We are reaching out to urge all members to take immediate action by contacting your state representative and strongly encourage them to oppose House Bill 4688, which was just scheduled for a final vote tomorrow, Wednesday, November 12th, in the Michigan House of Representatives. This legislation—sponsored by Rep. Jim Haadsma—will make minimum staffing levels in local governments a mandatory subject of collective bargaining for all PA 312 employees.
The negative impacts HB 4688 will have on municipalities can’t be overstated. It’s likely the cost and resources required of a municipality to comply would be drastically out of reach for most communities. There is a high probability that these discussions will end up in arbitration, creating further risk to a municipality’s financial security.
Our communities have struggled to find and fill open positions. The creation of a minimum staffing level mandate will do nothing to help this situation. Furthermore, it is unclear how minimum staffing is to be defined. Is this as a department, per shift, or something else? The lack of clarity further complicates the issue.
The League opposed this bill in committee, but not because we feel the topic isn’t worth discussing. We opposed it because it places unfair expectations and burdens on local governments through no fault of their own.
Again, we ask that you take action by reaching out to your state representative and request they oppose HB 4688.
The bill can be found here: https://legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-2024/billcurrentversion/House/PDF/2023-HCVBS-4688-0N295.PDF
Dave Hodgkins is a legislative associate with the League. He may be reached at [email protected]