LANSING - The Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council's 45th annual Legislative Conference on March 4 took place at a fitting time that drove home the reason why unions get involved in political action.

A week earlier, the Michigan House passed House Bill 4160, which was intended to prohibit local governments from adopting living wage and prevailing wage laws. Gov. Granholm pledged to veto the measure, and to support the state's working people in the future.

Granholm's veto pledge underscored the reason building trades unions supported her candidacy - her presence in state government is the only reason an increasingly conservative legislature won't always get its way on matters that concern the health, safety and pocketbooks of Michigan's working class.

Following are some summaries of what speakers had to say at the legislative convention:

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm: "Boy, you'd think you'd never seen a democratic governor before," the new governor quipped after a rousing ovation from the building trades delegates.

Granholm thanked the building trades for their support in the November election, when she became the state's 47th and first female governor.

She pointed out that in her first few days of office, she issued an executive order requiring the state to spend taxpayer dollars with companies that follow state laws, including rules set by MIOSHA. And she pointed out that even though the House passed legislation to outlaw the ability of local communities to adopt living wage and prevailing wage laws, her veto pen awaits.

"We are making great strides in protecting working men and women," Granholm said. "You've heard talk about them going after living wage and prevailing wage. The good news for you is that you've got a friend, you've got a backstop."

She spoke to the building trades two days before she presented a financial plan for the state that sliced $1.9 billion - or 20 percent - out of the state General Fund.

The priorities, Granholm said, were protecting children and K-12 education, as well as health care for vulnerable people. "This budget was a matter of deciding what is important and what is critical," she said. "None of these are easy decisions."

Lt. Gov. John Cherry: "You can count on Jennifer Granholm to make some very tough decisions," he said, "but when it's done, we'll have a rock-solid foundation to build the future, and to build the core things that will help working families in this state. Jennifer Granholm is committed to doing what is right for the working men and women in this state."

Noting the billboards that call construction Michigan's "Opportunity Industry," Cherry said the state's economy needs to grow by investing in things that will help bring people opportunity. "And the things we will invest in will use union labor - that is a certainty," he said.

Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council Secretary-Treasurer Tom Boensch: "Our members' interests and financial well-being are at stake - that's the first and last reason to be involved in the legislative process," he told delegates. "Our strategy is not complicated. We want to protect income levels, protect prevailing wage and keep health care affordable, protect pensions and the education of our families."

Boensch said with the 23-Republican, 15-Democrat margin in the Senate, and the 63-Republicans, 47-Democrats edge in the House, organized labor must do its share of lobbying Republicans and targeting of campaign funds.

"Having to come up with eight Republican votes and hold the 47 Democrats that we have is a tough, but not impossible task," Boensch said.

The prospects for the movement of any legislation favorable to the building trades is remote, Boensch said - in fact, the statewide prevailing wage law and the use of project labor agreements will continue to be attacked. And one pressing concern - getting a higher rate of unemployment benefits - seems improbable.

"The reality is that we're working for our members, and the politicians need to know if they're working for or against our members' interests," Boensch said.

Michigan AFL-CIO President Mark Gaffney - "We meet in perilous times," Gaffney said. "I'm not sure where we're going to see any kind of a bright turnaround. The international scene is dismal, the national economy is dismal, and the state economy is dismal."

He offered a list of potential minefields for Michigan's working people. President's Bush's proposed tax cut, he said, would put an average of $150 in the bank for "most building trades members," in the first year, he said. "But the wealthiest taxpayers can count on a $30,000 tax break."

The nation has lost 2.5 million job since 1998, "and this may be the first war in U.S. history that doesn't help the economy," Gaffney said, with many war materials now being built overseas.

Although they were in the majority, Republicans didn't have enough votes to pass anti-prevailing wage/living wage laws when Gov. Engler was in office. Today, it's possible that they do, but there's a new governor in town. "Here in Michigan, think where we would be without Jennifer Granholm in office," Gaffney said. "But we can't constantly rely on her to be the backstop, she needs us to at least put up a fight in the legislature."

Michigan House Democratic Leader Dianne Byrum - "These are tough budget times, and Republicans are actively having conversations about taking away teacher bargaining rights and having the state impose salaries," she said. "That's called right-to-work, and we cannot allow that kind of divide and conquer politics."

Michigan Senate Minority Leader Bob Emerson - "In the last 12 years (of the Engler Administration) we've been in the minority we have had to be constantly on guard against every movement by Republicans.

"We won't have to worry with the Granholm Administration. With her appointees in place, we will be able to improve the departments so that we can help working men and women. We will have friends that we can talk to. That's important."

Greater Detroit Building and Construction Trades Council Secretary-Treasurer Patrick Devlin - "With the state budget situation, obviously we don't have many options. But maybe we can take this opportunity to re-shape the state government so that it once again starts working for working people," he said.

"I can think outside of the box with the best of them. Let's start with creating a revenue stream by levying stiffer fines against companies that violate safety and prevailing wage laws.

"And there's probably a lot of money for the state to make by making a real effort at fining employers who cheat the state out of tax revenue by forcing employees to use 1099 forms.

"While we're at it, I don't know how much state money is being used to go towards construction job training programs, but one dollar is too much. Why should any of our tax money be used for construction training when those of us on the union side are putting out the best and brightest workers without it?"

David Hollister, director, Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services. The department is Michigan's largest - it constitutes 25 percent of the general fund.

"We're going to be a government that will be investing in children, and focusing on the cost of medicine and prescription drug costs. We're going to be a government that looks different, talks different and walks different. We're going to be a government and party of fiscal responsibility."