Last night at the Wealthy Street Theatre, the local Democratic Party held a community forum on state ballot initiatives that would increase the minimum wage and ban affirmative action in the state. The event, attended by over one hundred people, provided valuable insight into two ballot initiatives that will likely become the subject of much interest and misinformation during this year’s elections.
The forum started out with presentations about the need to increase Michigan’s minimum wage, as the current federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour puts a family of three at the 60% of the poverty level, an income that is causing severe economic challenges for many families both in Michigan and the United States. The ballot proposal would raise Michigan’s minimum wage to $6.85 per hour, a number that organizers derived from data obtained via a poll done by the Democratic Party that suggested that there was significant voter support for a minimum wage increase as long as it did not exceed $7.00 per hour. Moreover, if the ballot initiative passes, the minimum wage would be indexed to inflation, which would increase the wage each year and prevent the stagnation in the minimum wage that has occurred in the eight years since its last increase.
City Commissioner and minister Robert Dean spoke in favor of the increase in the minimum wage and argued that from a Biblical perspective it is important to increase the minimum wage, an argument that could affect the public debate here in West Michigan. Dean cited the fact that there is a severe imbalance between labor and employer right now that is inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible and argued that common sense and equity dictate that the wealth should be shared in a way that “balances the equation between employer and employee.” Nevertheless, Dean defended some disparities in wealthy by arguing that God intends for some to be richer than others, but also cited the fact that Christians have an obligation towards those making less. During his presentation, Dean expressed support for lowering business taxes and instituting a national healthcare system as a way of offsetting any additional costs to businesses by an increase in the minimum wage.
With the minimum wage campaign in its early stages, organizers are still working to obtain the 300,000 valid signatures needed to put the issue on the ballot in November of 2006. Organizers are asking people to volunteer to help collect signatures up until June 1, 2006 and are inviting people to get involved in the local campaign to increase the minimum wage. The next meeting of the local Wage Coalition will be held this Friday, January 13, at 5:00pm at the Wealthy Street Theatre. Moreover, organizers are hoping to use the ballot initiative as a way to increase progressive political power in the state and cited the fact that the effort in Florida to increase the minimum wage increased voter turnout while obtaining the bipartisan support of 71% of voters.
Organizers working with One United Michigan to defeat the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI), a ballot proposal that would ban all affirmative action programs in Michigan, also cited the fact that their efforts have significant bipartisan support. Already the campaign to defeat the MCRI has been endorsed by numerous organizations and organizations and political candidates generally supporting conservative causes, including the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce and Republican candidate for governor Dick DeVos. Despite the fact that the MCRI will be on the 2006 ballot, organizers have achieved some success in obtaining a wording that clearly states that the proposal would end affirmative action programs rather than using the convoluted term “preferential treatment” that has been used in what organizers describe as the “stealth campaign” to build support for the MCRI.
This “stealth campaign” of using the deceptive language of “civil rights” and “preferential treatment” to gain support for a constitutional amendment banning affirmative action programs in Michigan has prompted One United Michigan to run their campaign under the slogan “Don’t be Fooled.” The ballot initiative is modeled on California’s Proposition 209 that ended that state’s affirmative action programs in 1996. Ward Connerly, a California businessman spearheaded the effort in California and also provided the funding to hire circulators who obtained signatures to place the proposal on the Michigan ballot with little support in the state (locally only Republican Senate candidate Jerry Zandstra is supporting the MCRI). Since the initiative was announced, the ballot initiative has been criticized, due both to its intent and widespread allegations that signatures have been obtained fraudulently with circulators touting the initiative as one that promotes “civil rights” rather than one banning affirmative action. Last night in Detroit, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission held a hearing to collect testimony from people who were misled by the signature collection efforts, many of whom explained that their names showed up on the lists despite never signing the petition.
In addition to referencing the way in which signatures were fraudulently collected, the “Don’t Be Fooled” banner also refers to the fact that the MCRI will eliminate many programs that benefit all residents in Michigan by increasing diversity and providing equal access to education, jobs, and contracts. The proposal would immediately eliminate all local affirmative action and outreach programs which means that outreach programs to encourage minorities and women to enter key fields (police, firefighting, engineering) or to attend college would be eliminated, programs to encourage minorities and women to stay in school would be eliminated, programs to encourage men to become teachers and nurses would be eliminated, and affirmative action in contracts or hiring in state and local governments would be eliminated.
For those who wish to get involved in the effort to against the MCRI, the Grand Rapids area group of Michigan United is holding its next meeting on Wednesday, January 18 at 6:00pm at the UAW Region 1D building at 3300 Leonard in Grand Rapids.
