Michigan collective bargaining initiative goes to Supreme Court

Nearly 700,000 Michigan citizens petitioned to put the right to collectively bargain on the November ballot. But despite collecting twice the number of signature needed, the state won’t let the people vote.

Why? This week the Michigan Board of State Canvassers deadlocked – along party lines – to keep the measure off the Nov. 6 ballot. The 2-2 vote comes less than two weeks after Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette – acting on the request of GOP Governor Rick Snyder who opposes the initiative to enshrine collective bargaining rights in the state’s constitution -- issued an erroneous legal opinion to kill the proposal.

Now it heads to the state’s Supreme Court:

Andrew Nickelhoff, a Detroit attorney representing Protect Our Jobs, said after the meeting in the Capitol he was going straight to the Michigan Supreme Court about two blocks away to file a legal action requesting the court to order the board to certify the ballot measure. He acknowledged his group faces “a tight timetable” because elections officials say they need the issue resolved by Aug. 27 to have time to prepare and print the ballots. That’s one reason the group wants to bypass the Michigan Court of Appeals and go straight to the Supreme Court.