04-02-2014
Attention all members of Local 6000.  It has been brought to Pres. Ed Mitchell’s attention that a lot of our members have been denied Reasonable Accommodations and Ergonomic Assessments by the State of Michigan.  If you have received any letters of denial or emails of denial, we are respectively requesting at this time that all letters and emails be sent as soon as possible to Local 6000 via USMail.  Please forward, marked confidential to the following address:

PO Box 40720
Lansing, MI  48901-7920
Attention Nicole Jones

 This information is needed immediately because the Health and Safety Committed along with Pres. Ed Mitchell is attempting to address these issues with OSE
Nicole Jones, Health & Safety Rep.

The UAW cannot use union dues to directly support federal candidates and, in an ever-increasing number of states, any candidate for public office. Our only means of monetary support for many labor-friendly candidates is voluntary political contributions from UAW members to UAW V-CAP (our union’s political action fund).

Members can contribute to V-CAP in multiple ways. Many of our contracts have “check off” which allows for direct contribution to V-CAP through payroll deduction. Members and retirees can also give to V-CAP directly with a check. Either way, a modest contribution of $10 a month comes to about 33 cents a day and allows our union to support candidates who support our values.

Click on your Region to sign-up. Region 1A, Region 1C and Region 1D . Open letter from Local 6000 Executive Board.

Thursday, January 30, 2014, 10:46 AM
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pair of important cases involving state employees, one involving whether the right-to-work law applies to them and the other on the constitutionality of major changes to the state employee retirement benefits system.

In a unanimous order released today, the court granted unions’ request to hear their appeal of the Court of Appeals’ decision holding that the right-to-work law does apply to state employees, enabling them to no longer pay union dues or a non-member agency fee.

In another unanimous order, the Supreme Court agreed to the state’s request to hear its appeal of the Court of Appeals’ decision holding that a 2011 law requiring state employees to contribute 4 percent of their pay to the pension system if they wanted to remain in that system was unconstitutional.

The court plans to hear the two cases, UAW v. Green and Michigan Coalition of State Employee Unions v. State Of Michigan, together because both involve the constitutional authority of the Civil Service Commission.
Reprinted by permission of Gongwer News Service

Bob Hoffman and Cheryl Fritze from Fox 47’s Morning Blend hosted UAW Local 6000 President Ed Mitchell and Legislative Liaison Ray Holman on July 30, 2013. The TV audience learned Local 6000 represents all 23 state departments and has over 17,000 state employees in its bargaining unit.

You can watch the Morning Blend on Fox 47 weekdays at 6:30 am. To view past segments simply go to www.fox47news.com and click on Morning Blend tab or visit YouTube.

The UAW Local 6000 will tape eleven more shows discussing issues related to state workers and Michigan citizens. Topics will range from contract updates to information regarding current lawsuits filed on behalf of UAW Local 6000 members. Different guests will be featured on each show to provide interesting and valuable information.

To magnify our voice and presence as State Employees and Union members please take a couple of minutes to post the show using social media (i.e. twitter, Facebook, email, etc.) and help spread the word.

Next Air Dates:

• 8/27/13

• 9/20/13

• 10/15/13

• 11/20/13

• 12/18/13

• 1/21/14

•2/19/14

• 3/18/14

• 4/22/14

• 5/20/14

. Here is the link for the first segment. www.fox47news.com/the-morning-blend

We want to make sure that Local 6000 members knows that MFPP is here to provide free and confidential services to assist our Members with mortgage foreclosure issues.

The link, www.FightMortgageForeclosure.com, will connect you to a reliable source for information on mortgage foreclosure, available options, and answers to frequently asked questions. Most important, by filling out the online application you will be assigned to a member of the MSHDA Certified Counseling Staff who will work with you to determine what your options are and advocate for you with your Lender.

Following are Quick Facts on MFPP that may be of interest to you.

Quick Facts: Wayne County Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program

§ MFPP is a free taxpayer-supported service for Wayne County residents.

§ MFPP has assisted over 5000 residents.

§ One (1) in every thirty one (31) Wayne County homes was in foreclosure in 2010.

§ Only about 50% of families in foreclosure reach out for help and most of them are not aware of free housing counseling services available

§ MFPP has a home retention rate of 58%, for residents that do seek assistance, which is twice the national average.

§ MFPP is a HUD certified agency with counselors certified by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

Many Americans are guilty of historical amnesia when it comes to the benefits we have as a result of labor unions. Today’s anti-unionism culture is growing, spread by corporations and politicians to plant ideas in the minds of the public to destroy the middle-class. The most forceful of these ideas is the one that attacks public employee unions and the negotiated benefits of members of those unions. Corporate lobbyists have spread misinformation about the “idea” of lavish public employee wages and benefits. Partly due to this, these myths are now widely accepted by the majority of citizens. Corporations and politicians continue to perpetuate myths that demonize public employees and union membership. They build on the idea and image of public employees who are greedily sucking the life out of state budgets with huge salaries and pensions. Again, it’s an idea that has been planted in the minds of American citizens to drive a wedge between the public and private sector to further fuel attempts to drive the middle-class in the race to the bottom.