News & Events
MNA Legislative Update #15
10.07.2011
Friday, October 7th, 2011
Michigan’s Auto No-Fault on the Chopping Block
This week, the House Insurance Committee heard testimony for several hours in support of and against HB 4936, a bill that would drastically alter Michigan’s Auto No-Fault Law. If this bill passes, insurance personal injury coverage could be as low as $250,000. ER nurses in particular know that this barely begins to cover the cost of extensive medical treatment for traumatic accident victims. In addition, the burden of covering the costs will fall on Medicaid when individuals end up not having the coverage they need to receive the appropriate care and treatment.
The committee will be taking more testimony next Tuesday, October 11th. If you would like to testify against this legislation, please contact Mariam Robinson at mariam.robinson@minurses.org. Additional information on Auto No-Fault, as well as materials outlining why it would be catastrophic to lose it in Michigan, are available on the MNA website: http://www.minurses.org/legislation/resources/nofault.
Click here and help nursing’s voice be strong by sending a letter to your state representative asking them NOT to support this legislation.
Right To Work (For Less) for Teachers
Right To Work (For Less) for teachers finally reared its ugly head this week when SB 729 was introduced. SB 729 would not allow public school employers to make an agreement with an exclusive bargaining representative that represents 50,000 or more personnel who are required, as a condition of employment, to pay a service fee to the exclusive bargaining representative. The legislation essentially wipes out the power, stability and representation of a teacher’s union. If we allow teacher’s to lose their collective bargaining rights, nurses could be next! Information on Right To Work (For Less) and why it will harm Michigan is available on our website: http://www.minurses.org/legislation/resources/rtw.
To send a letter to your state senator asking him or her NOT to support this legislation, please click here.
Congress on Public Policy and MNA PAC Board Hold Joint Meeting
To kick off the annual Convention and House of Delegates, several of our congresses and committees met on Thursday night. The Congress on Public Policy and the MNA PAC Board held a joint meeting at which they discussed several important pieces of legislation, including the topics of: anti-bullying, pro-Auto No-Fault, anti-workplace violence and anti-Right To Work (For Less). MNA’s website will be the place to get updates regarding new legislation and MNA’s position.
Local Bargaining Unit Legislative Liaison Program Kick-Off
Joyce Stein, RN, UMPNC, officially kicked off the recruitment for our new Legislative Liaison program. We already have eight individuals signed up to participate and become active members in their local bargaining units. If you are interested in serving as an LBU Legislative Liaison for your unit, please check out our website at http://www.minurses.org/legislation/legliaison.
