IBEW's Stephens runs for U-M regent

Greg Stepens, business manager of IBEW Local 252 in Ann Arbor, will be on the Nov. 5 statewide ballot as one of two democratic candidates for University of Michigan Board of Regents.

Stephens sought and received the nomination of the Michigan Democratic Party during their Aug. 24 caucus, along with Ish Ahmed.

Last month at the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council's annual convention, Stephens told delegates that one of his priorities will be to bolster union hiring at the university.

"There's currently over $1 billion in construction work at the University of Michigan," Stephens said. "We're talking jobs for our members. Right now, we have to go through a chain of command when we approach the university, and with me in there, we'll have someone there who can get things done."

U-M is governed by the Board of Regents, which consists of eight members elected at large in biennial state-wide elections. The regents serve without compensation for overlapping terms of eight years. According to the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the Regents have "general supervision" of the institution and "the control and direction of all expenditures from the institution's funds." The Regents meet once a month in a public session.

Michigan State and Wayne State also are governed by boards of regents, who are elected in a like manner.

"We almost never get much help from boards of regents," said MBTC Secretary-Treasurer Tom Boensch, "so it would be great for us if we could get Greg elected."

Trades rally scheduled Sept. 19

On Thursday, Sept. 19, elected officials and candidates for political office who do not care about issues like job safety, workers compensation, prevailing wage and unemployment compensation will be put on notice that building trades workers do care about those issues.

Building trades workers will rally to show that they will be going to the polls on Nov. 5, to support union-friendly candidates.

Hardhats are invited to join a labor rally sponsored by the Michigan Building Trades Council, which will be staged starting at 11:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the City Market on Cedar Street at Shiawasee, near the Lansing Center in Lansing.