Construction worker unions have asked the Michigan Supreme Courtto put the brakes on sending a petition-initiated question to the Legislature. The unions say the petition campaign broke the rules.
The unions are trying to preserve state and local laws that require construction companies to pay union-scale wages on taxpayer-funded projects. But they say the issue here is the integrity of petition circulators.
They say petition circulators declared residential addresses in places where people don’t live. That includes churches, a shuttered hotel, abandoned homes, and PO boxes.
The unions say allowing the prevailing wage ban to move forward would invite future petition campaigns to let circulators lie without fear of consequences.
The Court of Appeals ruled last week that circulators who lie on petition sheets can be charged with a misdemeanor.
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— Rick Pluta is the Managing Editor and Reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org