AFSCME on Bing: Mayor Can't Read or Comprehend the Law!

DETROIT, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Edward L. McNeil, Special Assistant to Albert Garrett, President of Michigan Council 25 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, issued the following statement:

"Mayor Dave Bing gratuitously insulted City of Detroit workers and their Unions in his news conference of February 25, 2010," stated McNeil.  "In a futile effort to disparage our stance at the bargaining table, he has asserted that we can't read, add, or comprehend.  That is an outright lie on the Mayor's part.  Any rational person recognizes that it is possible for people who can read, add, and comprehend to disagree with Dave Bing.

"However, Dave Bing has attempted to establish autocratic rule over the City of Detroit, placing his own ideas above the law, above the rights of working families, and above question by the voters and taxpayers," continued McNeil.  "It won't work.  This is America, Mr. Bing.  The power is vested in the people, not in a mayoral curmudgeon who does not respect the rule of law.

"Mr. Bing and his representatives have dragged their feet, even to the point of holding that news conference instead of attending the fact finding session scheduled at the same time," McNeil went on.  "What's wrong with this picture?  The laws of our state provide for fact finding in bargaining disputes.  Fact finding is in progress.  The Mayor skips the session in order to claim he is ready to impose a contract - something he cannot legally do at this time.  He has even attempted to claim that everything is on hold during fact finding, when in fact the parties are still able to negotiate and conclude an agreement as fact finding is in progress.

"Apparently, Mayor Bing can't or won't read the law, or he can't comprehend the law and his duties.  Either way, he is a disgrace to the City of Detroit, and owes an apology to the hard working families he has insulted while venting his spleen," concluded McNeil.

Michigan AFSCME Council 25 represents more than 90,000 public workers across Michigan.  AFSCME International represents 1.4 million public workers nationwide.  News releases issued by Michigan AFSCME Council 25 are available at http://laborweb.afscme.org/sites/MI_C_25.

SOURCE Michigan AFSCME Council 25

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