Detroit Bankruptcy Another Setback For Unions

[Purveyor]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Detroit's historic bankruptcy filing is a major setback for public employee unions that have spent years trying to ward off cuts to the pensions of millions of government workers around the country.

If the city's gambit succeeds, it could jeopardize an important bargaining tool for unions, which often have deferred higher wages in favor of more generous pensions and health benefits.

It also could embolden other financially troubled cities dealing with pension shortfalls to consider bankruptcy, or at least take a harder line with their unions in negotiating cuts.

"This is essentially the union's worst nightmare, said Gary Chaison, professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. "It means that the most sacred of sacred things they've negotiated for, the pensions of their retired members, are going to be severely cut."

Detroit's bankruptcy filing comes on the heels of some public unions losing most of their collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin. At the same time, the unions have shed thousands of members as state and local governments shrink public payrolls. The crisis of underfunded public pensions could further erode union clout.

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DETROIT_BANKRUPTCY_UNIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-07-27-12-28-40

[mick063]

1. This is the protype for things to come

Think this through.


The political divide is essentially, urban verse rural. How can one remove political power from urban areas?

Elect a governor who at the state level, who invokes emergency management over an urban area. Effectively removing the democratic process from urban areas and imposing the political will of the urban areas.

If this proves successful, watch for states to increasingly provide less funding for urban areas with the intent of "helping along" bankruptcy, and providing a future path for emergency management.

If you are a public servant in a large city in a red state, your pension has a huge bulls eye on it.