LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Michigan House Republicans held a press conference on Tuesday, May 2 calling on House Speaker Joe Tate to remove Democrat Representative Jim Haadsma of Battle Creek from his role in leading the House Labor Committee.
A number of them want Haadsma removed from his post due to actions they say he took to protect a union lobbyist accused of sexual assault.
According to police reports, Haadsma admitted to serving as an unofficial “mediator” between the former president of the South Central Michigan American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Jonathan Byrd, and an undisclosed female. That female claimed that Byrd sexually harassed and assaulted her at a fundraising event in April of 2022.
The reports also reflecting that the alleged victim did not tell police about the incident until months after the event and the meeting with Byrd and Haadsma, which took place the following day.
Michigan House Republicans say the House Speaker has yet to issue a statement on the Representative or his future as a committee leader.
