MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. – Teachers in Madison District Public Schools say a 10 percent pay cut the board of education applied retroactively to the start of the school year is illegal, according to the Detroit Free Press. Local union officials say they plan to file a lawsuit against the board’s decision.
Bobby Robinson, president of the Madison Education Association, told the Free Press he had raised concerns about the retroactive pay cut’s legality with the board prior to its implementation. He cited a legal ruling last year where courts told Detroit Public Schools it could not implement a pay cut retroactively.
"They ignored it," he told the Free Press.
According to the Free Press, the Madison school board implemented the 10 percent pay cut a few days after teachers rejected a proposed 7 percent pay cut. The teachers’ previous collective bargaining agreement expired in 2009.
SOURCE: The Detroit Free Press, “Madison School District teachers call 10% pay cut illegal, threaten lawsuit," April 21, 2012
FURTHER READING: Michigan Education Report, “Board turnover in Madison," Jan. 22, 2010
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