Detroit City Council Rejects Cuts in Union Contracts, But Vote Doesn't Really Matter

Detroit City Council met for nearly three hours with angry union leaders Monday, but the council took no action on the contracts proposed by the administration of Mayor Dave Bing.

That changed on Tuesday. The Detroit City Council, by a 5-4 vote, rejected Bing's  proposed labor contracts that call for major cuts in wages and benefits for the city's union workers, the Detroit News reported.

The vote may not matter. The city-state Financial Advisory Board could  impose the contracts on the unions within 30 days.

Council members JoAnn Watson, Brenda Jones, Kwame Kenyatta and Andre Spivey and Council President Charles Pugh voted against the contracts. Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown and members Saunteel Jenkins, Ken Cockrel Jr and James Tate voted to approve the new employment terms.

On Monday, Bing, in a statement, said: "Any delay in acting on the city employment terms places the city into a deeper cash crisis, resulting in an inadequate cash flow to make payroll, to pay vendors, and will represent a default in the Financial Stability Agreement — ultimately, triggering the appointment of an emergency manager by the state."