Mediator Ordered to Handle Detroit Union Negotiations for Bankruptcy

Initial mediation efforts to begin in September

The federal judge presiding over Detroit's municipal bankruptcy ordered the mediator in the case to handle negotiations of collective bargaining agreements with the city's unions.

In a brief filing on Friday, Judge Steven Rhodes of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ordered Chief District Judge Gerald Rosen, whom he named as mediator between the city and its creditors earlier this week, to handle "negotiation and renegotiation" of collective bargaining agreements.

Rosen on Friday ordered representatives of the city, its two pension funds and several unions, including the United Auto Workers and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, to attend an initial mediation session on Sept 17.