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Unions
and
community Face
Off With
City
Administrators At
Public
Hearings
By HB
Meeks/Tell
Us
Detroit
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) -
Monday
morning
the
first in
a series
of
meetings
on
proposed
cuts to
bus
service
in
Detroit
was
held
before a
crowed
of
emotional
Detroit
residents,
city
employees
and
union
representatives.
The
10AM public
hearing at Wayne
County
Community
College
District
Eastern
Campus
on
Conner
Ave.
gave the
community
over two
hours to
voice
their
opinions
on bus
schedules
and
cutbacks.
The
proposed
cuts are
part of
the
city's
efforts
to trim
a $300
million
budget
deficit.
City
union
employees
are
among
more
than
1,000
city
workers
expected
to be
laid off
by Mayor
Dave
Bing if
concessions
are not
made by
August
28. The
city
employees
feel
they
have
given
up enough.
Union
leaders
were
told
about
the
latest
round of
layoffs
after
negotiations
broke
down
early
last
week.
DDOT
Director
LaVette
Williams
said,
"this is
the
worst
I've
ever
seen the
financial
condition
here.
Something
is going
to have
to
change."
"The
cuts
would be
based on
ridership
data.
113
drivers
would be
laid off
by
Friday."
“ As a
result
of that,
we're
going to
have to
massage
and
change
the
schedule,"
Williams
concluded.
Harper
Woods
resident
Sara
Coleman
who uses
the bus
to go to
work
said,
"Cutting
service
like
that, a
lot of
us are
going to
lose our
jobs,"
(Photo by
HB
Meeks/Tell
Us
Detroit)
According
to
sources
Bing has
said
that
workers
can
still
expect
to
receive
at least
1,000
pink
slips in
coming
months,
even if
the
unions
agree to
take a
10% pay
reduction.
Mayor
Bing
says the
City
could
run out
of cash
within
70 days
and is
on the
brink of
receivership.
The
unions
believes
that
Bing is
attempting
to deal
a
historic
defeat
to
Detroit’s
unions
and
black
community
so that
they can
privatize
and
dismantle
the
city’s
public
institutions
at will.
AFSCME
Local
207
President
John
Riehl
said, "We don’t
need
Bing’s
program
of more
layoffs,
lower
living
standards,
slashed
public
services
and
segregated
second-rate
schools."
About
250
residents,
community
leaders
and
union
representatives
attended
the
first in
a series
of
public
hearings
on
Monday
at Wayne
County
Community
Collage
on
Detroit's
eastside.
The
audience
emotionally
voiced
their
disapproval
of plans
to cut
back on
bus
service
in the
city on
weekends
and
drastically
modify
more
than a
dozen
other
routes
to save
money.
(Photo by
HB
Meeks/Tell
Us
Detroit)
Hearings
will be
from 10
a.m. to
noon and
6 p.m.
to 8
p.m.
later
this
week at
the
following
locations:
Tuesday
at the
Rosa
Parks
Transit
Center,
360
Michigan;
Wednesday
at the
Neighborhood
City
Hall,
7400 W.
Vernor;
and
Thursday
at the
Northwest
Activities
Center,
18100
Meyers.
Four
routes
are up
for
elimination,
while
all
Sunday
service
and
service
after 6
p.m. on
Saturdays
may be
discontinued.
A number
of
routes
also
would
see
longer
wait
times
and no
service
during
low
rider
periods.
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