Meeting to Build An United Front Against Austerity in Detroit, Dec.5

Thousands march down Washington Blvd. at the Detroit March for Jobs, Justice and Peace on August 28, 2010. The main chants were led by the Moratorium NOW! Coalition which repeated the slogan: "Bail Out the People, Not the Banks! (Photo: Abayomi Azikiwe), a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

For Immediate Release

Media Advisory

Please Forward Widely

Event: Moratorium NOW! Coalition Special Meeting on Detroit Austerity
Theme: Build A United Front Against the Takeover of Detroit
Date: Monday, December 5, 2011, 7:00-9:00pm
Location: 5920 Second Ave. at Antoinettee, North of WSU Campus
Contact: 313.671.3715

SPECIAL DETROIT ORGANIZING MEETING--MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 7:00-9:00PM

STOP THE LAY-OFFS, NO CONSENT AGREEMENT, NO EMERGENCY MANAGER!

BAILOUT DETROIT, NOT THE BANKS!

Detroit has again been threatened with massive layoffs and further cuts in city services in response to a “secret audit” report issued by
the accounting firm Ernst and Young. In a Nov. 16 press conference, Mayor Bing said that the audit report indicated that the city would
“run out of cash” by next spring.

Bing further stressed that if municipal unions and the people of Detroit rejected a new round of workforce reductions, a scale-down in
employee benefits and the gutting of services, he would request a review of the city finances by Governor Rick Snyder.

A state law passed last spring provides for the appointment of an “emergency manager” in fiscally distressed cities, counties and school
districts with the power to abrogate labor contracts, impose austerity measures and expropriate municipal pension funds.

Detroit city workers last year had a 10 percent wage reduction imposed on them. There have also been cuts in health care programs for
employees and their families.

City public services have been devastated over the last several years as Detroit seeks to stay above water amid massive debts that require escalating payments purportedly owed to the banks.

Already 2,000 civil service positions have been eliminated and the mayor and City Council are debating whether to lay off an additional
1,000-2,000 workers.

In response to these threats we should demand the repayment of over $220 million in state revenue sharing money to the city of Detroit. In addition, the Bing administration and the City Council should appeal to the federal government for increased funding for public
transportation to repair the 250 buses that are off the street and to purchase additional buses and build a light rail system for the city.

The politicians must go to the banks and demand a moratorium on debt-service payments in order to free-up hundreds of millions of tax dollars every year. Also we must draft an emergency bailout appeal to
the Obama administration and Congress; if the auto companies and banks have been bailed out then we are more than entitled to financial
relief to prevent our city and its resources from being seized by corporate vultures.

Please attend our special meeting on Monday, December 5 at 7:00pm at 5920 Second Avenue at Antoinette, just north of the WSU campus.

For more information call 313-671-3715