I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
DETROIT — At Wednesday’s hearing before Wayne County Judge Amy Hathaway, AFSCME Council 25 attorney Herbert Sanders squared off against Detroit city attorney Valerie Colbert-Osamuede.
While Sanders charged that the city’s decision to terminate more than a dozen of AFSCME’s current collective bargaining contracts could mean that the city would disregard the grievance and arbitration process written into those contracts, Colbert-Osamuede attempted to set the record straight.
She told Judge Hathaway that the contract termination letter sent out earlier this month “indicates that we will be hearing the grievances that are pending and in the future.”
Colbert-Osamuede, representing Mayor Dave Bing‘s office in the latest city-union dispute, elaborated on that point:
Our letter also states that we are honoring all other obligations under the contract. It states, “The city intends to abide by bargaining obligations as to all other matters and negotiate a successor clause.” Michigan Council 25 is not going to cease to exist because their contract has been terminated.
Colbert-Osamuede’s commitment to honor “all other obligations under the contract” leaves out, of course, the commitment to collect AFSCME’s union dues.
Colbert-Osamuede went on to argue that that the city’s Labor Relations Division is charged with administering the contract, per the city charter, but that the Detroit City Council does not need to ratify amendments to the contract or even its termination.
“What’s most important, your honor, is once [the city council] has ratified, the charter empowers the labor relation director in administration of the collective bargaining agreement,” the city attorney said.
In essence, Colbert-Osamuede was arguing that termination of the contract is merely part of the administration of the contract.
Seated in the second row of the courtroom, AFSCME Council 25 President Al Garrett rolled his eyes as the city attorney made that argument.
Colbert-Osamuede noted that city had canceled AFSCME contracts in 1986 and 1992, in both cases without city council approval. She also told the judge that the city had already designated an arbitrator to settle the current contract grievance, as well as setting hearing dates for Nov. 17, and Dec. 8-11.
“I think we’re good to go here,” Hathaway said near the end of Wednesday’s hearing. “First of all we’re going to get this grievance heard. I want a stipulation that we’re gonna move it up.”
Next week should yield an resolution to the grievance — or maybe just open up a new chapter in the Bing-AFSCME battle.
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