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July 6th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda 
The mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania says he will defy a
judge’s injunction and pay a few hundred city workers only minimum-wage
because anything more will bankrupt the sixth-largest town in the state.
Nearly 400 city
employees — including police officers, firefighters and staffers with
the Department of Public Works — will be compensated with only $7.25 per
hour starting with this week’s paycheck and continuing until Scranton
can scrape together enough money to avoid bankruptcy.
Mayor Chris
Doherty announced last Wednesday that 398 city workers will have their
pay adjusted to the federal minimum wage starting with this Friday’s
paycheck.
On Thursday, July 5, unions representing local firefighters,
police officers and other public workers filed a lawsuit to keep the
city from breaking the salary agreements that are included in the
contracts it has with its employees.
Lackawanna County Judge
Michael Barrasse granted an injunction asked for by the International
Association of Firefighters Local 60, the Fraternal Order of Police E.B.
Jermyn Lodge No. 2 and the International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers Local Lodge No. 2305 early Thursday to stop Mr.
Doherty from following through with his plan. The mayor says he has no
other choice, however, and will have to ignore the court’s decision.
“The judge can rule against us, but I don’t know how to pay the money,” the mayor tells Scranton’s Times-Tribune.
Thomas
Jennings, the attorney representing the collective of unions, says
separate contracts between the labor divisions and the city itself
illustrate that the mayor cannot legally unilaterally slash pay without
negotiations, but Mr. Doherty says, “What am I going to pay them with? We don’t have the money.”
City
Solicitor Paul A. Kelly Jr. is backing the mayor’s plan as well.
Responding to the judge’s insistence that the city compensate its staff
as per their contractual salaries, Kelly says, “It’s not there.”
Doherty
adds that the city has barely $300,000 to work with right now and even
after adjusting this week’s paychecks to reflect the federal minimum
wage, the city will have only $5,000 left over on Friday. By adjusting
pay starting immediately, the mayor says the city will save $700,000
every two weeks.
Once Scranton has saved enough to get out of it
debt, the city intends on paying back employees their deferred salaries.
The Associated Press reports that Scranton’s current $71 million
spending plan includes a $17 million deficit.
Judge Barrase will
hear arguments from the mayor and city unions against on Friday when
workers will rally for a more permanent preliminary injunction, but
Doherty doesn’t see another solution right now.
Last October, Pennsylvania’s capital city—Harrisburg, PA—filed for municipal bankruptcy.
July 5, 2012 – RussiaToday
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