The Mackinac Center for Public Policy recently highlighted a union contract by the in Michigan's Bay City Public Schools has sparked outrage over its disciplinary provisions for teachers involved in illegal activities, including drug and alcohol offenses. Critics argue that the contract exemplifies the excessive power of teachers' unions, shielding educators from termination even in serious cases of misconduct.

According to the collective bargaining agreement, a teacher who is found manufacturing, selling, or distributing illegal drugs on school property can face as little as a three-day unpaid suspension paired with mandatory counseling. The policy applies to other offenses as well, including being under the influence of drugs or alcohol during school activities.

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Alcohol Offenses: Five Chances Before Termination

The contract specifies a progressive disciplinary system for alcohol-related misconduct. A teacher under the influence of alcohol at school receives the following penalties:

• First offense: Written reprimand and mandatory counseling.

• Second offense: Three-day unpaid suspension with mandatory counseling.

• Third offense: Five-day unpaid suspension with mandatory counseling.

• Fourth offense: Ten-day unpaid suspension with mandatory counseling.

• Fifth offense: Termination.

  

   

This provision has raised concerns among parents and critics who question whether it adequately prioritizes student safety and the integrity of the educational environment.

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Drug Offenses: Three Strikes for Illegal Substances

The disciplinary system for drug-related offenses is similarly lenient:

• First offense: Written reprimand with mandatory counseling.

• Second offense (if classified as a misdemeanor under state law): Three-day unpaid suspension with mandatory counseling.

• Third offense (or second, if classified as a felony): Termination.

Even more contentious is the contract’s handling of teachers who engage in the sale or manufacture of illegal drugs. The first offense in such cases is treated similarly to lesser infractions, with a three-day unpaid suspension and mandatory counseling.

 

Broader Implications and Criticism

Steve Delie, a labor policy director at the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, criticized the contract, calling it an example of "how out of hand collective bargaining in Michigan has become."

“Instead of focusing on improving educational outcomes for Michigan’s children, unions have negotiated for collective bargaining provisions that are irrelevant," Delie said. "The state Legislature should take a close look at these terms and consider whether these are the types of subjects that schools should be forced to negotiate.”

The contract, which remains active until 2025, has drawn attention from Michigan Capitol Confidential, which first reported on the issue in April 2024.

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Public Reaction

Parents and local community members have expressed outrage over the leniency of the disciplinary measures, arguing that such policies undermine trust in the education system. Many have called for stricter regulations to ensure that schools maintain a safe and productive environment for students.

As debate continues, the controversy over Bay City Public Schools’ union contract underscores the broader discussion on the role and power of teachers' unions in shaping education policy.

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WASHINGTON D.C. - President Donald Trump made a sweeping move against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by issuing executive orders aimed at eliminating racialized policies within the federal government and other American institutions.

Specifically, Trump signed an order revoking a 1965 executive order by President Lyndon B. Johnson, which established race-based hiring requirements, known as affirmative action, for federal contractors. This action was accompanied by a directive from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that placed DEI personnel on leave and shut down DEI-related programs and offices.

“President Trump campaigned on removing DEI from the federal government and restoring a merit-based system where individuals are hired based on their skills rather than their race or background,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated. “This is another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds. Promises made, promises kept.” Click here to read more.

 

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — When NewsNation affiliate WAVY first met Jaime Duzz, WAVY asked her the question that was begging to be asked.

“Jaime Duzz, are you dead?”

It seems like a silly question, but the fact is, it is a really serious question for her — with complex answers still unanswered on how she is considered in some public records, including Social Security Administration, as dead.

Duzz answers the question in one of three interviews WAVY conducted with her to help her correct a system that sees her as dead.

“My situation is absolute hell,” she said. “I feel like I am nonexistent on this planet. I am literally nonexistent. I can’t get a credit report. I can’t get health insurance,” she told WAVY at her Virginia Beach home. Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier will return home nearly half a century after he was imprisoned for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents. President Joe Biden commuted Peltier’s sentence Monday following decades of community-led advocacy calling his imprisonment an example of the U.S. government’s mistreatment of Native Americans.

The White House said Peltier, who is now 80 and of declining health, will transition to home confinement. The commutation is not a pardon for crimes committed, a decision some of Peltier’s advocates welcomed since he has always maintained his innocence. But the last-minute move as Biden left office angered law enforcement officers who believe he is guilty.

The National Congress of American Indians celebrated the “historic” decision in a statement saying the case “has long symbolized the systemic injustices faced by Indigenous Peoples.” Click here to read more.

 

CARRIBEAN - For all their charm, the pristine beaches of the Caribbean have always been slightly at odds with the reality of life in the region. This situation is helped by the fact that tourism remains the lifeblood of local economies – and is typically insulated from the high crime rates, civil unrest and political instability.

Could that be about to change? Over the past year, a rising tide of experts and law enforcement agencies have been sounding their alarms about a surge in violent crime across the Caribbean, including in countries usually regarded as tourist paradises.

In response to the violence, some governments are resorting to dramatic moves to restore order. Just last week, the government in Trinidad and Tobago extended its “state of emergency” which grants extra powers to police in order to stem gang violence.

This isn’t the first time the region has seen instability, with previous waves doing little to dent tourism. So are tourists at risk? Here’s our guide to what you need to know. Click here to read more.

 

NASHVILLE, TN - A new bill seeking to prohibit the addition of fluoride to public water systems in Tennessee passed its first consideration in the state Senate last week. This marks the initial step in what is expected to be a lengthy process of votes and debates over water fluoridation in the state.

Senate Bill 162, introduced by State Senator Joey Hensley on January 16, proposes an amendment to Tennessee law that would prohibit water suppliers from adding fluoride to public water systems.

The concise legislation aims to end the practice of water fluoridation, which currently impacts the majority of the state. According to the Tennessee Department of Health, about 88% of residents served by community water systems receive fluoridated water.

Opposition to water fluoridation has grown in recent years, fueled by concerns about its potential health risks. Critics, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, have raised questions about fluoride’s safety. Click here to read more.

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ATLANTA, GA - In what The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described in December 2024 as “potentially the biggest shake-up of Georgia’s Medicaid system since 2006,” Georgia’s Department of Community Health granted new contracts to four insurers last year, while shutting out Amerigroup and Peach State Health Plan, companies which had both long managed Medicaid care for the state.

During procurement, overseen by Georgia’s Department of Administrative Services, ten companies bidding for the contract in December 2023 had to answer 65 hypothetical questions, one of which was about how the company would handle the case of “[a] 14-year-old, transgender White female (assigned male sex at birth but identifies as a female) member living in a rural area [who] has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder.” Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - Some January 6 defendants were reportedly not released from a Washington, D.C. jail on Monday night, following President Donald Trump’s sweeping Executive Order offering full pardons, dismissals, or commutations to nearly all defendants.

A White House liaison showed up at the jail late Monday and said two brothers, Andrew Valentin, 26, and Matthew Valentin, 31, had been released, per Trump’s order.

However, people gathered outside the jail said there were other defendants still inside:

A possible explanation was posted on X by WUSA 9 investigative reporter Jordan Fischer. Basically, Trump’s order gave full pardons to almost everyone convicted of J6-related crimes. However, if someone is in jail and still awaiting trial, their case, per the order, will be dismissed. The dismissal of such cases could take longer to process, according to Fischer. Click here to read more.

 

CHICAGO, IL - Already 46 towns around Illinois have voted to impose a 1% grocery tax in 2026. Other Illinoisans will start to save 1% on groceries when the statewide tax ends.

There are 46 Illinois towns that will continue the 1% grocery tax once the statewide tax ends in 2026, according to data from the Illinois Department of Revenue. The rest of the state will start to see 1% savings at the grocery store.

The map below shows which towns will begin taxing groceries in 2026, but the list will only get longer unless residents show they are opposed to taxing residents’ unavoidable need to eat. Even if a town is not on the map, communities have until October 2025 to decide whether to keep or kill the 1% tax on everyday grocery items.

Grocery shoppers around the state saved $360 million the year state leaders suspended the tax as a way to combat rampant inflation. That was roughly $30 per Illinoisan. That means a family of four could save about $115 a year on food, depending on where they live. Click here to read more.

 

RALEIGH, NC - In May 2024, former Raleigh firefighter Nicholas Banister and his wife Amanda were arrested on dozens of drug trafficking charges.

It all stemmed from an Alcohol Law Enforcement investigation into illegal drug sales in Glenwood South and other downtown areas.

While in jail, they were hit with another punishment: An excise tax from the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

The tax bills totaled $578,000 for the drugs agents say they found in the couple's home on Long Cove Court.

"It's wrong, let me put it that way," Laura Webb of the North Carolina Justice Center says about the state's program to tax illicit drugs and alcohol.

Webb said the tax is aggressive.

"They can take money out of your bank account, they can garnish your wages, they can put liens on property," Webb said.

North Carolina is one of 17 states where people with certain amounts of drug are supposed to pay taxes by purchasing drug stamps from the state. Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - Just minutes after returning to the Oval Office, President Trump promised to reinstate the more than 8,000 troops who were dismissed from the military for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, announcing that they would receive backpay for the period of their termination.

According to military data, nearly 8,400 troops were expelled from the military after declining the vaccine, with the Marines making up around 3,700 of the dismissals.

"This week, I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate with full back pay," Trump said during his swearing-in ceremony Monday.

"And I will sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty," he added. "It's going to end immediately. Our armed forces will be free to focus on their sole mission, defeating America's enemies."

The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for military members lasted from August 2021 to January 2023 with few exemptions for medical or religious reasons. The mandate was walked back when Biden signed a defense spending bill in December 2022.

At that time, less than 1 percent of the military members who were dismissed due to the mandate were reinstated to their positions. Click here to read more.

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