Nick Ciaramitaro Steps Down as Chair of the Michigan Civil Service Commission
On September 4, 2025, members from various unions filled the room for the Michigan Civil Service Commission to show support for Nick Ciaramitaro, Chair of the Civil Service Commission. At the conclusion of the meeting, he announced that he would be stepping down as chairperson but would remain an active member of the commission.
“I have concluded that I am more likely to be able to accomplish my goals that I have set for myself as a member of this commission than as chair. Accordingly, I am relinquishing the Chair of the Michigan Civil Service Commission effective the end of this month,” said Ciaramitaro. “Therefore, with the usual responsibility of a Civil Service Commissioner, I will concentrate my efforts during the rest of my time I serve on the commission in four major areas needed to fulfill our mission. They are: increase transparency in the operation of the commission and greater public input that identify the problems and solutions in a rapidly changing environment; providing dignity and respect to our dedicated State workforce including restoration of collective bargaining rights; reevaluation of the costly and unaccountable system of outsourcing work that can and should be performed by state employees; and a review of the extent of delegation of this commissions constitutional responsibilities.”
Nick Ciaramitaro has been a lifelong friend of labor and will continue to fight for workers of the State of Michigan as a Civil Service Commissioner.
“Nick has always led with a labor focus and fought for equality and respect for all State of Michigan employees. We are disheartened that he feels he has to step down as the Chair of the Michigan Civil Service Commission to be a strong driving force for labor,” said Gino Carbenia, Executive Director for AFSCME Michigan. “We will continue to stand behind him in his work as Civil Service Commissioner and his concentrated efforts to uplift the voices of all of our State of Michigan workers.”
Several AFSCME Members from across Michigan also showed their support for Ciaramitaro during the meeting. “As State of Michigan employees, we often feel like our voices get lost in all of the layers of management. There are people I have never met making decisions about my rights as an employee,” said Dorice Butler, President of Local 2449, Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital and President of the Institutional Unit Coordinating Committee. “Nick has continued to fight for us to have a stronger voice and to bring back our right to collective bargaining. We are honored that he cares about State of Michigan employees enough to relinquish his leadership role in an effort to strengthen our fight for a stronger, more equitable future.”
