Unions in Detroit fight call for concessions
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has said an emergency manager takeover of Detroit is inevitable if unions in the city don't agree to concessions in their contracts. Union leaders say they won't agree to deep concessions.
From the Detroit Free Press:
Labor unions are resolved to call Mayor Dave Bing's bluff of an imminent state takeover of Detroit's finances if employees don't agree to deep concessions, setting the stage for a risky and potentially decisive showdown. Despite Bing's warning that an emergency manager could wipe out employee contracts unilaterally and cut wages and benefits severely without worker approval, leaders of the city's largest unions told the Free Press they won't open their contracts to save the city $121 million annually in health care and pension costs.
Jesse Jackson calling for repeal of emergency manager law
Calling Michigan's emergency manager law "fundamentally unconstitutional" the Rev. Jesse Jackson is advocating for its repeal.
Jackson spoke at Pontiac City Hall yesterday, a city under the control of an emergency manager, Michael Stampfler.
From the Oakland Press.
“Pontiac is just a piece of a bigger puzzle,” he told a crowd of more than 100 people at City Hall during a press conference held Sunday. “My friend, this is not just black and white. This is about wrong and right.”
The Press reports that the group Michigan Forward is attempting to get enough signatures to put a referendum against the emergency manager law on November's ballot.
Bumper apple crop expected in Michigan
Despite the wild spring weather, apple growers are expected to have a good crop this year.
From the Holland Sentinel
The Michigan Apple Committee is estimating the state’s apple crop this year will be about 28 percent more than average. “We have a 25 million bushel estimate,” Executive Director of the Michigan Apple Committee Denise Donohue said. And West Michigan growers are echoing the same estimate.
