Back in the summer, Virg Bernero got a roar from a partisan crowd of 3,500 when he was introduced as the next governor of Michigan at the Michigan Education Association’s rally June 24 at The Capitol in Lansing.
But as it turned out, Bernero may not have been the sweetheart candidate of the union members after all, according to a researcher of teachers’ unions.
The GOP’s Rick Snyder won the race for Governor when he got 58 percent of the vote. Bernero, the Democratic Mayor of Lansing, got 40 percent of the vote on Nov. 2.
Mike Antonucci, director of the Education Intelligence Agency in California, said that just 52 percent of the certified MEA members (teachers and other professionals who hold some type of credential) voted for Bernero.
Antonucci said only 39 percent of the education support members (custodial and non-teachers) voted for Bernero. That percentage was just below the general electorate.
The results may also signify the MEA membership is less partisan than the union leadership. A 2005-06 National Education Association survey found 45 percent of teachers under 30 classified themselves as conservative and 63 percent of teachers age 40 to 49 classified themselves as conservative.
“This is useful information for reform-minded leaders encountering the union's scorched-earth defense of unsustainable benefits and unacceptable outcomes,” wrote Jack McHugh, senior legislative analyst for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, in an e-mail.
Doug Pratt, MEA spokesman, didn’t return an e-mail to verify the MEA voting breakdown on the gubernatorial election.
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See also:
Big Labor Fights Against Lansing Entrepreneurs … and Virg Bernero?
Tight security locked out dozens of anti-right-to-work protesters from the State Capitol as Governor Snyder was delivering his "State of the State" address. Protesters tried to disrupt the speech by banging and chanting outside the building.
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FROM MICHIGAN HOME HELP PROGRAM PROVIDERS — OFTEN FAMILY MEMBERS
ATTORNEY GENERAL ORDERED THE STATE TO STOP TAKING MONEY ON MAY 25, 2012
opinion May 25, 2012
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) "organized” Michigan's self-employed Home Help Program providers for the purpose of skimming dues from their ailing and disabled clients' Medicaid subsidy checks. The majority of these providers are relatives or friends taking care of loved ones. It’s been estimated that less than 25 percent of the providers are hired in an employment setting.
The first counter tallies SEIU dues skimmed since the union and state officials first launched this scheme in late 2006. The second shows the amount skimmed since June 9, 2011, when the Michigan House passed and sent to the Senate a bill to ban this and all similar “stealth unionization” efforts. The third counter shows the dues skimmed since the Governor signed the bill into law on April 10, 2012. The fourth counter shows the amount skimmed since May 25, 2012, when the Attorney General opinion was announced.
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