Older Issues
The Building Tradesman Newspaper Editions
State’s RTW law sails past Legislature, slogs through courts
Date: Jun-28-2013
LANSING – The rush to adopt Michigan’s new right-to-work laws in last December’s lame-duck session has created some legal roadblocks. Whether they’re major or minor obstacles remains to be seen....
Chrysler’s billion dollar stake in SHAP yields dividend for trades
Date: Jun-14-2013
STERLING HEIGHTS – SHAP is taking shape. Chrysler Group LLC’s $1 billion investment to upgrade its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant is moving along according to schedule, with completion expected in...
It’s Schauer vs. Snyder for Michigan governor
Date: Jun-14-2013
Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, 51, on May 28 announced that he would challenge incumbent Republican Rick Snyder for Michigan governor. Schauer’s entry marks the first – and perhaps...
Local ban on required, paid sick leave for workers passes Senate
Date: Jun-14-2013
LANSING – “A solution in search of a problem,” was how State Sen. Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) saw it. “Despicable” was the description given by state Sen. Coleman Young II...
Michigan’s RTW law should lead to a ‘fundamental rethinking’ of the labor movement
Date: Jun-14-2013
By Rebecca Burns In These Times When Michigan became the 24th state in the nation to pass “right-to-work” legislation this March, local union leaders immediately swore to overturn the misleadingly...
Training Center at SMW 80 opens doors to show its mettle
Date: Jun-14-2013
WARREN – The Sheet Metal Workers Local 80 Training Center was scrubbed and polished, and materials and tools of the trade were put on display for an open house held...
Will there ever be a good time to fund road repairs?
Date: Jun-14-2013
By Craig Thiel A long-term funding fix to Michigan’s deteriorating road and bridge infrastructure system can’t seem to catch a break. For much of the last decade, Michigan’s anemic economic...
Cheap money, collapsing infrastructure doesn’t push Congress to pay for repairs
Date: May-31-2013
By Robert Borosage President, Institute for America's Future On May 21, a "sinkhole" suddenly sank in Washington, D.C. three blocks from the White House. Not a metaphor, but a massive...
Construction employment remains mired in Michigan
Date: May-31-2013
The years-long slump that has its grip on construction employment in Michigan remains firmly in place, as the industry’s jobless rate increased by 3.3 percent from April 2013 compared to...
Making the case for a minimum wage hike
Date: May-31-2013
By David Cooper Economic Policy Institute A version of this commentary originally appeared on U.S. News and World Report. There’s a sense today that we, as a country, are dividing...