Over Half Of Detroit's $20 Billion Bankruptcy Debt Is Related To Union Benefits

The first bankruptcy court battle in Detroit’s quest to shed a $20 billion mountain of debt and liabilities will be establishing its eligibility.

After the case gets assigned to a judge in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky or Tennessee, experts say Detroit’s bankruptcy petition is likely to test the limits of the rarely used Chapter 9 section of the U.S. bankruptcy code.

The city will first have to prove it is financially insolvent, desires to restructure its debt and attempted to negotiate in good faith with creditors for out-of-court settlements, said Michael Sweet, a bankruptcy lawyer at Fox Rothschild in San Francisco who has helped cities avoid bankruptcy.

LexSucks - 7/19/2013 1:23:57 PM

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What about the other half? Who's responsible for that? Why are you only telling half of the story?

thetruth01 - 7/19/2013 1:29:05 PM

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It's too easy for him to use this as a union bashing.

thetruth01 - 7/19/2013 1:25:54 PM

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Where in that linked article did you come up with that figure?

USNA1999 - 7/19/2013 2:00:30 PM

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Get rid of all these unions, they are a CANCER!

MorePower - 7/19/2013 4:04:08 PM

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How is an organization that fights for the rights and protection of its constituents a cancer?

Are you saying it's bad for workers to tell their boss that:

We are not getting paid enough
The working conditions here are dangerous
You can't take away my vacation days, and not yours, to save $3 million
Working for five hours straight without a break will lead to injuries

LexSucks - 7/19/2013 5:08:40 PM

0 Boost

He's a brainwashed shill. Goes to bat for corporations without even realizing it. You're wasting your time.

LexSucks - 7/19/2013 5:10:10 PM

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That's it... Republicans are perfect. LMFOA

Yonder7 - 7/19/2013 3:18:18 PM

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I would like to what the unions will do for Detroit ...

MorePower - 7/19/2013 3:58:02 PM

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It's amazing how people are so quick to blame the unions when it was bad decisions made by elected officials, board members and executives that got most of these entities, cities and car manufacturers alike, into this mess.

MorePower - 7/19/2013 4:08:06 PM

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Why is it that unions take the blame for an entity's poor corporate performance instead of the executives and managers that made the crucial decisions that lead so many businesses and local governments into bankruptcy?

LexSucks - 7/19/2013 5:13:52 PM

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Because most people are brainwashed idiots. Corporations trick them into fighting against the same people that's in their same tax bracket, while completely ignoring the bad decisions made by Executives and Elected officials. Its genius when you think of it. And only made possible because of dummies.

thomas - 7/20/2013 8:52:54 AM

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Inept politicians destroyed Detroit yet these elected officials were elected by the sheer "influence" of various union organizations...

Any politician that ignores this strategy is either a fool or defeated. Worked for Obama's 2nd term with the auto bailout -not so much for the shareholders, creditors or poor non-union workers at Delphi and others "victims".