About 1,200 Detroit police lieutenants and sergeants and about 400 Detroit firefighters will see a 10 percent pay cut in their paychecks on Sept. 16, Reuters reported yesterday. The city informed the Detroit Police Lieutenants and Sergeants Association (LSA) and the Detroit Firefighters Association of the pay cut along with a reduction in benefits on Wednesday. The Detroit Police Lieutenants and Sergeants Association’s contract was slated to be terminated on July 6, but the city extended the contract for 30 days. Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s office said that the contract was extended to give new Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who started July 1, “an opportunity to get his feet on the ground.” The firefighter union’s contract expired June 30, but the 400 affected firefighters—lieutenants, sergeants and captains—have parity with the LSA, so their contract was also subject to the delay.
