Dear Sisters and Brothers, In Michigan last week, Gov. Rick Snyder authorized Detroit’s Emergency Financial Manager Kevyn Orr to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, an act that a state judge almost immediately deemed in violation of the state constitution’s pension protections. Snyder and Orr are misleading the public into thinking pensions and public workers are responsible for the current crisis facing Detroit. As you know better than most, this is utter nonsense. The non-uniformed workers of Detroit – 70 percent of whom are represented by AFSCME (along with another roughly 40 percent of retirees who are AFSCME members) – had their pension benefits reduced by approximately 40 percent since 2012. Our average pension is $19,000 per year. We took a 10 percent pay cut during the past fiscal year. The pension contribution to the General Retirement System is only 4 percent of the total revenue Detroit receives. Here’s the latest on what’s happening in Detroit. As you will see, the implications are not limited to the Motor City. If this bankruptcy is allowed to proceed, it will negatively impact cities nationwide: On Wednesday, a federal bankruptcy court judge let stand an earlier ruling that Snyder violated the state’s constitution by filing the bankruptcy. The judge did rule that, for now, Snyder and Orr can proceed in federal court with their scheme to revoke the hard-earned retirement security of public service workers in Detroit. Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr publicly said he “bent over backwards” to work with constituencies in Detroit. Not true. Despite many requests, Orr refused to meet with us. As recently as three weeks ago, Orr refused our request to meet to discuss pensions and health benefits for retirees. Just two weeks ago, his representatives assured us that we had “months” to address these issues. It is estimated that the bankruptcy will cost Detroit more than $100 million in professional fees, including massive fees paid to Orr’s former law firm. That money could be used to make streets safer, restore parks and libraries, and meet the general obligations of the city. This week, the AFL-CIO Executive Council is meeting and we will take the lead in urging them to pass a resolution calling upon President Obama and Congress to commit to an immediate infusion of federal assistance for Detroit, and to demand that the federal financial commitment be matched by the state of Michigan. And we are calling upon the White House to convene immediately an Urban Crisis Task Force. The crisis in Detroit is not limited to that city’s borders. It threatens urban centers across the country. This task force must be invested with responsibility for and ability to execute workable solutions to the economic problems of severely struggling American cities. Privateers nationwide are eyeing the collapse of public infrastructure, knowing there is money to be made by targeting workers and outsourcing their jobs. Finally, we are calling upon Governor Snyder to make whole the city of Detroit, which saw its share of state revenues slashed by $66 million from 2011 to 2012 by his hand. In total, state aid to Detroit was cut by $160 million from 2002. Bankruptcy is not the answer for Detroit. Bankruptcy accelerates Detroit’s race to the bottom. AFSCME will not stand by and let Detroit, or any American city, die. We will not let our sisters and brothers become pawns to corporate greed. President Obama, Congress, and the leadership of Michigan must stand with us, and with the people of Detroit. In solidarity, LEE SAUNDERS President AFSCME
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 18:08:51 +0000
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