Proposal 4, which would have created a new registry for Michigan's home health care workers by amending the state constitution, was sunk by voters at the polls Tuesday. It was rejected by 57 percent of voters with 43 percent voting in favor of the amendment, according to the Detroit News, with 75 percent of precincts reporting.
The new council would have been responsible for training home health care workers, creating an employee registry, holding background checks and offering financial services to patients to manage the costs of care. It would also have allowed workers to bargain collectively and authorized the council to set minimum compensation standards and terms and conditions of employment.
The registry would have filled the role of an earlier body called the Michigan Quality Community Care Council that was defunded by the state legislature in 2011. Under that system, as many as 60,000 home health care workers were classified as public employees, which allowed Service Employees International Union Healthcare Michigan to collect $30 million in dues from their wages. State legislators passed a law changing this classification to deny it union representation, but a federal judge passed a preliminary injunction on the law until SEIU's contract expires in 2013.
The ballot proposal was strongly supported by the Service Employees International Union, which contributed at least $5.5 million to the campaign, MLive reports. It was opposed by the group Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution.
For all of HuffPost Detroit's coverage of Michigan politics and election news, see the Detroit politics page.
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