Tip Toe Shoe Repair:
‘The Harriet Commock Show’ shines glaring light on domestic, sexual violence
Saving ‘soles’ in downtown Detroit
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POWERED BY REAL TIMES MEDIA
August 10-16, 2016
michiganchronicle.com
Volume 79 – Number 48
Beloved trade unionist Ernie Lofton’s big impact on labor relations By Roz Edward Former UAW-Ford vice president (1989 to 1998) Ernest “Ernie” Lofton passed away on Saturday, Aug. 6 in his beloved Detroit. Widely recognized and admired for his tremendous commitment to job protections for auto workers and securing workers rights for the rank and file, Lofton knew firsthand what they were up against. The man who would become a standard bearer for the UAW and later the civil Ernest Lofton rights movement had walked in their shoes. When he first appeared at the gate of Ford Motor Company’s Dearborn iron foundry looking for work in 1950, the lines were so long he was told to come back the next day. But he returned the next day even more resolved to land a good-paying job in the foundry. He got the job and parlayed it into a remarkable career spanning more than 45 years. And in the days before OSHA, plant conditions were tough, dirty and dangerous. Lofton fought for and won workplace health and safety protections for the 97,000 workers in his charge. “I’m glad that 40 years ago, he had the tenacity to go through what he went through,” doing the difficult and hazardous work at the foundry, said Peter Pestillo, former Ford vice president of corporate relations and diversified business. Lofton won that hard-fought battle for the admiration and trust of Ford autoworkers and the respect of Ford executives, who were at one time his adversaries. Eventually those same corporate leaders would erect the Ernest Lofton Center for Physical Fitness in Dearborn “Ernie Lofton cared deeply about people and was a lifelong
Alisha Dixon photos
Trump loses ‘bigly’ in Detroit By Alisha Dixon Over 200 protesters gathered outside of Cobo Center on Monday as Republican nominee Donald Trump addressed a packed room of Detroit Economic Club members as he outlined his economic plan if elected. The DEC said the event was relocated from the Renaissance Center to Cobo Center because ticket sales grew from 35 to over 2,000 over the weekend. “America First” was the theme of Trump’s Monday address as he blamed the liberal leadership of President Obama and Hillary Clinton for the present state of the country’s economy. “A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for TPP and NAFTA. Before NAFTA went into effect, there were 285,000 autoworkers in Michigan. Today that number is only 160,000,” Trump said. “Detroit is still waiting for Hillary Clinton’s apology. She’s been a disaster. I expect Detroit will get that apology right around the same time Hillary Clinton turns over those 33,000 e-mails she deleted.”
and Secret Service members forcibly removed over one dozen protesters as the crowd cheered.
Trump continued his criticism of Democratic nominee Clinton.
In his speech, a poised Trump recognized Detroit and its history and how much of a contribution the city has made to the world’s economy.
“A nominee from yesterday, who offers the rhetoric of yesterday and the policies of yesterday. There will be no change under Hillary Clinton, only four more years of weakness and President Obama,” Trump said.
“The city of Detroit is where our story begins. Detroit was once the economic enemy of the world. The people of Detroit helped to power America to its position of global dominance in the 20th century,” Trump said.
Throughout the speech Trump staff
Trump’s remarks quickly turned neg-
ative as he again blamed current liberal leadership for Detroit’s fall. “This is a city controlled by Democratic politicians at every level and unless we change policies we will not change results,” Trump said. “For many living in this city, that dream has long ago vanished. When we abandoned the policy of America first, we started rebuilding other countries instead of our own. The skyscrapers went up in Beijing while factories and neighborhoods crumbled right here in Detroit.”
See LOFTON page A-4
WHAT’S INSIDE
See TRUMP page A-4
Finally, a real shot at real public transportation By Keith Owens Senior Editor
Voters have the power in November. The Michigan Chronicle Show Business Hall Of Fame
Stephanie Mills Page D1
What’s Inside: Types of Schools Explained After- school programs for kids of all ages Motivating the Unmotivated Student
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On July 27, in a post titled “Patterson, Hackel must stop blocking regional transit,” the Michigan Chronicle said the following: “It’s really not all that complicated. Either we’re going to move forward together as a region, recognizing how mutually interdependent we really are, or we’re going to remain in neutral. This region badly — very badly — needs a functional 21st century mass transit system. The ‘Q’ Line, when compared to grown-up cities like Denver, Colorado, is little more than a muscular People Mover. “Oakland and Macomb County Executives L. Brooks Patterson and Mark Hackel claim they are protecting their residents from a bad deal. Others suspect the true motive to be much more political. Political roadblocks sounds more plausible, but whatever the issue is, it needs to be worked out or set aside so that the voters can be given the opportu-
nity to vote their conscience on the RTA ballot proposal during the fall. Hopefully, their conscience knows that this region sorely needs better public transportation. This is not a Detroit bailout proposal, this is a Southeast Michigan bailout proposal. Because so long as we continue to suffer through this ridiculous excuse for public transporta-
tion, making us the laughingstock of just about every other major city that long ago took care of its citizens, we can forget about considering ourselves forward-thinking.” By Tuesday of last week, Patterson and Hackel were apparently all smiles and back on track with the Regional Transit
Detroit Transit.org photo Authority (RTA), willing to support the ballot proposal that they had originally supported, then not supported at the last minute, then once again supported within a span of less than 48 hours. It’s safe to say the very welcome reversal had something to do with the extraordinary amount
See RTA page A-4