GOP-controlled Legislature is anti-middle class and working family

Mark Gaffney, the president of the Michigan AFL-CIO, recently wrote a column in the July 21 edition of the Detroit News called GOP Lawmakers are anti-worker. Perhaps a better title might be GOP Lawmakers are anti-middle class. There is a serious dislike and assault on unions right now, in Livingston County as well as the nation. Unions created the middle class that the majority of the population here call themselves, and even though many of us, myself included, are not members of a union, we have all benefited from the hard fought wage and benefit concessions they earned.
But Mr. Gaffney males a better case than I can. Here’s the full column- http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060721/OPINION03/607210305&SearchID=73251434947384

GOP majorities opposed many moves to hike pay and benefits
Union members are predominantly Democrats in Michigan. While there are plenty of independent members and some who vote for Republican candidates, 65 percent of Michigan union members identify themselves as Democrats. Why is this? Our members understand that there is a large difference between most elected Republicans and most elected Democrats on worker's issues.
This legislative cycle in Michigan shows that difference. The Republican majority in Michigan's House and Senate only passed a minimum wage increase when they were pushed into a corner by a highly successful ballot petition drive supported by 80 percent of Michigan voters. Indeed, Republican state Rep. Rick Baxter, in joining 33 of his colleagues in voting against the increase, said that his "worst day was when we passed the minimum wage. That was one of those days when I sat back and thought, this day will never come while we're in power. That's pretty easy as far as the worst."
Cold on unemployment
Other examples of Republican lack of interest in working family's issues included the Republican majority in both the State House and Senate refusing to take up an increase in the level of unemployment benefits (a Democrat introduced the bill) or an extension in the number of weeks for collecting unemployment benefits (again, a Democrat introduced the bill).
The most recent example was this past June when Republicans (and only the Republicans) voted to take away overtime from thousands of Michigan workers. Not one Democrat voted for this.
The Republican-led state House and Senate have also refused to act on a Democratic proposal to end gender discrimination in the work place by passing a Pay Equity law to require employers to pay men and women equal compensation for comparable work. One would think that ending wage discrimination would be a bi-partisan issue.
In another example, the Democrats have introduced legislative packages to protect employee rights on the job and to help working families who have seen their job outsourced to another country. Once again, the Republican leadership refuses to even hold a hearing to discuss these proposals. What are they afraid of? Working families have good reason to be skeptical of a party that will not even discuss issues that are of great importance to their well being.
Labor is often criticized for only endorsing and supporting Democrats, but the fact of the matter is we support those who support us. Time and time again, on the national, state and local levels, Democrats show that they keep working families' interests in mind. Maybe that is the long and short of this. Working men and women support Democrats because the record shows that when the vote matters, Republicans often don't support working families.