Union Rules: Despite No Horses, Detroit Water Department Employs 'Horseshoer'

Capitol Confidential ^ | 8/20/2012 | Jarrett Skorup

[MichCapCon]

Despite having no horses, the water and sewerage department for the city of Detroit employs a horseshoer.

Yet even with a department so bloated that it has a horseshoer and no horses, the local union president said it is "not possible" to eliminate positions.

Union rules have turned the department into a government jobs program, some critics say...

[OldMissileer]

You may want this one for the Michigan Ping List.

[oh8eleven]

the city of Detroit employs a horseshoer.
I believe the official job title is Ferrier.
My great uncle learned to be Ferrier during WWI and practiced in Hempstead NY until the mid 1950s when the demand for his services dwindled.
Too bad he didn't live in Detroit - he could still be drawing a paycheck - even though he died in the '60s.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Despite having no horses, the water and sewerage department for the city of Detroit employs a horseshoer.

It isn't such a bad idea to keep him on the payroll. I mean, the entire city is collapsing into chaos. Roads aren't paved, city buses are in disrepair. I suspect that within the next couple of years, the city will be using horses as a means of transportation again. It happened in Greece when their Welfare State collapsed.

[liberalh8ter]

It's 'Farrier' and this story needs to go viral. People need to understand that Unions are not good!

[chrisser]

"They don't have enough people as it is right now," Riehl said. "They are just dreaming to think they can operate that plant with less."

In other words, "They are just dreaming to think we (the YoonYun) will let them operate that plant with less."

[oh8eleven]

I stand corrected - thx.

[Hardraade]

In the meantime, they can make the whole government wear horseshoes.

[madison10]

Is it possible that this farrier is used for the City of Detroit’s mounted police unit?

[liberalh8ter]

NP. You could still probably submit a resume for your deceased Uncle. Since this story is out, they may need to fire the farrier they have (and hire a new one).

[cripplecreek]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

If anyone wants to be added to the Michigan Cap Con ping list, let me know.

[BubbaBasher]

That position would still be needed if he worked for a police department that had a mounted division like New York but the water department?

[immadashell]

In the meantime, they can make the whole government wear horseshoes.

They have to in order to support the horses a**es that spend our $.

[cripplecreek]

Perhaps the motor city hasn’t heard that there’s a new invention that some are calling a horseless carriage.

[Mr. K]

Who occupies this position and what does he do all day?

[Celtic Conservative]

This will be an interesting battle. An outside analysis firm says the Detroit city water dept. Needs about 400 employees to make it run efficiently. It currently has 2000. Also the water Dept. has some 250 job classifications(apparently including "horse shoer"), and the analysis team said it needs only about 40. Me , personally I am very pessimistic about Detroit being able to turn it around. In the words of Corporal Hicks from the movie "Aliens" :

"I say we nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure"

CC

[cripplecreek]

Me , personally I am very pessimistic about Detroit being able to turn it around.

That's what the emergency manager law is for. Unfortunately Detroit is fighting it every step of the way. Personally I would compromise and make Dave Bing the emergency manager. We wouldn't get all the cuts you or I would like but there would be big cuts.

[FortWorthPatriot]

"Too bad he didn't live in Detroit - he could still be drawing a paycheck - even though he died in the '60s."

Not to worry - even if he can't get paid the Democrats will make sure he still votes at least two or three times each election...

(Not slamming your great uncle of course, may he rest in peace - just noting the indecency of the left)

[OldMissileer]

Perhaps the motor city hasn’t heard that there’s a new invention that some are calling a horseless carriage.

With all the recalls and problems with GM vehicles I would say they haven't.

[ReformedBeckite]

They might not have any horses to shoe, but I’m sure there are plenty of political and union A**’s that could could use a shoeing out the door, figuratively speaking.

[Axenolith]

I think a main point of irony here is that there are more horses now in the US than there were in use around 1900 and they can’t figure out how to farm this guy out to make a buck on the side...

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***the local union president said it is “not possible” to eliminate positions. ***

The term is “featherbeding”. Railroads have been required to keep boiler operators (firemen) on diesel engine trains since the days of the old coal fired trains.

[count-your-change]

Sounds like a ghost employee. The checks are written and cashed but by whom?

[oh8eleven]

No offense taken. In fact, I’m PO’d for not thinking of the “multiple votes” death benefit myself.

[carlo3b]

Not so fast..

With all of the Horses#it that the Unions dish out, one could assume that the Union Reprsentives that I meet are HorsesA$$, a Horseshoer, Farrier, might be appropriate..

[FrdmLvr]

No, silly! The DPS union employs mechanics In the
Mounted police division

[goat granny]

My dad retired from the mounted division in 1950. If Detroit still has a mounted division, they also have their own farrier and vet. Use to have stables at Belle Isle, Palmer Park, and the one down town was either Buthune or Bobian, can’t remember which....they might have had one more stable, cannnot remember its name...

[madison10]

LOL That makes total sense.

[Osage Orange]

We have some traveling ferrier's around here.......

I've shod a horse before...it's back breaking work. Not something I'd want to do for a living.

[mc5cents]

But we are talking about the WATER Dept. here, not the police. The police would make more sense if they had a mounted div. as most large cities do (for crowd control mainly).

[goat granny]

my only point was that perhaps the mounted division had their budget department cut and the farrier was needed so it just got stuck under another department...I am sure their budget runs into thousands of pages.... Mounted bureau also needs a good leather man to take care of tack and a vet. I think the cops use to sweep the aisle. I don’t know who may have taken care of the cleaning of the stalls, but I remember a picture my dad had of a bunch of the guys tossing one of the men into the pile of straw and whatever else, ie: horse biscuits and everyone was laughing even the guy in the pile.....could have been a new cop in that barn, I don’t know or someone that lost a bet..That would have been early 40’s...

[SunkenCiv]

[singing] how I wish, how I horseshoer here...

[Ax]

My dad retired from the DPD in 1964. I believe the address of which you were thinking is 1300 Beaubien. It was Police HQS.

[goat granny]

thanks but they also had a stable I believe and it must have been Bethune. My dad did some of the training of new horse's brought in and that (I think)) was downtown...Your a good speller on Beaubien. :O) I only remember him talking about a couple of horses, one new one panicked like a horse can do, ran into the high wood fence and broke his neck....horses can be very skittish. Another one, a Thoroughbred (which the department didn't use) but the head of the mounted division wanted it....It was given to the department by some rich dude that raised thoroughbreds but under the condition that if the horse didn't work out, he was to be destroyed....The donater didn't want the horse to fall into the hands of someone that wouldn't take care of it....(lots of problems with race horses and abuse)...The horse didn't work out. I believe most of the breeds they used were Saddle-bred...But that was many decades ago, I might be a bit off of my memory....