LANSING – Frustrations are fomenting by some in the effort to win Democratic support for immediate effect on legislation designed to fix Michigan’s new minimum wage law. Legislative Republicans expect a coalition of business groups pressure Democrats, but some in that coalition feel they have been pushed to come up with a political tradeoff to win immediate effect – and they feel that should be the Republicans’ job.
When reviewing the situation one business group official said angrily: “John Engler would have gotten this figured out.”
The issue is so sensitive that most of the people interviewed would not talk for attribution.
A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema (R-Wyoming) said the relations between Republicans and the coalition have been good. What is holding up action on HB 6213 is the refusal of Democrats, including Governor Jennifer Granholm, to recognize the need for the bill to prevent thousands of workers across the state actually losing jobs or seeing their pay cut, the spokesperson said.
Ari Adler acknowledged that a deal may be needed to win Democratic votes in both the House and Senate for immediate effect, but said no deal that reverses the Supreme Court ruling on short-term disability eligibility for insurance benefits, the Kreiner case, will be acceptable.
“No one has come to us with a deal that makes sense,” Adler said.
But if Republicans say they will not agree to a Kreiner proposal, then they have not said what they will agree to, and several other proposals – such as adding a cost of living adjustment to the minimum wage – are also unacceptable to both the GOP and members of the coalition.
Meanwhile, a Senate Democratic staff person, who did not want to be identified, said Kreiner is the main negotiating factor. “It is still viable,” this official said. “There’s no question this is a game of chicken.”
Democrats acknowledge that changes to overtime rules are needed and that some cleanup language to HB 6213 is also needed because as now written the bill could strip overtime pay from some people that earn it currently.
“There are two tracks here: one is the policy side to clean up the bill, and the other is the political negotiations,” this official said.
Michigan’s new minimum wage – $5.15 an hour to $6.95 an hour – takes effect October 1, which means workers not now getting overtime, such as salespeople, would be paid overtime. Businesses and those workers worry that the law will force them to make major changes to their operations and cost employees lots of wages they now earn in commissions.
Adler said because it could take some companies some time to change their payroll systems HB 6213 needs to be enacted as quickly as possible.
Legislative Republican staff members said the coalition – which includes business groups as well as health care centers and others – were expected to provide the bulk of pressure on Democrats to vote for immediate effect on the bill. Without immediate effect, the bill will not go into effect until 90 days after the Legislature adjourns sine die.
“They started off pretty aggressively at first. I don’t know how they’re doing now,” one staffer said.
Because so many people that could be affected by the new overtime rules are Democratic voters, it was hoped the coalition would have the greatest impact on Democrats.
The coalition officials made it clear they are not letting up their efforts to win Democratic support for immediate effect. They are repeatedly urging their members to contact Democratic lawmakers and explain what the overtime rules could mean to their individual businesses.
“We’re doing our very best to educate our members,” one official said.
When the Legislature returns to work on the budget next week, press conferences may also be scheduled to push the issue further.
But while business officials said there should be no conditions on putting immediate effect on the bill, Democrats will want a deal and they are unable to negotiate it. That is the purview of legislative Republicans, they said.
“We’re frustrated with all the leadership. There are no problem fixers (in the Legislature) anymore,” one said.
A second said, “We’re hopeful they can arrive at something realistic.” But, “our feeling is that a deal is not going to come from us.”
The minimum wage bill was moved in large part to prevent a proposal from Democrats, that also had with it, an annual cost of living adjustment, from making the ballot. One official said if it had been on the ballot, they could have fought it politically, but since the GOP moved the increase they felt Republicans had to take the lead to find a solution.
Adler scornfully dismissed the criticism. “I’d be curious to know if these people who don’t want to be quoted are the same ones who were quaking in their boots over this thing getting to the ballot,” he said.
The issue is moving the Democrats, he said, and so far Republicans have not heard from the coalition that they have moved Democrats. “We’re ready to vote the moment Democrats come to their senses,” Adler said.
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