Scranton Mayor defies Judge and pays city workers minimum wage

[cali]

A fiscal and political crisis in the nearly-broke northeastern Pennsylvania city of Scranton deepened Tuesday as public employee unions sought to have the mayor held in contempt of court after he defied a judge and slashed workers' pay to minimum wage.

Unions representing firefighters, police and public-works employees also filed a pair of federal lawsuits against Mayor Chris Doherty and the city that alleged violations of labor law and due-process rights.

Doherty last week ignored a court order and cut the pay of about 400 city workers to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The Democratic mayor said it was all the cash-strapped city of more than 76,000 could afford, promising to restore full pay once finances are stabilized.

"It's incredible," the unions' attorney, Thomas Jennings, said Tuesday. "I've never had a public official just say, 'I'm not going to obey a court order. I'm not even going to try. He can't tell me what to do.'"

more at:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/pa-mayor-cuts-city-workers-pay-minimum-wage-16745611#.T_09zpF9bfY

[tclambert]

1. Minimum wage to run into a burning building?

I think I'd watch from outside as the mayor's house burned to the ground.

[Sherman A1]

2. I would think there might be some flu

(perhaps of a blue variety) going around in the area and I believe that those affected should stay home until they recover.

[TexasProgresive]

3. So what's the mayor's salery?

Did he cut his own pay?

[justabob]

4. yes... all city workers

including himself and city council.

[Inkfreak]

5. He was on Hardball last night

He said he plans to retroactively pay all workers the $ they are entitled to. He and the rest of those knuckleheads on the council have gotta figure out how first tho. What a mess.

[BadSaratoga]

6. Looks like the pay is much better over at Dunder Mifflin

Did the mayor set his salary to minimum wage?

[90-percent]

7. Suggestion

Give the wealthiest 1% of Scrantonites a bigger tax break. That will fix this.

-90% Jimmy

[reformist2]

8. The problem isn't the mayor, it's much bigger than that.

What's happening in Scranton is indicative of what many cities across America are going to face if we don't come to terms with 1) what free trade has done to our job base and 2) the injustice of our tax code, that lets the rich keep the billions they make as a result of free trade.

[tanyev]

9. That's about 400 workers that are going to start looking elsewhere for jobs.

That's one way to solve the problem.

[badtoworse]

10. If they wrote checks for the full amount, they would bounce.

How does that solve anything? Scranton is flat broke and needs to declare bankruptcy, but the state won't let them do so.

I'm amazed that so many here don't understand what "don't have any money" means.

[Igel]

11. Why?

The response to "Scranton has no money to pay, even if the court has ordered it to pay" has been:

-- Say bad things about the rich or the banks or those who can afford broccoli, or all three

-- Show solidarity with the oppressed working class, esp. civil servants with good union representation

-- Comment on how bad (R) policies, esp. those supported by Clinton and Gore, were

-- Call for socialism as the cure for everything from scabies to adult innumeracy

-- Say how (R) are keeping the Federal government from helping

(Okay, I'm over the top with the broccoli nonsense.)

What I don't understand is what's led to this. Presumably the tax rate hasn't declined in the last 15 years and the tax rate before the bubble was enough to pay for services. Is it really the case that fewer manufacturing jobs has led to the overall decrease in tax revenues, and that this decrease is, by itself, responsible? In other words, that the level of city spending has been flat? Or did the city increase spending as property tax income spiked, and now they're stuck with services and wages pegged to the spending levels at the height of the housing bubble?

[badtoworse]

12. I think it's a combination of factors

Fiscal mismanagement and an arbitration award to the city's employees that some claim was excessive. Their revenue primarily comes from property taxes and has stayed flat. There are no jobs, the residents are struggling and don't want to / can't afford to pay higher property taxes. For that reason, the city council has refused to support the mayors call for a tax increase.