City unions’ refusal to take cuts hurts all of us

Unbelievable.
Yeah, that’s the word.
The word, that is, for the city unions’ refusal to make contract concessions to avoid layoffs of city employees.
Instead, the cops agreed to write traffic tickets worth at least $60,000 a month and the firefighters have some plan on how to save money in their department, that’s according to City Manager Bill Cooper who recently met with the City Council to give an update on the city’s finances.
City Hall employees agreed to nothing.
The city is looking at a $4.2 million deficit in the next three years and there is a need to cut costs any which way. One significant way is for the unions to agree to a three-year wage freeze and a five percent pay cut.
We can see why City Hall employees – the AFSCME union — would turn down contract concessions since most of the employees earn an extremely modest amount of money.
But, all of the city employees, police and fire included, have to realize that almost every American worker has taken or been forced to take cuts in their salaries and benefits. These are dire economic times and we all have to make sacrifices.
Because city employees refused to make concessions, four firefighters and some key appointees will be laid off. This could be avoided if the unions agreed to, at least, some contract concessions.
Having the police department promise to maintain writing traffic tickets amounting to $60,000 a month is insane. The city once had an overly aggressive traffic enforcement program that stained the city’s image by being called a speed trap.
We don’t need to go back to those days just to make ends meet.
Do the right thing, Hamtramck unions, and make some small concessions to keep everyone on board. This is a time to pull together, for solidarity.