Mayor Dave Bing issued his strongest condemnation yet of union leaders Thursday, saying their delays in agreeing to contract concessions could result in more layoffs.
The city is losing $500,000 a month because American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 25 leaders haven’t agreed to new contracts that include 10 percent pay cuts, Bing said.
“Either they can’t read, they can’t add or they can’t comprehend,” Bing said at a press conference. “It has to be one of the three.
“Everyone is running with a deficit in their budgets. It’s leadership or a lack of leadership that has got us to where we are.”
Bing has been at odds for months with AFSCME leaders over calls for concessions, including 26 unpaid furlough days and benefit cuts and repeatedly threatened layoffs.
Union officials said they understand the city’s finances and would agree to 26 unpaid furlough days that nonunion employees and other locals have adopted. But they say the city hasn’t made a case for many of the fringe benefit changes, including cuts to vacation, sick time and health care. And the union leaders have accused Bing of not being sincere about making tough budget cuts elsewhere, including his own staff.
“The union has not run from the financial situation the city of Detroit is in,” said Catherine Phillips, lead negotiator for AFSCME, which represents about 3,600 workers such as landscapers, pavers and crossing guards.
Bing said he’s ready to impose a contract on AFSCME but said the city must follow the law. Both parties are now in fact-finding, a process that could last until July. Union leaders said they found it ironic — and telling — that Bing called a press conference Thursday to introduce new staffers and slam the union at the same time both parties were supposed to be at AFSCME offices for the fact-finding hearings. “They have dragged their feet,” said Richard Mack, an AFSCME attorney. “They are late every day.”
The mayor’s staff said in a written statement that the appropriate city officials were at the fact-finding session and that AFSCME representatives requested a delay because of the press conference. Bing has ratified deals with 26 of the city’s 49 unions — one union vote is pending, and he has imposed contract conditions on three others, staffers said. Since Bing took office in May, the city’s workforce has fallen to 11,800 from 13,200.
From The Detroit News:
