Senate Education Committee Considers Eliminating Paid Release Time for Public Unions

Senate Bill 280, which would eliminate the current system of government officials being paid for leave time to negotiate for government unions, saw debate in the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday. Unions whose binding arbitration, including police and fire fighters, falls under PA 312 of 1969 would be exempt from the bill. In the current system many employers, both public and private, pay union representatives to negotiate their collective bargaining agreements.

There was a split among unions on the bill; however, most stated their opposition. The Michigan Association of School Boards and the United Auto Workers (UAW) were vocally opposed to the proposed law, with the UAW saying that paid leave time allows union representatives to immediately deal with workplace issues, creating a safer work environment. The Michigan Association of School Administrators voiced their support for the bill with Shawn Lewis-Lakin, the Superintendent of Royal Oak, saying that union dues should fund the leave time.

The committee also heard testimony on a similar bill, Senate Bill 279, which would end the current practice of using a public school employee’s most recent salary when calculating their pension after they take professional services leave. Currently only those public school employees who took their professional services leave before October 1, 1996 are still under this practice. The sponsor of the bill, Senator Marty Knollenberg (R-Troy), said that under the current law the pension system is put under considerable strain.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, June 12, 2015 10:07 AM
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