Emergency Decree Cuts Wages for Detroit School Workers
Detroit school employees, already among the lowest paid in the area, will see their salaries cut even further beginning this month. Students protested in June one of the many school closings and privatizations that have left the district with just 70,000 students. Photo: Jim West | jimwestphoto.com.
Public sector unions predicted Michigan’s emergency manager law would be used to savage their contracts—and now their warnings are proving accurate.
The Detroit school district’s emergency manager, Roy Roberts, is using the near-dictatorial powers granted to him by the March bill to impose a 10 percent wage cut on all 10,000 employees and make them pay more for their health care.
Roberts thoughtfully included his own $250,000 salary in those to be cut.
The law was proposed by newly elected Governor Rick Snyder this winter in order to give appointed financial managers the authority to impose budget cuts in cities, towns, and school districts operating in the red. Snyder’s