For Immediate Release: May 9, 2016

Contact: Mark Brueggenjohann  202-728-6014


IBEW President On Detroit School Bills

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers President Lonnie R. Stephenson issued the following statement on the passage of Michigan House bills 5383, 5384 and 5387.

“I join with Detroit parents, teachers, and elected officials in condemning recent efforts by the leaders of the Michigan House of Representatives to sabotage efforts to rebuild the city’s school system. These bills starve the system of needed funds, while punishing teachers who have been some of the strongest advocates for Detroit’s children. It is nothing but union-busting cloaked in the rhetoric of education reform.

“It also blows up the more measured bipartisan legislation already passed by the state Senate that points to a more realistic and mutually beneficial path to financial solvency and a return of control of Detroit’s school system to city leaders.

“Our members aren’t just electricians. They are also parents and the future of Michigan’s biggest school system is of deep concern to us. I call on Gov. Rick Snyder to veto these destructive bills and ask House leaders to take up the bipartisan Senate legislation.”