Detroit mayor on AFSCME mechanic layabouts: "Holding riders hostage"

"That's the bedrock this country is built on. Hard work. Responsibility. Sacrifice. Looking out for one another. Giving everybody a shot, everybody a chance to share in America's prosperity, from the factory floor to the boardroom. That's what unions are all about." President Obama's Labor Day Speech in Detroit.

City officials, including the mayor of Detroit, probably have a different opinion on unions.

From the Detroit Free Press:

Mayor Dave Bing's office late today accused city bus mechanics of deliberately slowing down repair work in retaliation for cuts to overtime pay required under the city's recent budget reductions. Bing's office said the number of slowdowns rose after managers began issuing disciplinary actions against mechanics for slow work or for ordering repairs later found unnecessary.

Bing said the mechanics "are holding riders hostage in retaliation for necessary and common sense budget reductions."

DDOT spokeswoman Rovella Phillips said the department warned riders in recent weeks about disruptions caused by unionized mechanics who she said are slowing down work while the city and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees negotiate a contract with workers.

"We're in negotiations with AFSCME … so hopefully the outcome will be successful," Phillips said. She declined to discuss the matter further.

"Hard work. Responsibility. Sacrifice. Looking out for one another." Not with these AFSCME mechanics in Detroit. Shameful. But I'm glad Bing--a good man--called these layabouts out.

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