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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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6:00 PM, February 12, 2013 |
Poll: Snyder's approval rating plummets after right-to-work law passes
By Paul Egan
Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau
LANSING — A poll released to the Free Press today suggests that support for Gov. Rick Snyder dropped sharply after he did an about-face in December and backed the speedy passage of controversial right-to-work legislation.
The poll by EPIC-MRA of Lansing, released exclusively to the Free Press and WXYZ-TV (Channel 7), found that 61% of Michigan voters surveyed between Feb. 5 and Feb. 10 gave Snyder a negative job rating, while 36% gave him a positive rating.
Those numbers contrast sharply with the same firm’s most recent previous poll, conducted at the end of November, when 51% gave Snyder a positive job rating, and 48% gave him a negative rating.
Snyder’s favorability numbers also dropped, to 42% favorable and 46% unfavorable in the recent poll, from 55% favorable and 32% unfavorable at the end of November.
The live-operator poll of 600 likely voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. It included 20% cell phone participation.
Bernie Porn, president of EPIC-MRA, said Snyder’s fall from high approval numbers can almost entirely be attributed to the right-to-work issue, which Snyder came out in support of in December after saying for nearly two years that the issue was too divisive and not on his agenda. Porn noted his November polling — released in early December — projected a drop in support for Snyder if he backed the legislation, which makes it illegal to require financial support of a union as a condition of employment. The latest poll shows that projected drop in support has come to pass, he said.
Sara Wurfel, a spokeswoman for Snyder, said it’s not surprising polls will be affected “when you take on big, controversial issues,” but “this is just a small snapshot in time,” amid a large number of improving trends.
“The governor will continue to make the long overdue, tough decisions that will help move our state forward and build a strong future for all,” Wurfel said.
Ron Bowman, 64, a semi-retired home builder from Shelby Township who describes himself as an independent voter, said he went from neutral about Snyder to strongly opposed to him over the right-to-work issue.
“The right-to-work thing puts him in the toilet, as far as I’m concerned,” said Bowman, who participated in the poll.
He said has not been a union member for 30 years but believes the labor movement helped build a strong middle class and that the right-to-work law will depress wages and hurt the middle class.
Bowman said he didn’t like the tax on pensions Snyder pushed in 2011 and the narrowing of eligibility for the homestead property tax credit, but Snyder’s backing of the right-to-work law was the first action by the governor that provoked a strong reaction from him.
Snyder, a Republican elected in 2010, saw his approval among independents fall from 59% favorable and 27% unfavorable in November to 40% favorable and 44% unfavorable this month.
The governor maintained a 61% favorable rating among Republicans, down from 78% in late November.
Beverly Ballew, a Grosse Pointe homemaker who writes grants for a nonprofit foundation and leans toward the GOP, said Snyder’s action on right-to-work legislation improved her impression of the governor.
“He was strong, and he stuck to his guns” in the face of strong opposition, said Ballew, who also participated in the survey.
“I am totally in support of unions; I think they are good things to have,” she said. “But I think they’ve gotten carried away in their demands, and I think it’s hurting Michigan.”
Snyder’s 2013-14 budget, which included calls for higher gas taxes and vehicle registration fees, was released Thursday, midway through the polling. Porn said the budget could have also been a factor in Snyder’s declining numbers, though he does not think it was a significant one.
Snyder has not said definitively whether he will seek a second term in 2014, but has strongly suggested that he plans to do so. No clear Democratic challenger has emerged; Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, announced she will not run for governor.
Of those who participated in the poll, 42% described themselves as Democrats, 37% as Republicans and 18% as independents.
The EPIC-MRA poll is the third to examine Snyder’s approval numbers in the wake of the right-to-work debate, which brought thousands of demonstrators to the Capitol controlled by large numbers of police in riot gear, some of them on horseback.
A January poll released by Mitchell Research and Communications of East Lansing, a Republican firm, pegged Snyder’s approval at 50%, up 3 percentage points from a poll that firm conducted in December.
In contrast, a December poll by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling of North Carolina found 38% support for Snyder after the right-to-work debate, down 9 percentage points from an earlier PPP poll just before the Nov. 6 election.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com |
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Wed Feb 13, 2013 8:41 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Lawsuit to strike down Michigan’s Right to Work law filed in federal court
By Eclectablog on February 13, 2013 in Labor, Michigan Republicans
This isn’t over, not by a long shot
On the heels of a lawsuit filed recently in the Ingham County District Court challenging the constitutionality of Michigan’s new Right to Work law, a coalition of unions has filed a similar lawsuit in federal court. The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit and assigned to Judge Stephen Murphy, claims that the law violates the rights of private sector union members who are covered under federal law rather than the laws of the state of Michigan:
The Michigan AFL-CIO, the Building and Trades Council, the Teamsters, SEIU, United Farm Workers and the United Food and Commercial Workers say the law that affects private-sector employees is a violation of the U.S. Constitution because those unions are covered by federal law and governed by the National Labor Relations Board, not state law.
“In their haste to enact right-to-work, the Legislature overreached,” said Andrew Nickelhoff, general counsel for the Michigan AFL-CIO. “This lawsuit only deals with the act that affects private-sector employees, because they’re covered under federal labor law.”
The lawsuit names the Michigan Employment Relations Commission; Steve Arwood, the director of the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs; Attorney General Bill Schuette and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy as defendants. Worthy was added to represent all 83 county prosecutors in Michigan because they would be in a position to prosecute any criminal actions surrounding right-to-work activities in union shops.
Whether or not the move by Governor Snyder and his Republican colleagues will bring more jobs to the state is debatable. However, what is clear is that the main beneficiaries, at least for the foreseeable future, will be the lawyers who litigate these lawsuits. Flippancy aside, if the state legislature is forced to vote again, it’s unlikely that Republicans have enough votes to pass it a second time. And that is why the lawsuits are so very important.
Stay tuned, Michiganders. This is all far from being over with. |
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Wed Feb 13, 2013 10:31 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Gretchen Whitmer via Senator Hoon-Yung Hopgood
My friend Senator Hoon-Yung Hopgood has introduced legislation to repeal Michigan's terribly misguided "Right to Work" legislation. I hope you'll sign the petition and add your voice to the countless people telling Governor Snyder that the legislation and the manner in which they passed it were simply disgraceful.
RepealRTW
repealrtw.com
Support SB 95 and SB 96, which would repeal Right to Work legislation, which was haphazardly enacted during Lame Duck session without allowing the public to be a part of the process. SIGN THE PETITION
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Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:35 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Skubick is right about SNYDER! |
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Sun Apr 07, 2013 11:02 am |
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flygirl311
F L I N T O I D
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| Get used to it WEBS, Rick Snyder is going to be re-elected next year for 4 more years. If you don't like it, I suggest you move to another state. |
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Sun Apr 07, 2013 5:48 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Snyder Administration Refuses to Disclose Costs of RTW Promotional Materials
Categories: press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Contact: Jessica Tramontana, 517.974.6302, jessica@progressmichigan.org
Snyder Administration Refuses to Disclose Costs of RTW Promotional Materials
State departments deny FOIA request disclosing costs to taxpayers for RTW flyer
LANSING — Citizen Watchdog group Progress Michigan is calling on Governor Rick Snyder and the Michigan Department of Technology and Management (DTMB) to come clean with Michigan residents about the total cost associated with letters and flyers sent to businesses regarding Michigan’s so-called “Right to Work” law. Progress Michigan filed a FOIA asking for the total costs of this endeavor, and the request was denied by both governor’s office and DTMB.
“It’s shameful that Governor Snyder has once again broken his campaign promise of greater transparency in state government,” said Zack Pohl, executive director of Progress Michigan.“Last year Republican politicians passed this legislation behind closed doors without a single committee hearing. Now they’re refusing to disclose the costs associated with expensive mailings to businesses promoting the new RTW laws. Sunshine is the best remedy, and it’s time to be honest with Michigan taxpayers.”
The FOIA to the Governor’s office was referred to the Michigan Department of Technology and Management, and was rejected by the DTMB claiming, “records do not exist within the department.”
The RTW flier was mailed to businesses, and explains that “an employee or any other person shall not by force, intimidation or unlawful threats compel or attempt to compel any person” to join or support a labor union, even though forcing union membership is already illegal in Michigan.
“It’s obvious Republican politicians think they’re above the law, and don’t need to answer to Michigan taxpayers,” Pohl said. “Governor Snyder needs to stop playing political games, and come clean about the price tag for this unnecessary expense. It’s time for Snyder to start living up to his campaign promises and make transparency a top priority.”
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BACKGROUND:
FOIA letter: http://www.scribd.com/doc/137916836
Response: http://www.scribd.com/doc/137917109
Original letter and flier: http://www.scribd.com/doc/134722953
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