Twenty-three public school districts that signed their union contracts after right-to-work became law kept language in that told employees they had to financially support a union as a condition of employment, according to a study done by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Those 23 districts employed about 2,160 teachers.

“There are thousands of teachers in these districts who may be misled into believing they don’t have a choice when it comes to financially supporting a union in order to keep their job,” said Audrey Spalding, director of education policy and author of the study, in a press release.

Capitol Confidential asked some of the districts about their collective bargaining agreements.

• Deb Paquette, superintendent of Bloomingdale Public Schools, said the contract on the district's website was out of date. “The language has been removed via a letter of understanding with the BEA,” she said.
• Andrea Large, superintendent of the Ludington Area School District, said the language had been removed from the just-ratified agreement and the contract was being revised.
• Pete Kelto, superintendent of Munising Public Schools, said the right-to-work legislation was still being appealed when both sides ratified the bargaining agreement. “So we left the language unchanged but agreed to abide by whatever the Appeals Court ruling was,” Kelto said. “State law would supersede the collective bargaining agreement. We actually did hire a new teacher during the past school year that did not join our education association, and the association did not pursue collecting dues from the teacher. The language will be removed from the next agreement.”
• Amy Hodgson, superintendent of Dansville Schools, said the language in the expired contract was not followed. She said the 2014-15 contract that was just ratified will have the contested language removed.
• William Disch, assistant superintendent for business services at Mattawan Consolidated School, said the language in the contract was finalized prior to the effective date of right-to-work. “At the time there was a dispute over when it was actually finalized and the bargaining unit leadership filed an unfair labor practice grievance,” Disch said. “The dispute was mediated by Doyle O'Conner (administrative law judge) and the result of his efforts [was] a settlement mediated that resulted in the contract language that Mr. O'Conner said fell within the confines of the timing of the law's effective date.”
• John Overley, superintendent of Lawrence Public Schools, said the disputed language was redacted on the copy the district received from its lawyer but was missed in the editing process. “It was overlooked in the editing process,” Overley said. “However, it has since been removed from the 14-15 contract. During the 2013-14 year, no teacher was required to join the union and the school did not deduct or collect dues or any money for PACs. I was assuming it was taken out. My wrong assumption and poor editing. Attached is the redacted copy and it shows that it should have been removed.”

Besides the 23 districts, there were another 34 public school districts whose contracts that raised legal and policy questions over when their contracts were signed and put into effect. Those 34 contracts were signed before right-to-work took effect March 28, 2013, but whether they would still have to be compliant with right-to-work is legally unclear.

Spalding collected the union contracts as late as May of 2014 for this study. Any changes to contracts after May are not reflected in the study.

After right-to-work (Public Act 349 of 2012) was passed, there were 234 school districts that signed new contracts with their teachers unions. About 33 percent of those contracts were signed between Dec. 11, 2012, and March 28, 2013.

Gary Naeyaert, executive director of the Great Lakes Education Project which advocates for charter public schools, questioned why the State Board of Education would go out of their way to crack down on charter schools but not act on conventional public schools that “blatantly ignore state law.”

“It’s a good example [showing] that the traditional districts will do whatever they can to flaunt the law until they are caught,” Naeyaert said.

In August, the State Board of Education adopted a statement that asked the state Legislature to develop school reform legislation that would create more enforcement involving laws regarding charter school transparency and accountability.

When asked about the contracts, State Board of Education member Eileen Weiser said, "Michigan is a local control state, so the State Board of Education has no involvement in school district collective bargaining agreements. However, I am surprised to hear that some districts are not following state law. Like local school board members, I too have been elected and have taken an oath of office. Where this is occurring, school board members should evaluate if failing to adhere to the law is in the best interest of their community, including the needs of voters and taxpayers."

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GRAND RAPIDS – Commuters looking for a faster way to travel may have to look beyond Michigan’s first “rapid transit” bus line. The service, which began the last week in August in Grand Rapids and is known as the Silver Line, cost taxpayers $40 million but takes twice as long as a car driving the same route.

The service is called “rapid” because the buses have their own lane and bus drivers can signal traffic lights to stay green. The buses also feature newly installed bus stops where you buy your ticket from a machine and validate it before you board. The stops also provide camera surveillance, real-time arrival signage, sidewalk snowmelt, an emergency phone and free Wi-Fi.

Free Wi-Fi could be a welcome amenity because a ride on the 9.6-mile route takes 39 minutes based on timing of a recent ride. A car making the same trip took 20 minutes. Furthermore, the Silver Line is just a minute faster than an existing line, mainly because the existing line has more stops along the route.

Bill Mills of the Kent County Taxpayer Alliance is not surprised by the performance. His organization has been monitoring The Rapid, the authority that runs the metropolitan area’s buses and the new Silver Line.

“$40 million for a special line to go up and down Division (Street) where we already have a bus line? It’s just a gross waste of money,” says Mills.

The Rapid, the authority that runs the Silver Line, did not return phone calls or emails, even though it was informed that Michigan Capitol Confidential planned to time a Silver Line ride. Before videotaping at Central Station, one of its security guards asked CapCon to stop photographing until a Rapid representative came out to discuss the story. Later, the representative did not return a phone call or email asking for comment on the results.

Commuters say they’re not sure if they will use the route because Division Street is not a road they normally travel. The 9.6-mile route begins at Central Station on Grandville in Grand Rapids, loops around the Spectrum Hospital complex on Michigan Avenue, then heads south to 60th Avenue in Cutlerville. One rider, a mental health counselor who asked not to be named, wondered why the line stops at 60th and not eight blocks farther south where Pine Rest Psychiatric Hospital is located.

“It seems like the Silver Line is geared for a specific kind of clientele. The Rapid would have been better off spending the money improving the existing line which can get very crowded because it offers numerous stops,” he said.

Because millions of dollars were invested into the bus stops, it will be nearly impossible to change the Silver Line route. Instead, there is an effort to develop another one serving students at Grand Valley State University.