Mackinac Center Legal Foundation to challenge resolution allowing U-M research assistants to unionize

By Kyle Feldscher Crime and courts reporter

Posted on Wed, Jul 27, 2011 : 4:50 p.m.

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation will hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Michigan Union announcing a "major development" around the attempted unionization of University of Michigan graduate student research assistants.

Michael Jahr, vice president for communications at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said the press conference will deal with the resolution passed in May by the University of Michigan Board of Regents, allowing graduate student research assistants to unionize if they so choose.

"No one has really contested or challenged that to this point, and we will be doing that," he said.

The press conference will be held inside of the Pond Room at the Michigan Union, 530 S. State St.

University president Mary Sue Coleman spoke out against the proposal before regents approved it with a 6-2 vote, with regents Andrea Fischer Newman and Andrew Richner voting against. It was a rare decision by regents to vote against Coleman's advice.

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