December 20, 2024 (press release) –
UAW President Shawn Fain: “Too much was left on the table thanks to the loyalty of some politicians to the looming corporate influences in Lansing.”
LANSING — Today, the UAW applauds key legislative victories passed this lame duck session in Lansing affecting thousands of working-class Michiganders. The UAW called upon legislators to fight for working class people, and they delivered key wins on wages, healthcare and retirement security, including:
- 70% increase in unemployment for laid off workers from $362/week to $614/week and extending unemployment insurance from 20 weeks to 26 weeks.
- Legislation to make healthcare more affordable and restore public sector workers’ rights to negotiate healthcare costs, including over 15,000 UAW members in the public sector.
- Legislation reinstating pensions for some state workers for the first time in decades, an important step in winning back a benefit that all workers deserve.
These bills will change the lives of many working class people in Michigan. However, legislators left many priorities for working people on the table when some chose not to show up, not to lead, or not to fight.
"UAW members demanded that Lansing lawmakers pick a side: the working-class or the corporate class," said UAW President Shawn Fain. "The Senate heard us and led a marathon session to see through important laws to boost the lives of thousands of working-class people."
"But too much was left on the table thanks to the loyalty of some politicians to the looming corporate influences in Lansing. Our elected officials should remember that the mighty membership of the UAW does not shy away from letting those in power know when they aren't doing their jobs well and are prepared to make their voices heard in the Capitol and the ballot box."
The UAW now looks to Governor Gretchen Whitmer as the last step to signing into law pieces of an agenda centered on working-class Michiganders.
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