Operating Engineers 324 endorses Detroit Institute of Arts millage on ballot

DETROIT, Michigan – Operating Engineers 324 is endorsing a renewal millage in support of the Detroit Institute of Arts, slated for the ballot today, March 10. The question asks voters in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties to renew 0.2 mills that would pay for visitor programs and operations.

“Operating Engineer 324 members are proud to work as Stationary Engineers at the Detroit Institute of Arts, one of the premier public institutions in the United States dedicated to art and education,” said Operating Engineers 324 Business Manager Douglas Stockwell. “Our members expertise helps keep priceless works of art safe from conditions like cold and humidity, and the museum a comfortable place for people from all over the world to visit.”

“OE324 members support efforts to protect and create good-paying jobs, as well as strengthen community and educational assets that benefit the public, such as the DIA. We’re pleased to endorse the DIA millage renewal and encourage voters to support it too.”

The DIA’s current millage had been set to expire in 2022. If approved today, the millage renewal will run until 2031.

The current millage has paid for free admission to the museum for all residents in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. It also paid for annual free field trips, programming, and transportation to the museum for particular groups from the three counties, including helping 75, 000 students visit the DIA, up from only 20,000 before the millage was first passed in 2012.

The millage also facilitated free professional development to more than 1,500 teachers every year.