The 40th Anniversary of PA 312

Generally anniversaries are a cause for celebration.  In this case, not so much. In 1969, then Representative Coleman Young sponsored when became PA 312 of 1969 (better known as simply PA 312).  Later, as Mayor of Detroit, Young deeply regretted authoring this legislation after he saw the damage it caused to the City. When speaking about PA 312, Young stated, "We know that compulsory arbitration has been a failure. Arbitration awards have caused more damage to public service in Detroit than the strikes they were designed to prevent." I also found some more colorful quotes from the former mayor on the issue, but they aren't really appropriate for our blog.

PA 312 has been a thorn in the side of our communities for 40 years now, and the League is working hard to get guidelines passed that would define "ability to pay" and require arbitrators to put more focus on internal rather than external comparables.  It looks like we have sponsors for this legislation in both chambers, and we're working hard to keep this issue in the forefront for legislators. We have lawmakers tell us all the time that local units of government need to consolidate, and if they are serious, there has to be real discussion about PA 312 and the Urban Cooperation Act.  Yesterday I met with a Democratic lawmaker on the issue who is a former local official and gets it. He said we're trying to climb Mt. Everest on this one, and we're not naive to the significant challenge that we have getting this law reformed.  That being said, I'm all for taking on Everest. With this year's budget crisis, anything and everything will be on the table. And maybe this year, the 40th year of the Act, is the year that Lansing has finally had enough of their communities being hit hard by this antiquated law.