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—Last Friday was the date Mayor Dave Bing set to play hardball with city union leaders. Last month the newly re-elected mayor set Nov. 6 as the ultimate deadline for 50 of the cities bunion bargaining units to take a 10 percent pay cut through furlough days in addition to cuts in benefits and bonuses –- or union contracts would be shredded, leaving up to 3,500 city workers unemployed.
Last week the Detroit Free Press reported that Bing was “sticking to his guns” when if came to the layoffs but later that evening, the Detroit News reported that the layoffs probably weren’t going to happen.
And they didn’t. It’s Monday and no one’s been laid off. According to AFSCME negotiators, the layoffs “didn’t happen.” In fact, the deadline set by the mayor only aggravated the legal dispute between AFSCME Council 25 and the city.
On Wednesday Wayne County Judge Amy Hathaway filed an injunction to temporarily halt city layoffs. Furthermore, AFCSME Council 25 lawyer Herbert Sanders will file today to hold the city in contempt of court for failing to resume collecting union dues under a court order handed down last week.
One AFSCME negotiator, DeAngelo Malcolm, says Bing’s inexperience is making it harder for the city. “Nothing ceases to amaze me when it comes to the mayor of this city,” Malcolm told Michigan Messenger. “He’s a novice at best.”
Malcolm said if Bing tries to lay off the 3,500 workers he threatened to last week, then it would only help AFSCME in their legal case against with the city. “He may try,” Malcolm said, referring to Bing’s caveat of massive layoffs. “But that just gives us more steam. He can’t pull the trigger. He doesn’t know how.”
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