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1. Giving Entrepreneurs a Fair Shot
Growing up as the son of an entrepreneur, attending business school, and leading organizations, I know that part of what makes America unique is our innovation and ability to dream something and work to make it a reality. From small town main streets to big cities, Michigan requires dreamers to take a risk and start a business, to grow our economy, to provide competition in the marketplace, and to meet the needs of our changing demographics and communities - all which can lower prices and create jobs. Right now, 1 out every 3 businesses fail within their first three years. While some ideas just don't work out and risk will always be involved, a 67% pass rate does not incentive potential entrepreneurs. I'll work to provide long-term support for childcare programs to ensure people don't need to choose between staying home and not working, or paying thousands of dollars in childcare while they work. I'll advocate for more affordable legal resources to help businesses navigate our regulatory and labor processes. I'll fight for the creation of more job training programs throughout the state to help reduce the burden on managers trying to find qualified talent. I'll look for opportunities to support businesses in all industries in all types of communities through microgrant programs.
I'll also work to establish business resource centers/incubators in key regions around the state, including Grand Rapids, where businesses can access free or low-cost office space in a facility with other businesses, encouraging dialogue, problem solving, and even utilizing each other's businesses to meet business needs, becoming a self-sustaining marketplace as the businesses begin to scale. Each resource center will be staffed with a consultant to help these entrepreneurs with business and strategic planning, workshops on management topics, and helping them get connected to government contracting. Further, these centers could provide resources on law, business tax preparation, and more. The center will help businesses transition into permanent space through expanded microgrant programs.
As Michigan's population is planned to stagnate if trends don't change, we need to be an incubator for innovation and small businesses. We'll support our main streets and business corridors by Making It In Michigan!
2. Supporting Living Wages
Any hard-working Michigander with a job deserves an income they can live off of, regardless of if their livelihood is flipping burgers or leading a team. While I recognize minimum wage is the floor, I believe the floor should still be enough to pay the bills. It should not be controversial to say that those with less qualifications still deserve a living wage if our society requires their position and their labor. Further, studies have shown that gradual and moderate increases in wages do not lead to inflation. While Michigan has made progress on this issue, certain communities have costs of living that far exceed state averages, while other lower-cost communities may be able to sustain a lower wage. Currently, Michigan law allows localities to implement a local income tax but prevents them from implementing a lower minimum wage. When we set wages based on state borders and not on economic realities in any given region, we are forcing both workers and businesses to fall into a one-size fits all approach. Michigan is economically and regionally diverse, and our law should allow for flexibility to better support our workers.
At the same time, I have concerns regarding legislation passed in February 2025 that speeds up the rate of increases to our minimum wage considerably, which I fear could lead to higher prices and higher unemployment, while also cutting into the effectiveness of the wage increase. These amendments were passed rapidly, last-minute, and were based on industry pressure rather than data.
My approach will always be one of facts, data, and best practices, with the goal of uplifting workers without harming industry or consumer prices.
3. Strengthening Organized Labor
Protecting organized labor leads to better working conditions and benefits for the people of our state. However, many workers no longer see the value in unions, stopping them from giving a portion of their paychecks to the union in the form of dues. Combined with the occasional news of union corruption, lower enthusiasm has led to weakened unions.
While the auto, nursing and teaching unions often get the most press, there are many industries with union opportunities. My first jobs were in low-wage retail positions, which were often the highest-pace positions with the lowest pay, and the most severe human resource violations. I, and most everyone I worked with, were not aware of national unions that could have represented us during these violations. Further, many people are not aware that even if your workplace is not unionized, you can often join a union in your industry independently and receive many of the benefits unions provide. Rather than treat unions like the enemy, I'd rather work to improve state oversight to increase worker confidence in unions, while also ensuring employers are required to provide notice to employees upon higher of the relevant union for their industry. While union busting is illegal, increasing union membership is often done in secrecy and makes it difficult to unionize, while also creating animosity between employees and employers. Just as employers are a necessary part of our marketplace, unions should be viewed as an expected and necessary part of the marketplace too.
Negotiations between unions and employers result in agreements that are unique to the needs of the individual workplace. As an example, in my role on the State Board of Nursing, many constituents voice concerns about issues in the workplace and ask me to advocate for new regulations. Many of them, like nurse-patient ratios, would be outside of the purview of the board. Further, a one-size fits all approach mandated by the state could have unintended consequences. For example, a standardized nurse-patient ratio might be achievable in major medical centers but might be unachievable in rural counties with severe nursing shortages, where continuous penalties could be offset to patients. However, nursing unions that work with individual hospitals can often negotiate solutions that benefit the nurses while being within the boundaries of what is feasible for the employer.
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