News
Court orders striking Detroit water employees back to work
A federal judge on Monday ordered striking Detroit water and sewer workers back to work, but lawyers for the workers’ union filed a brief calling for the judge to recuse himself because of favoritism to management. Workers for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department struck Sunday over a privatization plan that would eliminate most of their jobs, according to the Detroit Free Press.
U.S. District Judge Sean Cox ordered the striking employees back to work, saying the walkout endangered public safety. The judge scheduled a hearing for Oct. 11 on whether to make his temporary restraining order permanent.
Following Cox’s order, lawyers for the worker’s union, AFSCME 207, filed papers calling for his ouster from the case. The union said Cox, who has oversight over the sewerage department because of past pollution violations, has consistently acted in management’s favor, ignoring union contractural and bargaining rights.
The sewerage department asked the judge for the restraining order. Officials said the strike could lead to sewerage and other pollution flowing into the Detroit River.
Union representatives say the department’s reorganization plan is a greater threat to pollution control. The plan, approved last month by the Detroit Board of Water Commissioners, would eliminate up to 82 percent of sewerage employees by outsourcing hundreds of jobs.
The union has refused a one-year contract offer that includes the right to outsource. AFSCME wants a five-year contract that preserves limits on outsourcing and includes a $6 per hour raise, according to the Free Press.
Greedy unions have made their
Greedy unions have made their bed and now find it uncomfortable to lie in. Reasonable people understand that it is unwise to cut your nose to spite your face. Your employer is not your enemy. In this economy, your employer cannot keep forking over more and more money just because you want it! Wise up, stop making outrageous demands which ultimately put you out of work altogether!
Wow, greedy unions?!? While
Wow, greedy unions?!? While everyone’s pay has been decimated by inflation and people just trying to make a descent cost of living, your answer is to stop making outrageous demands. Meanwhile banksters get bailed out to the tune of trillions of dollars and then the rest of us are left fighting each other. Pathetic.
Amen. This is a new era. Your
Amen. This is a new era. Your bigger check leads to my greater cost for services.