Mike Duggan landed the endorsement of Detroit's Emergency Medical Technicians Union. The announcement came Wednesday afternoon at a press conference with EMS workers at the Detroit Fire Department Apparatus facility in Eastern Market.

Duggan promised to give the city's EMS workers the funds and manpower needed to operate more efficiently. Currently, EMS only has 150 employees on payroll, despite a budget for 221, and rigs are often outdated. Some have over 250,000 miles.

"We are putting out seven or eight or nine units a night," he said. "We need close to 20 in order to take care of the people of this community. We have got to make sure the plan of bankruptcy comes out with an adequately staffed department."

Union representative Joe Barney said fixing the city's emergency services should be job No. 1 for Duggan if he's elected mayor.

"Public safety is the No. 1  thing that needs to be rebuilt in this city,"  Barney said. "Without a safe city, when you have a heart attack or you get injured and there's no EMS, you're not going to rebuild this city. Once you fix public safety, people start to thrive here. That's what you need to fix this. Once we move beyond the emergency manager, (Duggan) can fix this city."

EMS staff often show up to emergencies without police protection, something Duggan pledged to change by working with the Detroit Police Department.

"We're going to give (Detroit Police Chief James Craig) a fair opportunity," he said. "Certainly, he's set the right tone. We're going to bring police response to a head."

Duggan said he hoped to increase EMS salaries to lure workers back into the city. He also promised to "open up the books" and to remain transparent about the city's and the department's finances.

"When you are paying significantly lower than our suburban communities, all you are doing is training our suburban friends' future staff because people get their training here and leave," Duggan said.

The write-in candidate and former CEO of the Detroit Medical Center is considered one of the front-runners in the Aug. 6 primary.