Employees of the Detroit-area water system that serves four in 10 Michigan residents have gone on strike to protest plans to eliminate most of their jobs through privatization or other measures.
The union for 950 employees of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department says its members went on strike about 10 a.m. Sunday, setting up a picket line at a wastewater treatment plant in southwest Detroit's Delray neighborhood.
Michigan law prohibits public worker strikes, and American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 207 says it expects Mayor Dave Bing's administration to seek a back-to-work order.
Bing spokesman Robert Warfield says city officials will discuss the strike this afternoon but have no immediate comment.
Detroit's water system serves about 4 million people in southeastern Michigan.
