Editor’s Note: This speech was given at large protest in Detroit, MI against the water cutoffs.
My name is John Armelagos. I’m a Registered Nurse for 29 years; an officer of the National Nurses United and Michigan Nurses Association, and a former, but still proud, 10-year member of the United Auto Workers.
I grew up a few miles downriver from here and lived in the city when I attended Wayne State University.
To all the organizations and individuals from across our nation who amassed here today, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your good will and support.
Let’s be clear . . .
In spite of what the governor touts; in spite of what the Emergency Manager touts; Detroit is not bankrupt.
Denying citizens the fundamental human right to water is yet another stark illustration of a bankrupt system!
Make no mistake . . .
Only a bankrupt system undemocratically installs outside officials to impose pension reductions on modestly paid, public employees so the big banks and creditors profit.
Only a bankrupt system encourages predatory, subprime mortgages that leads to the foreclosure of over 100,000 homes and loss of 250,000 residents.
Only a bankrupt system denies opportunities for work when so much must be restored.
Austerity and privatization only intensify the contradictions and pain.
Detroit’s problems, like those of most of our troubled cities, are not Detroit’s alone. This city, region, state, and nation must engage not punitively, but creatively with an urban renewal policy that preserves the city’s wealth and promotes prosperity and recovery.
A more humane, progressive path can be achieved in part through collective actions like today. Together, we have the power to make that happen.
Let me end with a quote from former Mayor Coleman Young . . . “There is no brilliant, single stroke that is going to transform the water into wine or straw into gold.”
From that wisdom and from our action of organizing in our places of work and in our communities, let’s transform this crisis of shutting off the water into the golden opportunity of reclaiming this great city to meet the needs of its people.
Thank you.
