LANSING - The Michigan Retailers Association will launch an attack against item pricing during the  lame duck legislative session after the Nov. 7 elections.

"Michigan is the only state in the nation that has this requirement that they have to individually price mark every item at retail," said Eric Rule, the director of governmental affairs for the association. "It's a huge burden for our retailers, especially our large ones, such as Home Depot.

"We hope that we can get this issue addressed in the lame duck (session).  It's a problem that we've been trying to get addressed for years, but we keep running up against the union mentality which think it's going to take away jobs," said Rule.

The association hopes to eliminate mandatory individual item pricing and use a shelf pricing method where remote UPC scanners would be available to  allow consumers to check prices individually.

It also hopes to ensure scanner accuracy by having a quarterly audit performed by an independent firm. If stores meet 98 percent scanner accuracy, they should be exempt from individual item pricing, Rule said.

"It's an uphill battle. You have a culture in Michigan that for 30 years has known individual item pricing," said Rule. "Even though 49 other states don't have it, in Michigan it's seen as almost a right and that makes it difficult to change."

Many consumer groups oppose a change in the law. For example, the Michigan Consumer Federation which led the opposition in 2002 when a bill was proposed to change item pricing.

Many unions are also involved in the opposition because of the fear that workers will lose jobs as labor is cut.

"The item pricing law is certainly a complicated issue," said Michael Potter, direction of communications for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 951 out of Grand Rapids. "Many of our members are involved in putting price tags on items."

The Michigan Retailers Association believes that these workers could be put to better use in customer service or managerial positions.

But Potter said, "We have always tried to be very forward looking and not just stick our heads in the sand and hope that all the bad things and changes will go away.

"We want to find ways to protect our members, to protect consumers and that in this case, that if any changes are made, that they will be fair and equitable for all retailers and not just large corporations."

Item pricing has also received attention from Attorney Gen. Mike Cox, who recently announced plans to take legal action against the drugstore chain Walgreen.

Walgreen, which is headquartered in Deerfield, Ill., has 170 stores in Michigan. The company failed to individually price mark all retail items as required by Michigan law.

The Sturgis store had a compliance rate of 35 to 40 percent, while the Macomb Township store's rate was 20 to 25 percent, his office said. Out of the 11 store locations visited, the average compliance rate was only 30.9 percent, according to the attorney general's office.

"They have 10 days to comply or they face the risk of being sued," said Ari Faneuil, media relations officer for the attorney general.

If Walgreen complies, then it must pay a civil penalty to the state for reimbursement of the cost of the investigation, Faneuil said.

Managers of the Sturgis and Macomb Township stores declined to comment.