By Doug Cunningham
The signature of Gov. Snyder on the Republican law gutting Michigan’s minimum wage increase is not the final chapter in the fight to raise worker wages. One Fair Wage’s Pete Vargas says legal action could be coming – and not just on the minimum wage issue.
Vargas says a constitutional and rule of law question needs to be addressed. Did the state legislature unconstitutionally take power from Michigan voters by passing a minimum wage increase hundreds of thousands of people supported only to gut it in a lame duck session?
“We are currently looking at and evaluating all of our options, including legal options in response to the recent unconstitutional actions of Governor Snyder as well as Lansing Republicans. We have a responsibility to keep fighting until we believe the rule of law is respected.”
Vargas says this question goes to the heart of the power Michigan citizens have to bring ballot initiatives across a range of issues and actually get them implemented in state law.
“It affects Michigan’s ability moving forward to be able to bring these ballot initiatives to fruition. And so all levels of the government have a dog in this fight – as well as Michigan voters – to evaluate what can be done.”
Vargas says lame duck Republicans took money out of the pockets of 1.2 million Michigan workers making under $12 an hour. He says that translates to billions of dollars of economic stimulus Michigan lost when the minimum wage hike was gutted.
