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Workplace Rights
Workplace Rights
The historical role of May Day was to provide an eight-hour workday and extend Workplace Rights to hardworking men and women across the nation. Michigan's workforce benefits from the right to organize, bargain collectively and advocate for better protections, leveraging their knowledge to create equity amidst a growing Michigan economy.
Serving the residents of Michigan is of utmost importance and aligns with LEO's mission and purpose. The Workplace Rights resources showcases the state's commitment to the Labor movement and establishes Michigan as a place for economic growth and prosperity for all. These resources will help working people better understand their rights and feel empowered to fight for their protection.
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Workplace Rights Week 2024 Events
Monday, April 22: Joint Webinar with Wage & Hour and the U.S. Dept. of Labor
The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) recently announced a final rule to help employers properly classify workers as either independent contractors or employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The joint webinar with USDOL will focus on how the final ruling with affect Michigan businesses.
Tuesday, April 23: Webinar Covering Changes to the Public Employees Relations Act
Bureau of Employment Relations Director Sidney McBride will be hosting a webinar discussing updates on changes to the Public Employees Relations Act, enacted to declare and protect the rights of public employees to organize and collectively bargain.
Tuesday, April 23: Webinar with National Employee Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board will focus on safeguarding employees’ rights to organize, engage with one another to seek better working conditions and choose whether to have a collective bargaining representative negotiate on their behalf with their employer.
April 26: Workers' Memorial Day
Representatives from LEO and MIOSHA, in collaboration with the Christman Company, the Michigan Building Trades and Construction Council and construction trade representatives, will visit a NEOGEN construction site in Lansing to talk with working people about the significance of workplace safety rights and commemorate those who have lost their lives on the job.
Coffee Chat with John Johnson
View Coffee Chat with John JohnsonCoffee Chat with Sean Egan
View Coffee Chat with Sean EganLabor Movements that Shaped History
May Day - May 1, 1886
200,000 U.S. workmen engineered a nationwide strike for an 8-hour day. The historical role of May Day was to extend Workplace Rights to hardworking men and women across the nation. Michigan's workforce benefits from the right to organize, bargain collectively and advocate for better protections, leveraging their knowledge to create equity amidst a growing Michigan economy.
Furniture Strike, Grand Rapids - 1911
Ford Hunger March, Dearborn - 1932
Unemployed workers gathered at several locations in metro Detroit on March 7, 1932 and marched to the Ford River Rouge plant in Dearborn to seek jobs and relief. Ford security guards fired bullets into the crowd, killing four workers that day and wounding a fifth, who died later.;
Flint Sit Down Strike 1936-37
Woolworth's Five and Dime, Detroit - February 1937
Over 100 women as young as 16 years old locked the doors of this popular downtown five-and-ten store on a busy Saturday shopping day in February 1937. They occupied the store for six days, winning raises and shorter hours.
Battle of the Overpass, Dearborn - May 1937
Labor Holiday Monument, Lansing - June 1937
A historical marker at City Hall Plaza commemorates the Lansing Labor Holiday, a citywide general strike that shut down much of the city's factories and businesses on June 7, 1937. Workers took over downtown streets to protest strong-arm tactics by police against strikers at Capital City Wrecking Co., one of many shops newly organized by the United Automobile Workers. Capital City eventually negotiated a contract with its workers.