MINISTERS, OCCUPY DETROIT HOLD PRAYER VIGIL TO OPPOSE “THE CALL” AT FORD FIELD FRI. Nov. 11 at 6 p.m.

Posted on 11/10/2011 by Diane Bukowski

Concern over Lou Engle’s Views as Prayer Summit Comes to Detroit: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Prayer Rally Planned to Oppose Michigan TheCall Event
Updated: Wednesday, 09 Nov 2011, 3:57 PM EST

Posted By: myFOXDetroit.com Staff

DETROIT (AP) – A coalition of Detroit clergy and community activists plan to march to a downtown football stadium and hold a prayer rally while thousands gather inside for a 24-hour Christian event known as TheCall.

The gathering inside Ford Field espouses anti-Muslim, anti-homosexual and anti-abortion beliefs and is designed to separate people of various faiths, the Rev. Charles Williams II told reporters Wednesday.

TheCall is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Friday. Organizers have said Detroit is a “microcosm of our national crisis” that includes economic and racial struggles, as well as “the rising tide of the Islamic movement.”

Detroit area Muslim leaders have said they fear some attendees might provoke or disrupt Friday prayers at local mosques.

“We certainly don’t believe that the Muslim community is what cast a dark shadow over the city of Detroit in terms of economics,” said Williams, pastor of Historic King Solomon Church in Detroit.

“Our prayer will be a prayer where we will be calling on God to help us solve the foreclosure crisis; to help us solve the job crisis; to help us solve the education crisis. This is the prayer we should be calling on, not a message of hate against those who are United States residents.”

The Associated Press left a message Wednesday seeking comment from Lou Engle, co-founder of TheCall assemblies.

Concern over Lou Engle’s Views as Prayer Summit Comes to Detroit
Updated: Tuesday, 08 Nov 2011, 10:07 PM EST

By BILL GALLAGHER
WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com

DETROIT (WJBK) – Lou Engle is leading a prayer summit at Ford Field in Detroit this Friday and Saturday. His controversial remarks about homosexuals have raised concerns from Detroit religious leaders.

Rev. Charles Williams II, pastor of the historic King Solomon Baptist Church, is one of those leaders worried about Engle’s views.

“Any man who stands in Uganda and promotes a policy that would kill thousands of homosexuals [there] I think, obviously, is on the outside of what the real call for our Christian mission should actually be,” said Williams.

Muslim leaders are concerned about Engle’s belief that people of that faith are demonically possessed and require conversion to Christianity. The head of the Council on American Islamic Relations has spoken out against the call session in Detroit.

Meanwhile, Rev. Williams is calling for religious tolerance.

“I don’t believe, quite frankly, that the way he goes about his mission in terms of berating Muslims and Islam itself is the way to do that,” he said.

Lou Engle says Detroit needs economic and spiritual salvation.

Williams says Engle should concentrate his prayers on his native Minnesota.

“I would say to him that he can go back to Minnesota and spend his time praying in Minnesota, hopefully, that they might be able to be saved also,” he told us.

 Williams says he welcomes prayers for Detroit, but not divisive rhetoric.

“I think most of us in the City of Detroit and I think most Christians have much more sense then some of [these] radical religious right values that this guy’s promoting,” he explained. “We just don’t need that kind of politics of deception nor fear here in Detroit.”
Engle and representatives of TheCall did not return phone calls for comment.

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COX AXES DETROITERS’ CONTROL OVER WATER DEPARTMENT

Posted on 11/10/2011 by Diane Bukowski

AFSCME Council 25 president Al Garrett joins Councilwoman JoAnn Watson, State Sen. Coleman Young and thousands of workers in Lansing rally against water take-over Feb. 23

  •  ELIMINATES PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO VOTE ON SALE OF DWSD
  •  Demolishes union contract protections, privatization ordinance
  • Bars action by Michigan Employment Relations Commission, state courts, union grievances
  • Diminishes access by Black-owned businesses and Detroit resident construction workers to DWSD contracts
  •  Adopts politicians’  program to benefit the regional private sector 

By Diane Bukowski 

November 9, 2011 – Initial Analysis   

U.S. Judge Sean Cox, appointed to federal bench by George W. Bush, previously to local bench by John Engler; member of right-wing Federalist Society

(City  unions have called a press conference to announce legal action against Cox’s order Thurs. Nov. 10 at 1:30 p.m. at the AFSCME Council 25 headquarters at 600 W. Lafayette in downtown Detroit.)  

Detroit – U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox severed Detroiters’ control over the Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) by federal fiat Nov. 4, most significantly by bypassing the City Charter to eliminate the people’s right to vote on any sale of the department or its assets, and to negate the charter’s privatization ordinance.   

 The revised City Charter still maintains the right to a popular vote on the sale of both DWSD and D-DOT assets, as well as the privatization ordinance.

Under Cox’s order, the Detroit city council will only have the right to approve rate increases for Detroiters, not suburban customers, after the Board of Water Commissioners recommends them. His order gives most power over contracts to the Water Department director, who he has announced will be selected by the end of this month.  Cox vested most executive control over DWSD in that director, even bypassing Detroit’s mayor.

Cox has made Wayne County's Water Commissioner James Fausone chair of the Board of Water Commissioners; he also sits on the 4-member "Root Cause Committee"

Under still-standing City Charter provisions, the director serves “at the pleasure” of the Board of Water Commissioners. 

Cox, Bing, and tri-county executives reconstituted the Board last February to include three out of seven members from outside Detroit. They have veto power over contracts and rates because votes on those matters require a super-majority. 

While disenfranchising residents, Cox executed a broad-ranging attack on workers’ rights guaranteed by union contracts, Civil Service, and state law. He also targeted Black-owned Detroit-based businesses and resident workers, limiting their access to DWSD work by reducing or eliminating previously guaranteed credits in contract selection. 

Regional officials will thus benefit from being able to more freely hand out lucrative DWSD deals to their political cronies outside of Detroit

He did not explain how these actions would improve DWSD compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, which was allegedly the goal of the 1977 federal lawsuit under which he is acting, other than claiming they would streamline purchasing and hiring and firing processes.

DWSD's Lake Huron water treatment plant. DWSD is the third largest water utllity in the country. It provides water service to almost one million people in Detroit and three million people in 126 neighboring Southeastern Michigan communities throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb St. Clair, Lapeer, Genesee, Washtenaw and Monroe counties. It has 2,000 employees, 1,000 of whom are represented by AFSCME. Detroiters built and paid for the entire system through bond proposals.

 Cox basically separates DWSD from city government

“The DWSD, and all of the assets of the DWSD, shall remain a department of the City of Detroit,” Cox declared in his order. (Click on Sean Cox DWSD order 11 4 11 to read entire order.)  

However, Cox ordered that all functions performed for DWSD by other departments, including Purchasing, Finance, Human Rights, and Labor Relations, shall either be eliminated or brought in-house to DWSD, which will cause significant cutbacks, financial losses, and lay-offs in those departments. 

He fell short of “the more intrusive remedy” he had threatened. He appeared to be leery of court precedents he cited earlier which require the federal government to “narrowly tailor” any limitation or abolition of local government authority. 

Instead, he left many of the actions to a secretive “Root Cause Committee” that he appointed, whose recommendations he adopted. (Click on Cox Committee DWSD plan 11 2 11 to read Committee Plan.) 

Chris Brown, Detroit COO and Root Cause Committee member

The committee is composed of Mayor Dave Bing’s Chief Operating Officer Chris Brown (formerly of DTE and other private utilities), Wayne County’s representative on the Board of Water Commissioners, Walter Fausone (who has connections with water contractors), and Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh and President Pro-Tem Gary Brown, with similar ties. The committee reports to Cox’s Special Master David Ottenwess, an attorney who has specizlized in defending health institution from medical malpractice lawsuits.

Special Master David Ottenwess

In the order, he also appointed Fausone as chair of the Board of Water Commissioners, replacing Mary Blackmon of Detroit, and ordered the Board to change their by-laws in accordance with his decree. 

He mandated that the Root Cause committee will continue to meet IN SECRET to initiate further change. Pugh and Brown have even refused to share internal information from the Committee with the rest of the City Council, let alone the public they represent.

Cox ordered that the committee report back to Ottenwess by Feb. 4 with further changes, at which time he will decide if he needs to take more “intrusive” action. 

BROAD ATTACK ON WORKERS’ RIGHTS

The Committee stopped short of enacting outright attacks on union contracts, but Cox wasn’t so leery of incurring the wrath of labor.  He took his cue not only from the committee’s claims that union contracts stand in the way of compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, but from a 78 page “confidential” report issued by DWSD’s “Executive Management Team,” headed by Chris Brown, and secondarily by DWSD Deputy Director Darryl Latimer. 

“The Court has carefully considered all options and concludes that the least intrusive means of effectively remedying these impediments [produced by labor contracts] to compliance is to:  1) keep all current CBAs [collective bargaining agreements] that cover DWSD employees in force, but strike and enjoin those current CBA provisions or work rules that threaten short-term compliance; and 2) Order that, in the future, the DWSD shall negotiate and sign its own CBAs that cover only DWSD employees, and prohibit future DWSD CBAs from containing certain provisions that threaten long-term compliance. 

Cox attacked the bedrock of union contracts, seniority, in several ways: 

  • He barred future contract provisions providing for workers laid off from other city departments to bump into DWSD. (After a city-wide lay-off of clerical workers in 1992, many ended up at DWSD and were able to advance within the city ranks as a result.)
  • He ordered an immediate end to using seniority as the primary tool in promotions.
  • He struck seniority rules pertaining to overtime work, saying instead “the most capable” workers should be assigned.

He attacked contract provisions guaranteeing job security for DWSD workers, most of whom are city residents. 

“DWSD CBAs shall not prohibit subcontracting or outsourcing and the Court hereby strikes and enjoins any provisions in current CBA’s that prohibit the DWSD from subcontracting or outsourcing,” Cox said. 

Documents with his order say that DWSD can operate with a reduced work force at the lower levels, but provide for higher pay for elite management team officials.

He ordered stepped-up “performance reviews” by supervisors, generally viewed by union members as arbitrary evaluations based on personal likes and dislikes, as well as increased disciplinary actions, with an extended time frame of three years for them to remain on workers’ records. 

He directly attacked the capacity of union officials to be released from the job to handle union affairs, limiting it to “grievance hearings and union negotiations.”  Contracts have always required that union officials be present during disciplinary actions, and allowed their release for preliminary consultations with workers and supervisors. 

Not satisfied with demolishing locally based worker protections, Cox also ordered the following: 

“The Court enjoins the Wayne County Circuit Court and the Michigan Employment Relations Commission from exercising jurisdiction over disputes arising from the changes ordered by this Court. The Court also enjoins the unions from filing any grievances, unfair labor practices, or arbitration demands over disputes arising from the changes ordered by this Court.” 

Procurement policy attacks Detroiter-owned businesses, resident workers

Cox’s order includes a separate DWSD Procurement Policy (click on Cox order DWSD procurement 11 2 11 for full policy) that will severely hurt the chances of Black-owned, Detroit based businesses to win contracts with DWSD. 

“In the procurement of goods or commodities, DWSD shall only use an invitation for Bis in which the price factor shall be the only factor considered in the award of a contract,” the policy reads. Cox claims that problems in DWSD with Clean Water Act compliance have been exacerbated by other “bureaucratic “ requirements. 

Price Equalization Credits for businesses in certain categories will be minimal: 

Brown and the DWSD executive management team further recommend that DWSD use contract procurement lists already in place with Wayne County and the State of Michigan, in their “Synopsis of Capital Improvement Program” report, instead of the City of Detroit roster. 

They also recommend the elimination of the use of Human Rights Department clearances (which guarantee that businesses utilize certain minimal standards of employment with regard to workers of color and women). 

Additionally, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s Executive Order #1, which replaced Mayor Coleman Young’s Executive Order #22 after the passage of the anti-affirmative action Proposal 2, requires that 51 percent of workers on city-funded construction projects be Detroit residents. 

It is already practically ignored across the board, but Brown and team would outright bar any rules requiring residency of workers. 

His order also eliminates the requirement for Detroit tax clearances, which guarantee that contractors are paid up on property and income taxes owed to the city before approval.

(Bukowski retired from the City of Detroit after 25 years. For 20 years, she was an elected union official with AFSCME Local 457 and active in fighting privatization of city services and jobs, beginning with the privatization of Detroit General Hospital in 1980. She was a co-founder of the Coalition to Stop Privatization and Save Our City.)

Stay tuned to the Voice of Detroit for update on union press conference and other news and analysis of this attack on Detroit’s most valuable asset.

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GOOD JOBS NOW! TO RALLY FRI. NOV. 11 AT 3 PM, BRIDGE OVER 1-94 AND SECOND

Posted on 11/09/2011 by Diane Bukowski

 

 

Good Jobs Now is a broad coalition of community groups, faith leaders, concerned citizens and labor who are committed to solving the issues facing our neighborhoods and holding decision makers and elected officials accountable to create jobs and find solutions to those problems, Now.

The issues we are facing: 

  • Detroit is suffering from unemployment rates worse than the Great Depression, coupled with a lack of job opportunities.
  • There are abandoned and foreclosed homes at a level we have never seen before.
  • Our educational system is in a crisis, leaving our children unprepared to compete for what jobs there are.
  • The rising crime rate has made our neighborhoods unsafe and has caused a dramatic drop in population as people seek safer communities.

Click on GJN recruit for form to sign up with Good Jobs Now. Send to 2604 Fourth Street, Detroit, MI 48202.

 

 

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OHIO VOTERS DEFEAT ANTI-UNION LAW

Posted on 11/09/2011 by Diane Bukowski

 

Organizers celebrate resounding defeat of Ohio’s anti-collective bargaining law Nov. 8, 2011

 Ohio Issue 2: Controversial Anti-Union Law Defeated By Voters

Huffington Post

Amanda Terkel aterkel@huffingtonpost.com;  John Celock john.celock@huffingtonpost.com 

First Posted: 11/8/11 09:22 PM ET Updated: 11/8/11 10:08 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Ohioans overturned a divisive anti-union law on Tuesday, delivering a significant defeat to Republican Gov. John Kasich and a victory to labor unions.

Ohio voters rejected Issue 2, a ballot referendum on Senate Bill 5, a measure that restricts collective bargaining rights for more than 360,000 public employees, among other provisions. Opposition to the legislation inspired large protests from residents around the state this year.

Ohio governor John Kasich also signed law allowing guns in bars

Immediately after the results came in, union officials sent out statements declaring success.

“One message rang loud and clear tonight in Ohio and across the country: those who spend their time scapegoating workers and pushing a partisan agenda will only strengthen the resolve of working people,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. “From the very beginning, it’s been clear that Gov. Kasich, and indeed many politicians, were pushing an agenda that was about politics, not about solving our nation’s problems or creating jobs.”

“Even after John Kasich locked the doors to democracy and shut out everyday heroes from the Statehouse, in the cold, blister of February — working people never lost hope. We marched in the spring, circulated petitions in the summer and now, this fall, we delivered a win for all working people by defeating Issue 2, repealing Senate Bill 5,” added Becky Williams, president of SEIU District 1199 in Ohio.  

Video from WE ARE OHIO: The WE ARE OHIO coalition brought together thousands of union members, community activists and concerned citizens to build opposition to Issue 2 on the November 8 ballot. A NO VOTE on Issue 2 overturns Ohio Senate Bill 5 which eliminated collective bargaining rights for public employees. Members of the Ohio Education Association were critical in the coalition’s efforts to defeat Issue 2.

Kasich held a press conference shortly after the fate of Issue 2 had been declared, saying it was time for him to “take a deep breath” and figure out what to do next.

“When I say it is a time to pause, it is right now, on this issue,” he said. “The people have spoken clearly. You don’t ignore the public. Look, I also have an obligation to lead. I’ve been leading since the day I took this office, and I’ll continue to do that. But part of leading is listening and hearing what people have to say to you.”

Ohioans rallied against SB 5 by the tens of thousands at state capitol and elsewhere earlier this year.

Kasich signed SB 5 into law on March 31, although the law was put on hold during the referendum campaign. The labor-aligned group We Are Ohio organized the anti-Issue 2 effort, and Building A Better Ohio led the pro-Issue 2 fight.

Tuesday’s defeat may have nullified SB 5, but parts of the law may not be dead in the long term. While much of the public attention has centered on the law’s ban on collective bargaining for public employees, the law also contained provisions to require public employees to contribute to their health care and pension benefits, along with pushing merit pay for teachers — proposals that polled well in the run-up to the election.

Ohio State Rep. Mike Foley (D) said the Republican leadership in the legislature may try to pass these proposals one by one when they reconvene in January.

“They could act and take bits and pieces of it and try a new bill on teacher merit pay or health care…or any of the parts of the bill that they think they can get passed,” Foley said. “I don’t know if they will. We’ll have to see. … I think some of the Republican members on their side of the aisle are going to start looking at their leadership funny if they come back with another collective bargaining bill.”

“We certainly are going to be ready for that, if we’re still in the same kind of political situation of them controlling the state legislature and governor’s office,” added AFL-CIO Political Director Mike Podhorzer. “We’re hoping the vote on Tuesday will have demonstrated this is enormously unpopular. Continue reading →

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OCCUPY DETROITERS CONFRONT GLOBAL STOCK MARKET CEO; VIDEO UPDATES FROM OCCUPY CHICAGO, OAKLAND AND PITTSBURGH

Posted on 11/07/2011 by Diane Bukowski

Two arrested, released with ‘disrupting public meeting’ charges after march on WSU police station 

CEO, “still on the loose,” spent 22 years with Goldman Sachs, under investigation by DOJ 

Videos: Occupy Chicago disrupts Walker’s talk; Occupy Oakland strikes; Occupy Pittsburgh People of Color Working Group expresses solidarity

By Diane Bukowski 

November 7, 2011  

OD protester Joe McGuire is handcuffed after being hauled out of Niederauer taping Nov. 2, 2011

DETROIT – Occupy Detroit protesters sustained their first arrests Nov. 2 as they confronted one of the highest level criminal banksters on Wall Street and in the world, Duncan Neiderauer, during a taped interview at Wayne State University (WSU). 

Joe McGuire and Susan Ross stood up in the audience at two intervals to demand to know why Neiderauer is not in prison. They were promptly hauled off by WSU police in handcuffs. Occupy Detroiters then took the streets in a militant march to WSU police headquarters to demand their release. 

“I would like to know if you guys have some code word that you use with the police to avoid going to jail for your crimes?” McGuire asked Neiderauer only minutes into the taping. He was sitting in the front row of an audience of about 40 people. 

Duncan Neiderauer calling the shots on Wall Street

As WSU cops handcuffed McGuire behind the Maccabees Building, where the taping was held, he said, “I requested an attorney and invoked my right to remain silent,” he said. Unphased, he added, “I’m going to call my mom too.” 

Ironically, McGuire himself just passed the bar, having graduated from WSU’s Law School. The officers would not say why they were arresting him. 

Susan Reed thanks protesters as Joe McGuire listens, after they were freed

About 15 minutes later, Susan Reed stood up to tell Neiderauer that he needed to be held accountable for the Wall Street meltdown. She was similarly hauled out in handcuffs, with word of her arrest reaching the marchers as they got to the police station. 

Attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild Detroit chapter represented them, and they were eventually released with “disorderly conduct” charges.

Neiderauer has been CEO of NYSE Euronext, which owns the New York Stock Exchange and four European stock markets, the first global equities exchange, since 2007. NYSE Euronext is in merger talks with Deutsche Börse, owner of the main German stock market as well as the Eurex derivatives exchange. The merger would make it the world’s largest stock exchange operation with a $15 trillion total capitalization of listed companies.

Occupy Detroiters take the street to the WSU police station

“We are moving forward with our merger with Deutsche Boerse and have just recently conducted a hearing before the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission,” Neiderauer said in a Nov. 3 release.

“. . . .given the strong prospects for growth for investors as a result of our proposed merger and the company’s current valuation, we recently announced a plan to acquire up to $100 million in stock in the fourth quarter, as part of our Board authorized stock buy-back program.” 

Graeme Irvine, editor of Currency Countdown, had a different take in a Nov. 7 article  (http://www.currencycountdown.com/2011/11/lir-insolvent.html .)

Ross Hill Academy students at bus stop cheer protesters on

“The [Wall Street] journal this morning raises the prospect that most of Europe’s banks are actually insolvent,” Irvine said. “ Still holding on to ‘assets,’ sovereign debt and failed US ‘triple-A’ mortgage securities, that need to be written down to reality. To which all I would say is so are the giant American banks. Still being allowed to mark assets to the fantasy model and pretend everything is normal.  It’s in large measure why banks won’t or can’t lend to each other. If my books aren’t real yours probably aren’t either. Since the banksters fear that the system can’t be fixed and the banking model must be changed, it’s why they continue looting the system for all its worth while they can.”

Neiderauer spent 22 years, from 1985 until 2007, as a managing partner of Goldman Sachs, currently under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for “looting the system,” to use Irvine’s term.

Protesters marched at police station until Joe and Susan were released

The company is named in a 635 page report from the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Wall Street and the Financial Crisis: Anatomy of a Financial Collapse. The report alleges that Goldman Sachs misled investors, profiting from the collapse of the mortgage markets at its’ clients’ expense.  The alleged crimes involved collaterized debt obligations (CDO’s) which Goldman Sachs sold to investors, then bet short on them.

Matt D. calls to marchers after cops arrested him; marchers chanted "Let him go!"

The actions took place from 2004-2oo8, during Neiderauer’s tenure. The company has also been implicated in creating the 2005-2008 world “food bubble,” during which food prices skyrocketed, by creating the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI). Some say Goldman Sachs profited while people across the world went hungry or even starved.

In 2010, Goldman Sachs was charged with civil fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It settled the lawsuit for $550 million, which the SEC termed the largest commission penalty to date for a Wall Street firm. But it was later referred for criminal investigation by the DOJ, which is still ongoing.

Protesters crowded sidewalk until cops freed Matt

The Nov. 2 taping was part of a series, “Leaders on Leadership,” produced by the WSU School of Business Administration in partnership with WTVS Channel 56, and hosted by Larry Fotes,  After the disruptions, Fotes and Neiderauer finished taping, but the show, which was to be aired live and archived, is not currently on websites for WSU and WTVS.

Police were on the ready as audience members, who had pre-registered for the event, came in. However, no announcement was made prior to the taping warning audience members that they could not speak. They were only told to turn off their cell-phones and refrain from “rustling papers.” 

Demonstrator reflects general sentiments on march

After McGuire’s arrest, dozens of Occupy Detroiters marched from the Maccabees Building down Cass Avenue to the police headquarters.

Chanting,“Whose streets? Our Streets,”  “Where Wayne State students are under attack, stand up, fight back” and “This is what a police state looks like,” they took over both sides of the street, blocking traffic. They were dogged by numerous police cars, which eventually included Detroit police.

Police arrested Matt Dwiecielicz during the march, but ticketed him for loitering and released him after marchers gathered around chanting, “Let him go! Let him go!”

At the station, marchers chanted “Let Joe Go!” and “Let Susie Go!” as students at a bus stop across the street, who said they were from the Ross Hill Academy, cheered them on. 

Joe rallies crowd after release from detention

On his release, McGuire said, “This moment is just a beginning. We want more people to realize that we need to stop people like this from coming to our school. We didn’t cause the economic crisis, Wall Street and companies like Goldman Sachs did.”

Matt Lockwood, WSU’s director of communications, said the two were arrested for “disrupting a public meeting,” a misdemeanor, but did not explain how the meeting was public, since pre-registration was necessary. He falsely claimed that the audience was warned against disruption before the meeting. 

WISCONSIN GOV. SCOTT WALKER MIC-CHECKED

When Wisconsin Governor gave a speech at Chicago’s Union League Club the morning of Nov 3rd, he had some unexpected guests from Occupy Chicago!

 Occupy Oakland joins with Occupy San Francisco and area unions in massive rally and partial general strike.

 The People of Color Working Group with Occupy Pittsburgh makes powerful statement of solidarity with Occupy Movement, calls for dismantling of white supremacy.

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BUS MECHANICS’ PRESIDENT SAYS BING WILL NOT FIX BUSES

Posted on 11/05/2011 by Diane Bukowski

Interview with bus mechanics’ Local President Leamon Wilson (seen speaking at City Council hearing in part of video above).

By Diane Bukowski

Nov. 4, 2011

AFSCME Local 312 President Leamon Wilson at Council public hearing

VOD interviewed Leamon Wilson, president of Local 312 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), representing Detroit’s bus mechanics, just three days before the city’s bus crisis exploded in a drivers’ work stoppage. 

He told VOD that Bing cannot, or WILL not, properly manage DDOT by providing proper bus service for city residents, despite his recent announcement that he wants Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to appoint him as Detroit’s Emergency Manager. 

He said the city has not yet replaced retired mechanics, including 50 who left in the last year due to draconian provisions the Mayor imposed in their new contract. Despite demands from his union and City Council, Bing has not also not canceled furlough days, provided overtime, or even the numerous parts needed to fix the buses. 

Chris Brown leads Detroit Worke Project down-sizing session

“As an example, we told them there are over 40 buses out there with blown motors, there is only one engine in stock, and they haven’t got those engines yet,” Wilson said. 

He said he is breaking his silence now because it has been more than two weeks since he and members of his board met twice with Bing and his Chief Operating Officer Chris Brown to resolve the problems, pledging that they would not negotiate in the media. 

(Click on http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/02/22/utility-privatizer-running-water-department/ to read about Chris Brown’s history as former DTE executive vice-president, and managing director of the privatized Singapore Power International.)

Chris Brown came from DTE, responsible for deaths of dozens

Wilson said Brown was supposed to call him back within 48 hours, but that he has yet to hear from him. Brown was at the deserted Rosa Parks terminal Nov. 4, security guards told VOD. VOD missed him then, but approached him  after the press conference on that day’s bus stoppage. He refused comment, saying he had to “go with the Mayor.” 

Bing’s media representative Dan Lijana has not yet responded to the following inquiry from the Voice of Detroit (now forwarded to Brown at cbrown@detroitmi.gov )

1. Has the Mayor canceled bus mechanics’ furlough days, restored overtime, and provided the necessary parts for them to fix the buses? If not, why not?
2. Is the Mayor setting DDOT up to fail by not doing so? (In other words, if DDOT is seen as failing, it will be an excuse either to regionalize the system or abolish DDOT altogether as the daily newspapers have advocated.)
3. What is the Mayor’s stand on Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan for a regional transportation system independent of DDOT and SMART?
4. If the Mayor takes over as Emergency Manager (as he has announced his desire to do), does he plan to abolish or regionalize DDOT?” 

Wilson said he and his board members met with Bing and Brown shortly after the Detroit City Council passed a resolution Oct. 18 calling for Bing to honor the mechanics’ demands so repaired buses could start rolling again in 30 days.  

Mich. Gov. Rick Snyder, Mayor Dave Bing, U.S. Secy. of Transportation Ray LaHood; are they conspiring to get rid of DDOT?

Wilson said Bing handed the meetings over to Brown, who came to Bing’s staff from DTE. He said Brown threatened to “get rid” of “some of the people sitting around the table,” including union board members, if they were not on the “same team.” 

DDOT officials under former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick gave 30-day suspension notices (equivalent to discharge) to Wilson and his chief steward James Thomas in 2003 despite their union positions. Thomas’ notice claimed he had organized a “work stoppage.” The mechanics picketed, AFSCME Council 25 and their attorneys intervened and the city withdrew the action. 

At the time, Local 312’s attorney George Washington said, “All union local presidents in southeastern Michigan will see this as an attack on labor as a whole, and we intend to make them aware of it.” 

Diesel bus engine: Wilson says 40 buses need engines, only one in stock

This time, Bing and other city officials have accused the mechanics of organizing a “slowdown,” which they have vehemently denied.  Now it has exploded into a full-scale service stoppage. 

Wilson paraphrased Brown, “We really can’t just give you all back those furlough days, because [Michigan Gov. Rick] Snyder is saying we have to do this and that in order to get our revenue-sharing money from the state.” 

“In other words,” Wilson said, “Snyder is saying to leave the bus service all f—ed up.” 

Wilson, who has been head of his local for over two decades, said he had gone through a similar situation with former Mayor Dennis Archer and former Governor John Engler in the ‘90’s. 

“Even though we had our problems with Archer, he ended up suing Engler because the state constitution requires Detroit to get its revenue-sharing money,” Wilson said. “Engler made a deal with Archer and we got our money.” 

Detroit bus crash; Wilson says buses on the road are not safe either

Bing and Brown said they wanted a guarantee that all the buses would be fixed in 30 days if they meet the union’s demands, Wilson said. But he told them the buses have been run into the ground for a long time due to the city’s negligence, and it will take time to get them all back up on the road. 

“This isn’t normal repairs now,” Wilson said. “For an example, they took one bus off the street because it needed brakes, and it turned out it needed brakes so badly that the driver ran it straight into the garage wall at the Coolidge Terminal. That’s how bad the buses are that are still on the road now.” 

Occupy Detroiters march for good bus service Oct. 28

But, he said, if the union and council demands are met, “Things will start to improve immediately. As time goes on, they will get better and better. At one time, it would have taken us five months to get all the buses back on the road, but not now, with staff cuts. It’s like if you don’t fix the water pump in your car, eventually your engine will blow.” 

Wilson said he lambasted Bing and Brown for cutting mechanics’ overtime just before the school year started, when children are depending on the buses to get to school, rather than waiting for winter to end. 

“Every winter, we lose one-quarter of our fleet due to accidents on the icy streets,” he explained. 

Wilson said if Bing continues his inaction, he has attorney Washington on stand-by to invoke provisions of the federal Urban Mass Transportation Act (UMTA), which provide specific guarantees for workers whose departments receive federal grants, as DDOT does. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced Oct. 17 that the city is in line for an additional $7 million in funds to upgrade its buses and terminals. 

In their analysis of the UMTA, attorneys G. Kent Woodman, Jane Sutter Starke,  and Leslie D. Schwartz say: 

“Section 13(c) generally requires, as a precondition to a grant of federal assistance by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA),  that fair and equitable protective arrangements must be made by the grantee to protect employees affected by such assistance. The statute requires that provisions addressing five specific matters be included in such protective arrangements: 

(1) The preservation of rights, privileges, and benefits under existing collective bargaining agreements;

(2) The continuation of collective bargaining rights;

(3) The protection of employees against a worsening of their positions with respect to their employment;

(4) Assurances of employment to employees of acquired mass transportation systems and priority of reemployment for employees terminated or laid off; and

(5) Paid training or retraining programs.” 

The federal government can withhold money from departments that do not comply with these provisions. Wilson said he did not invoke the act earlier when Bing imposed contracts on the city unions, but that he may have no choice now. 

“Brown asked me why I would want to hurt DDOT by cutting off its federal money since that would hurt my members too,” Wilson said. “I told him, look, you’re not replacing people, you’re not restoring the furlough days, overtime or parts, and you appear to be intent on getting rid of DDOT, so what difference would it make to us?” 

The SMART unions have already complained to the federal government about violations of the mass transit act, Wilson said. They have experienced hundreds of lay-offs and service cutbacks. 

Now Gov. Snyder appears to be intent on taking an end run around both DDOT and SMART by proposing a pseudo-public “regional transit authority” that would not include either system. It would have representatives from Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw Counties, and would be operated and funded independently through a fee on vehicle registrations or a similar method. 

Snyder’s proposal is meant to “jump-start” a regional transit system to replace both DDOT and SMART, his administration officials said. 

Many Detroiters have long fought against regionalization of their resources, funds and services, including the bus system.  They are already suffering from: 

  • The privatization of the city’s public hospital, founded in 1917.
  • The abolition of Detroit’s Recorders Court, leaving them with mostly white suburban juries;
  • Two state  takeovers of the school district, leaving them with closed schools with up to 75 students in a class and devastated neighborhoods;
  • The privatization of the Public Lighting Department, the Detroit Zoo,  the Institute of Arts, the Historical Museum, the “Workforce Development Department,” and numerous other institutions, costing the city tens of thousands of resident jobs, devastation of services, and stepped up requirements for payment for services. 

Now Judge Sean Cox has stripped them of their right to vote on any sale of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and numerous workers’ rights there, including seniority. (See upcoming story.)

Warriors on Wheels protest treatment by Bing, paratransit provider Sept. 28. with support from Leamon WIlson and others/WW photo: Cheryl Labash

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BING KEEPS BUSES BROKEN, DRIVERS AND RIDERS IN DANGER; BLAMES YOUTH

Posted on 11/05/2011 by Diane Bukowski

Press conference on bus stoppage Nov. 4, 2011; Bing at podium, his COO Chris Brown is second from right

 

 Says “hooligans” responsible after drivers refuse to roll, will not provide what mechanics need to fix buses 

By Diane Bukowski 

November 4, 2011 

DDOT buses at Coolidge Terminal NOT IN SERVICE Nov. 4, 2011

DETROIT— City residents awoke today to find no DDOT buses running. Drivers said they were afraid for their lives after several youths attacked a driver at the Rosa Parks Transit Center in downtown Detroit yesterday afternoon. Police didn’t show up for 30 minutes, and security guards inside allegedly did nothing. The driver has 22 years with DDOT and four children. 

“How would you like it if you were forced to lie on the ground of your bus with no way out while people are shooting up the bus?” another driver told television media. 

Buses sat until late afternoon in the Coolidge and Gilbert Terminals, engines idling and “Not in Service” signs flashing, while drivers lingered in the yards. 

Mayor Dave Bing with bus drivers at press conference Nov. 4, 2011

At about 1:30 p.m. the Gilbert Terminal superintendent held a mass meeting with drivers to ensure them that Bing was about to go on the air to ask Detroiters not to blame bus drivers for long delays and other problems with bus service, and promise them a safe work environment. 

Many appeared skeptical. One told VOD that the buses are also not safe because most need major repairs. 

Bing ignored that issue during a 2 p.m. press conference held at the Rosa Parks center (see video of full press conference below). Instead, he targeted the city’s youth. 

“There will be zero tolerance, ZERO TOLERANCE,” he said. “We are not going to allow these HOOLIGANS to take over our city and threaten our people. That is not going to happen. . . . I am so thankful we’ve got the resources from our police department, we are going to start taking care of these CRIMINALS out here.” 

He said he would increase police presence but that he was still only “talking” with the mechanics’ union about their needs for more personnel, hours and parts. He said the crisis would not be resolved in “30 days” because it had been building for “20 to 30 years.” The City Council recently passed a resolution calling on Bing to provide the mechanics’ needs within 30 days, or contract out repairs

Detroit youth waiting for bus like these will be targeted under Bing's directives; these students were cheering Occipy Detroit protest across the street at WSU police HQ

Bing said the Detroit police department will immediately begin random pullovers and boardings of buses, many of which are already running hours behind schedule, and will increase police presence at the Rosa Parks center. Crimestoppers will offer $1,000 rewards for the arrest and successful prosecution of those who attack drivers, he said. 

Bing also announced that what he called the “world-class” Rosa Parks Transit Center” will become the base for the police reserves. 

The city spent $18 million to build that terminal, but has closed it to the public at night because of the numbers of homeless people seeking shelter in the center named after the heroine of the civil rights movement. 

Today, desperate riders seeking to get to work and school told VOD they caught rides to the Rosa Parks center thinking bus service might be available there. However, DDOT administrators gave orders to clear the terminal, and it sat like a ghost town for most of the day.  Now it will be full of “wannabe” police.

What would Rosa Parks say? Transit Center cleared of homeless, bus riders Nov. 4, 2011

At a local restaurant near the Transit Center, a tired and frustrated worker said riders had been coming in all morning venting on her. 

“They need to go down and sit in at the Mayor’s office instead of blaming the drivers and the bus workers and complaining to me,” she said. 

(Click on http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/09/20/bus-workers-riders-blast-bing/ for story on public hearing wher union officials, workers and riders testified at Council.) 

In addition to failing to get broken buses back on the roads, Bing has cut bus routes and hours of service drastically during his administration. 

Bus riders on Grand River around corner from Rosa Parks Terminal in September

Bus lines outside the Transit Center and all over Detroit stretch up to blocks long. Some buses run up to three hours late in the worst transportation crisis the city has experienced.

Both riders and drivers face severe stress, the riders fearing they will lose their jobs or be turned away from school for being late, and the drivers fearing the riders will take out their frustrations on them, as many have been doing, verbally and physically, according to the drivers’ union president Henry Gaffney. 

The Detroit Free Press just published an article headlined, “DDOT Drivers paid not to work,” further whipping up antagonism against DDOT workers. 

ATU Div. 26 President Henry Gaffney talks to media Nov. 4, 2011

Unfortunately, Gaffney, who heads Amalgamated Transit Local 26, played into Bing’s approach during the televised part of the press conference. 

“We do apologize to any citizens that were caused inconvenience today,” Gaffney said. “Over one hundred thousand people in this city take the bus every day. But drastic things have happened in the last few months. We appreciate the administration for sitting down with us, Crimestoppers, and the police that have guaranteed they are going to be more visible.  We are asking that whoever took video, come forth and give police a copy so that they can capture those people and put this to a rest.” 

However, the youth who took the video on his cell phone, Eddie Flores, was interviewed by Fox 2 News. He said the driver took the first swing and that the youths were not at fault.   

Regardless of who began the melee, according to Leamon Wilson’s account of recent negotiations with the city, the first swing needs to be taken at the mayor, and the second one at the governor.  (See following story which includes interview with Wilson, president of AFSCME Local 312, the bus mechanics union.)

In a separate interview after the press conference, Gaffney told VOD, “We do need to have those buses fixed, so that people in the city can get on the bus every 20 minutes instead of every two and a half hours.”

Rider Arthur Eichelberger tells DDOT union leader and bus driver William Williams that all the problems need to be fixed.

He said he understands the riders’ frustration, because so many people are out of work and face the possibility of losing their jobs if they can’t get to work on time or at all.

Arther Eichelberger, a senior Detroit resident, apoke with William Williams, Div. 26 executive board member and bus driver, after the press conference as well.

“Are the buses going to keep running like they’ve been running?” he asked, not satisfied that they were simply back on the road. “The Mayor needs to put the buses out there on time. Especially the poor people depend on the bus system. If that’s what it takes [the bus stoppage] to get service up, I’m all for it. The city should be responsible for getting the buses up to speed. They get revenues from us riders. The Mayor’s getting paid, the City Council’s getting paid, but the people are suffering.”

 

Bing Commits Security for DDOT Buses: MyFoxDETROIT.com

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CHILD KILLER COP WEEKLEY’S TRIAL SET FOR APRIL 30, 2012 IN DEATH OF AIYANA STANLEY-JONES

Posted on 10/31/2011 by Diane Bukowski

 

Sky banner flown by the Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee over Detroit on the first anniversary of her death May 16, 2011

Pre-trial evidence likely to be kept secret

Judge Hathaway discloses husband is a cop

Owens’ sentencing rescheduled again to Dec. 2 as Aiyana Jones’ father Charles awaits preliminary exam Nov. 18. 

By Diane Bukowski 

Oct. 30, 2011 

 

Photo of Weekley from "Detroit Swat" still on website with following info: Code Name: Brain; Specialty: APC Driver/Entry; Rank: Police Officer; Age: 30; Height: 5'3"; Weight: 160; Joe "Brain" Weekley began his career in law enforcement over 10 years ago as a patrolman on the streets of Detroit. After 7 years, 'Brain' joined SRT and has since become one of the primary drivers of the Armored Personnel Carrier. When he's not behind the wheel of the APC, Officer Weekley can be found at home with his wife and two children.

Detroit – It appears likely that a dark cloak of secrecy will surround the criminal trials of Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley, who shot 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones to death on May 16, 2010, and A&E photographer Allison Howard. 

Weekley is charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm, while Howard faces perjury and obstruction of justice charges whichallege that she lied about showing the A&E film of the raid to a “third party.” 

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway announced that the trials are set to begin April 30, 2012, nearly two years after the child’s death, during a surprise “pre-trial hearing” for Weekly and Howard Oct. 28. The final conference will take place March 2, with all pre-trial motions due by Mar. 31. 

Aiyana Stanley-Jones on her father Charles Jones' Facebook Page

Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge Virgil Smith will hear a motion for a “protective order” in the case Nov. 11 at 9 a.m., related to discovery evidence. The motion was brought by Howard’s attorney Robert Harrison and has been reviewed by both Weekley’s attorney Steve Fishman and Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Moran, according to their statements Oct. 28. 

There are claims that the evidence must be kept under seal prior to trial because a mysterious one-man grand jury composed of Judge Timothy Kenny issued the indictments under obscure Michigan statutes. 

In response to questions directed to Worthy’s office regarding the grand jury, Kenny told VOD in an earlier email, “Since grand jury work is, by statute, a secret matter your questions cannot be answered.” 

Joseph Weekley with attorneys Robert Harrison, Steve Fishman in court Oct. 28

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Daphne Means Curtis earlier refused to issue a blanket gag order in the civil case against Weekly brought by Aiyana’s parents Charles Jones and Dominika Stanley. She ruled that only the depositions of Weekly and Jones, who both face criminal charges, will be kept under seal and that the civil trial will proceed despite the pendency of the criminal case. 

The diminutive Weekley appeared at the Oct. 28 hearing, while Howard, who lives in New York, was not present. Her indictment states that she showed or gave the A&E videotape of the police raid on the Jones home to a “third party” and lied about it on May 21, 2010 to the grand jury. 

Youth call for justice for Aiyana Jones and Mumia Abu-Jamal at rally in downtown Detroit last Aug. 28

The question regarding the grand jury is whether it was already constituted less than one week after Aiyana’s killing. Harrison said he could not disclose the dates involved because grand jury proceedings are “secret.” 

Fishman said, “My client is holding up as well as can be expected when he hasn’t done anything wrong and yet is charged with manslaughter.” 

He called the grand jury proceeding “odd,” and said that the state legislature should re-fashion Michigan law to conform to federal law on grand juries, so that proceedings before them would not be so “secretive.” 

He said, “It’s a good question,” when asked the date of the grand jury proceedings. Under Michigan statutes, witnesses summoned to testify before state grand juries are allowed to have legal representation and to have their attorneys present when they are questioned; however witnesses and attorneys are not allowed to disclose information about the proceedings. 

Grand jury proceedings rule out the holding of preliminary exams in front of a 36th District Court Judge to determine if there is “probable cause” to proceed with the charges. Fishman said it is disadvantageous to his client not to have that opportunity.  

Charles Jones with daughter Aiyana before her killing by Joseph Weekley

Charles Jones is scheduled for a preliminary exam in 36th District Court on Nov. 18 on multiple charges of first-degree murder and felony firearms related to the killing of Je’rean Blake, 17, two days before Aiyana was killed.

Chauncey Owens has pled guilty to second-degree murder charges for shooting Blake, with an alleged plea agreement that he will “tell the truth” about who gave him the gun. The major media has jumped to the conclusion that it was Charles Jones, although Owens’ court file contains no such admission. 

Owens’ sentencing has been postponed for the third time, from Oct. 31 to Dec. 2, indicating there may be a problem eliciting the testimony the prosecution desires from him. 

Hathaway spent most of the Oct. 28 hearing disclosing that she is married to a police officer, a fact which VOD exposed (click on http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/10/21/worthy-goes-after-aiyana-jones%e2%80%99-dad-with-a-vengeance-killer-cops-weekly-and-taylor-get-kid-gloves/).

Wayne Co. Deputy Sheriff DeWayne Hayes with wife Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway

 “I am married to a police officer,” Hathaway said. “In all cases involving the police, I make that disclosure to all parties on the record. Only recently was I ever asked to be recused because of this. Otherwise I have presided over numerous cases involving police officers. I feel that I am able to decide in a far and impartial manner. I don’t let my personal relationships affect my decisions in court because of this.” 

Hathaway asked whether either the prosecution or defense attorneys had a problem with her hearing the case. Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Moran said he would decide on the matter later, while Fishman and Harrison said they had “no problem.” 

“I know your reputation, and I would be delighted to have you hear the case,” Harrison said, while Fishman joked that his wife is a retired probation officer but that doesn’t affect his handling of court matters.

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STOP STATE CHILD ABDUCTIONS! SUPPORT GODBOLDOS TUES. NOV. 1 12 NOON Lincoln Juvenile Hall 1025 E. Canfield

Posted on 10/31/2011 by Diane Bukowski

Maryanne Godboldo, with supporters, speaks to Occupy Detroit General Assembly Oct. 20

BATTLE NOT OVER FOR MARYANNE, ARIANA AND FAMILY: CHILD STILL UNDER DHS SUPERVISION, KYM WORTHY APPEALS DISMISSAL CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST MOTHER

By Diane Bukowski

Oct. 31, 2011

Detroit–Supporters of Maryanne Godboldo and all families who have had their children taken illegally by the state’s Child Protective Services plan to rally outside the “Lincoln Juvenile Hall of Justice” Tues. Nov. 1 at 12 noon to demand an end to state-sponsored abductions.

The Hall is located at 1024 E. Canfield at the 1-75 service drive, between Mack and Warren..

During a meeting at the Occupy Detroit general assembly Oct. 20, Godboldo, Debbie Williams, whose grandchildren were taken, and others addressed the gathering to ask for support for their cause. Although Black poor families in particular face the abduction of children into foster care, for the profit of the state and non-profit child “welfare” agencies, the policies affect poor families of all races, and sometimes even families of means.

(Click on http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/08/30/9604/, http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/10/09/%e2%80%9ci-want-my-mother-to-come-home-espinoza-trial-continues-oct-14-10-a-m/, and http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/08/17/detroit-father-of-5-pursues-federal-civil-rights-suit-against-mia-wenk-dhs-judges-agencies-for-removal-of-children/ for earlier VOD stories on the Godboldo, Espinoza, and Brent cases.)

Godboldo called on Occupy Detroit to take up the urgent issue.

“People in Detroit are not only losing their jobs, their homes, their cars and their utilities every day, they are also losing their children,” Godboldo said. The assembly supported her cause almost unanimously.

According to Godboldo, despite the fact that Wayne County Family Court Judge Lynn Pierce ruled recently that her daughter Ariana can come home, the family is still under the supervision of the Department of Human Services CPS division, and faces another hearing in front of Pierce Dec. 12.

Godboldo won a significant victory when 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles dismissed all criminal charges against her related to her March stand-off with a Detroit police Special Response team comprised of officers with assault weapons, tanks and helicopters. Giles ruled that the police had no legal right to take Ariana from her. However, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy recently appealed the criminal case, according to Godboldo’s attorney Allison Folmar.

Families who are being thrown off public assistance benefits this month as a result of a DHS ruling are especially vulnerable to having their children taken. Gov. Rick Snyder and DHS Director Maura Corrigan recently held a ceremony and press conference featuring 300 new workers assigned to the CPS unit.

For more information, go to http://justice4maryanne.com/, http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Justice-for-Maryanne-Godboldo/178678602179610., justice4maryanne@gmail.com,

Phone: 313 867 4841 P.O Box: P.O. Box 20924 Ferndale, MI 48220-9998

 

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BRIDGE BLOCKADE STOPS INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Posted on 10/31/2011 by Diane Bukowski

Marchers target Mattie Moroun before blockading bridge

Protesters target “Bridge Baron” Matty Moroun, worth $1.8 billion

 By Diane Bukowski 

Oct. 30, 2011 

DETROIT – “We stopped international trade from happening,” Rev. Charles Williams III shouted over his bullhorn as more than a hundred protesters from Bridge Watch, Occupy Detroit, Good Jobs Now, the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO, the UAW and AFSCME massed in front of a long line of semi-trucks at the Ambassador Bridge Oct. 27. 

“Matty Moroun just came in and took a piece of public property,” Williams said. “He bought off the politicians and the state legislators. But this shows what we can do together to stop him and the rest of them!” 

Williams is pastor of the Historic King Solomon Baptist Church and a long-time community activist. Moroun is owner of the Ambassador Bridge, with a net worth of $1.8 billion according to Forbes magazine and a network of companies that spans the world. 

Protesters blocked truck traffic for nearly one hour

“We did it! We stopped them!” shouted one woman, pointing above to the arch of the bridge, where trucks stood motionless on one side. Protesters carried several large effigies of Moroun and chanted, “Moroun is a criminal! Lock him up! Lock him up!” 

One protester called out, “We’re tired of trucks in our neighborhood and asthma in our children from the exhaust!” 

Twenty protesters were prepared to face arrest, according to organizers, but National Lawyers Guild members out in force to support them negotiated a truce with police. The protesters stayed for almost an hour, and left shouting, “We’ll be back! From New York to LA, Occupy the USA!” 

Bridge traffic at standstill

As trucks started rolling again, many drivers loudly blew their horns in support and gave thumbs up signals. 

Save our children from Matty Moroun

A release from Detroit Bridgewatch said, “There is no greater sign of corporate greed than Matty Moroun, the Bridge Baron. The gross injustices his Detroit International Bridge Company has inflicted on our community include: 

  • Illegally occupied and stolen a city street (23rd Street) including West Jefferson
  • Illegally occupied our streets, service drives such as W Grand Blvd., Fort Street, West Jefferson, and others.
  • Illegally occupied our City of Detroit Riverside Park (the East half)
  • The trucks in our neighborhood are unbearable.  They travel past our children’s schools, parks and homes jeopardizing our public safety, our health and destroying our local streets.
  • Bought and allowed the decaying of hundreds of homes, buildings and blighted lots in our neighborhood.
  • Illegally erected the beginning of a second span without the appropriate environmental studies and permitting by the federal government. “ 

 

James Hunter with yellow sign demands Community Benefit Agreements

Protesters said they were inspired by the Occupy Wall Street takeover of the Brooklyn Bridge last month, during which 700 marchers massed across the span were taken into custody by New York Police. 

James Hunter, representing the Sugar Law Center and the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO, and others were wearing yellow T-shirts demanding “Community Benefit Agreements.” 

Hunter, previously a long-time City of Detroit worker and AFSCME local president, said it is time for the labor movement and the community to come together for the benefit of all,  along with fighting Moroun. 

“Everyone is clamoring for jobs,” Hunter said. “We want the other corporate bosses to provide good jobs with benefits , including environmental clean-up and providing good homes for our families. We are here on the southwest side, where some of the most downtrodden, forgotten folks in Detroit live in crumbling houses. There is plenty of work to be done.” 

Many seniors live on southwest side, demand end to truck pollution

This was not the first time southwest residents have taken direct action against Moroun. In June, they mobilized to tear down a fence that he had erected blocking off part of Riverside Park next to the bridge. The park is a favorite spot for people to come to enjoy the river and bridge views, fish and relax in their cars and on picnic benches. 

Moroun is a long-time player on the Detroit political scene, lining the pockets of mayors, city council members and others with campaign contributions amounting to bribes. He has been running television ads fighting the construction of a second span across the river by the Michigan Department of Transportation. The ads claim a second span is not needed, but in fact Moroun wants to build his own private second bridge to gain the profits from bridge fares and sales. 

Click on http://borderculture2009.blogspot.com/2010/03/matty-moroun-climbs-forbes-richest-list.html to read Windsor Star article on Moroun’s wealth. He has a net worth of $1.8 billion and is the 556th richest person in the world, according to Forbes Magazine. 

Stop Moroun's criminal profits!

The Star article says Moroun is battling to maintain his monopoly over the Detroit River border crossing, including the Ambassador Bridge, which handles 25 percent of the commerce between the U.S. and Canada, 8,000 trucks a days, and $100 billion worth of goods each years. 

“The secretive Moroun for decades has guarded his financial holdings behind an array of private companies, so his true wealth has always been difficult for Forbes and others to determine,” said the Star.

“A 2006 Windsor Star investigation revealed he owns a wide variety of businesses: insurance companies, logistics firms, railways, air cargo companies, constructions firms, about 25 real estate companies and dozens of trucking companies on both sides of the border. His empire stretches to nearly every corner of the world with shipping connections in Australia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, China and Japan. His trucking interests include companies and affiliates across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.” 

For more info email: DetroitBridgewatch@gmail.com

 

People Rip Down Fence at Riverside Park in Detroit: MyFoxDETROIT.com

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