Detroit to send layoff notices to all its public teachers

Thu Apr 14, 10:17 pm ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The emergency manager appointed to put Detroit's troubled public school system on a firmer financial footing said on Thursday he was sending layoff notices to all of the district's 5,466 unionized employees.

In a statement posted on the website of Detroit Public Schools, Robert Bobb, the district's temporary head, said notices were being sent to every member of the Detroit Federation of Teachers "in anticipation of a workforce reduction to match the district's declining student enrollment."

Bobb said nearly 250 administrators were receiving the notices, too.

The district is unlikely to eliminate all the teachers. Last year, it sent out 2,000 notices and only a fraction of employees were actually laid off. But the notices are required by the union's current contract with the district. Any layoffs under this latest action won't take effect until late July.

In the meantime, Bobb said that he planned to exercise his power as emergency manager to unilaterally modify the district's collective bargaining agreement with the Federation of Teachers starting May 17, 2011.

Under a law known as Public Act 4, passed by the Michigan legislature and signed by the state's new Republican governor in March, emergency managers like Bobb have sweeping powers. They can tear up existing union contracts, and even fire some elected officials, if they believe it will help solve a financial emergency.

Scott Walker Defends Hobbling Unions

Scott Walker

LAURIE KELLMAN 04/14/11 11:07 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker defended his school of union hobbling as a route to fiscal discipline to budget-weary Washington on Thursday, telling a House committee that protracted, nail-biting negotiations in tough economic times can produce inaction and bad policy.

"Sometimes," the Republican governor told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, "bipartisanship is not so good."

Walker clearly was speaking of recent Wisconsin budget history. Still, it was an extraordinary message to deliver to Capitol Hill at a time of divided government, when leaders in Congress realize they have little choice but to negotiate the path toward the nation's economic stability. As Walker spoke to the House panel, a Congress facing tough fiscal battles ahead was preparing to send the White House a bipartisan deal for $38 billion in spending cuts over the next six months.

"This is the best we could get out of divided government," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters.

Walker's budget for Wisconsin is just the opposite – an explicit act of partisanship.

Passed by a Republican-controlled legislature and now the subject of a court fight, it ends collective bargaining on everything except wages for state and local government employees and requires them to absorb more of their pension and health care costs. The state no longer will collect dues for unions through paycheck deductions.

Abel Harding: Brown to business: I'm not partisan

Submitted by Abel Harding on April 15, 2011 - 1:43am

Alvin Brown says there's no room for partisan politics in the Jacksonville mayoral race. Touting his opponent's description of him as a "conservative Democrat," he's working to garner support from the largely Republican business community.

In keeping with that approach, the former White House aide has been reassuring prospective supporters that he won't be promoting the candidacies of other Democrats - including President Barack Obama - should he win.

"This is not about Democrats or Republicans," the Jacksonville University MBA graduate said. "I'm going to be focused on putting Jacksonville back to work."

Brown says he's aware of the perception that a Democrat can't win Duval County but believes this race is different.

"There are more people out there who don't want the status quo," he said.

His campaign touted a poll it commissioned this week that shows him within striking distance of Mike Hogan, his Republican opponent.

The possibility of a close race wasn't something Hogan's campaign was willing to dispute.

"We are not taking anything for granted," said Maggie Bulin, Hogan's operations manager. "We are focused on getting Mike's message out to every resident of Duval County."

Controversial Florida election law change moves forward

Criticism of late rewrite that tweaks registration rules hits bill's sponsor.

Posted: April 15, 2011 - 12:00am

By Matt Dixon

Legislation that would overhaul state election law received a committee nod only 16 hours after the sponsor filed a 151-page amendment changing several aspects of the bill, a move that earned him vocal rebukes Thursday.

The measure, among other things, would no longer allow voters to change their address on Election Day, require that groups that hold voter registration drives get the information of newly registered voters to elections officials within 48 hours, and require that those groups give personal information to the state before registering new voters.

Supporters said the bill, which passed on a party-line 12-6 vote, would better ensure the accuracy of voter rolls, while several opponents called it disenfranchising.

"I'm going to call this bill for what it is, good old-fashioned voter suppression," said Ben Wilcox of the League of Women voters.

Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, the bill's sponsor, says allowing people to change address on Election Day can lead to fraud because it is tough to verify that they did not already vote in another county.

"Don't we care about the integrity of the vote?" he asked.

Mediation resumes in NFL, players dispute

Apr 15, 4:12 AM EDT

By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- After more than a month off, the NFL and its locked-out players have starting talking again about how to resolve their differences and ensure there is pro football played this fall.

The only sign of progress or productivity, though, was the nine hours or so both sides spent in the federal courthouse on Thursday.

Sworn to secrecy about specifics of the court-ordered mediation, neither the league nor the players provided much insight about where they're at in their dispute over the division of this $9 billion business. They were set to meet again Friday morning.

Commissioner Roger Goodell, Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft were among those on hand for the closed-door session Thursday with U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan.