worrisome is the political climate in Lansing is desperate to find revenue to solve the State's nearly two billion dollar deficit. Act 312 could easily be sacrificed in exchanged for votes for a tax revenue package.
Senator Bishop, (R Rochester Hills) the Senate Majority Leader, currently chairs the Senate Committee that is holding hearings on the proposed legislation that would cripple the Act. On February 3, 2010, every police and fire Union in the State of Michigan except one, spoke against the proposed legislation. POAM being the lone exception went on record as supporting the changes. It even went so far as to state that the Act should be changed to provide for total package, or winner take all, and not the current issue by issue.
The Michigan Association of Police Organizations, MAPO, the FOP, and the Firefighters Union were present and voiced their opposition to the changes. Citing a forty-year history of an Act that actually works, statistics proved that the Act does not contribute to the fiscal problems of the communities. MAPO researched every Act 312 decision published over the last 18 months and in every decision, the Arbitrator took notice of the ability to pay of the Employer and sided with the Employer in all of the cases on the economic issues. In other words, the Arbitrators are cognizant of the bad economy and are therefore giving the economic issues to the Employers.
The Mayor of Huntington Woods spoke to the same committee the week before complaining about the arbitrators who decide these cases. MAPO did a study on the current MERC pool of arbitrators. There are fifty-five names on the list as of January 29,2010. Of the fifty-five names, twenty-nine are actively employed by management representing the Employer against Unions. There are only two persons on the list who are actively representing Unions while hearing Act 312 cases. One of those has been on the list of 312 arbitrators since 1973 and has yet to be chosen to chair a hearing. There was one name on the list of an arbitrator who had died some time ago. That left twenty-three arbitrators who are truly neutral.
The majority of Act 312 arbitrators hearing cases today are on the Employer's payroll. How can the Employer's complain about the arbitrators when the majority are their people? Isn't this a bit like the Detroit Tigers hiring the Umpires, paying them and then complaining about the calls they make?
As to the Mayor of Taylor and his attack on 312, prior to becoming the Mayor of Taylor, he worked as a police officer in the City of Taylor. He currently receives a well-deserved and hard earned pension along with retiree health care for his many years of service to the community as a law enforcement officer. That pension was a product of negotiations and at least one Act 312 decision that improved the pension that he now receives. To Mayor Priebe MAP asks, "Are you going to give it back?"
To view this Senate Bill No. 1072 click here.
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