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The drive to dismantle Democracy as we know it is wreaking havoc all over Michigan (17 municipalities and school districts and counting). A law passed in 2011 authorizes the Governor to dispatch ‘Emergency Managers’ to cities, townships, and school districts around the state, wielding unprecedented power by replacing the local elected officials. Governing by edict, the Emergency Manager (E.M.) can shred local public employees labor agreements, and sell off precious public assets without approval from the people or elected officials. The unelected E.M. can even dissolve a municipality and public school district altogether. Public school systems such as Muskegon Heights and Highland Park have been completely handed over to charters through this process. This draconian system has fueled the fight for Water rights in Detroit and Flint, against Police brutality in Inkster and the persecution of Reverend Edward Pinkney in Benton Harbor—just to name a few. Now this model is being exported to New Jersey, where the former Emergency Manager of Detroit, Kevin Orr, has been hired to impose fiscal martial law on Atlantic City.
Hundreds of thousands of workers in Michigan who were once the center of manufacturing life (particularly the auto industry), now find themselves driven out of production especially through technological advances. Now in the brave new world of Emergency Managers, we have no rights that the corporation is bound to respect. As the articles on these pages show, a new dynamic revolutionary social movement is unfolding. – People’s Tribune
Related articles in this issue:
Metro Detroit needs sustainable, just and affordable water rates
Inkster Consent Agreement and police brutality
“Folks, it’s time to make some noise!” says Benton Harbor activist
Toxic twins: Emergency Management and Flint River water
