LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder isn’t embracing a top Republican lawmaker’s demand that Detroit unions contribute money to help shore up pensions as part of the city’s strategy for exiting bankruptcy.
The Republican governor says House Speaker Jase Bolger’s request isn’t on his list of conditions for the state to contribute $350 million to pensions and prevent the sale of city-owned art. Snyder told reporters in Lansing on Wednesday that Bolger’s requirement will make approving bankruptcy legislation in May more “challenging.”
Snyder and legislative leaders have pledged state aid to settle the bankruptcy, partly to ensure city pensioners can’t sue Michigan when their benefits are trimmed. But it’s not a done deal in the Republican-led Legislature.
Bolger has said unions should help mitigate the impact on pensioners they collected dues from.
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