"Detroit is going to be a huge test kitchen."

“If you end up with precedent that allows the restructuring of [public employee] retirement benefits in bankruptcy court, that will make it an attractive option for cities,” said Karol K. Denniston, a bankruptcy lawyer, commenting on Detroit's bankruptcy.

So, there are the labor interests. And then there's race:

All along, the state’s involvement — including [Gov. Rick] Snyder’s decision to send in an emergency manager — has carried racial implications, setting off a wave of concerns for some in Detroit that the mostly white Republican-led state government was trying to seize control of Detroit, a Democratic city where more than 80 percent of residents are black....

Labor, race... and the 2 parties starkly arrayed.