Lawmakers like to brag that the vast majority of bills that they pass are on bi-partisan votes. The statement, of course, is true, but at the very least it is misleading, but they don’t tell you that. The bulk of those bills are not controversial but run of the mill cats and dogs issues that get bi-partisan support because there is no reason not to vote for them. That politically creates the illusion that both political parties are listening to you and working together for the good of the state. Bully for them.
However in recent days there was an honest to goodness difference of opinion on a series of bills over what the minimum wage was going to be in our state and how much sick time should employers be forced to provide to their workers. And don’t forget the flap over tip wages with thousands of servers from Monroe to Marquette telling lawmakers to leave their mud-hooks off the current system that they argue is working just fine. They also told lawmakers they would lose money if they did anything different.
Adding more intrigue to the cantankerous debate was the pressure segments of organized labor was putting on Democrats to vote to boost the minimum wage for everyone thus ignoring what many tip workers were saying.
