Public Employee Press

Building Political Power in Albany
"The Voice, the Vision, the Vote,” inspired unity among thousands of conference attendees as Dems prepare to take back the White House in 2004.

Hundreds of DC 37 activists converged upon Albany to advocate, lobby and coalesce with state legislators over President’s Day weekend at the 33rd annual caucus of the Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, Inc.

Three stars of the Democratic Party — U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, and U. S. Congress member Charles Rangel — were among the top lawmakers at the three-day event.

“We’re here to celebrate our accomplishments and understand that there is still a lot of work to be done,” said Sen. Clinton, who called for increased political participation before a cheering Sunday night crowd of over 3,000. “Politics is not just about the election. It’s about our values and what we stand for. We have to recommit to voter registration and put America back on the right track.”

The conference theme, “The Voice, the Vision, the Vote,” resounded through workshops where many DC 37 unionists led discussions on issues like the governor’s proposed budget, health care and AIDS, education and the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, and jobs and the state economy.

Activists challenged legislators to preserve services in all communities and fight proposed cuts to Medicaid and education, as well as high unemployment levels, which disproportionately affect Black, Latino and poor neighborhoods.

Fight budget cuts
While caucus attendees milled about vendors’ booths in Empire Plaza Saturday, members in DC 37 health care Locals 420, 436 and 768 were busy gathering signatures to protest the Medicaid cuts. Local 436 member Judith Arroyo said it was important to get the message out that the proposed Medicaid reform would “affect human lives, which cannot be erased off a ledger.”

New York has been hard pressed by the national economic downturn since President Bush took office. The president’s failure to deliver the promised $20 billion in funds to rebuild New York City after the 9/11 attacks, and the state’s economic woes — including the loss of 250,000 jobs in two years — came under attack. Lawmakers warned that the 2004-5 state budget was no more than a “shell game with little accountability.”

“Rather than fundraising, the governor should be using his contacts to recover federal aid for Medicaid and 9/11 relief,” said panelist and DC 37 Political Director Wanda Williams. The proposed state budget lacks compassion for the needy, fails to attract or create the jobs promised in the last budget, and does not address the problems working families face, she added.

Citing the abysmal unemployment rate among black men — half are out of work (see page 19) legislators called for coalition-building, political organizing and increased voter registration to empower working and poor people to take back the White House in November.

Beat Bush in ’04
“Washington is trying to turn the clock back to the 1950s or even the 1890s,” said Sen. Schumer. The president continues to lead a full attack on women’s reproductive rights and workers’ right to overtime. Sen. Schumer called the president’s recess appointment of civil rights opponent Charles W. Pickering to the U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 16 “an insult to Dr. King’s legacy and a national disgrace.”

In a plea for solidarity, Mr. Rangel said, “We can dictate who will be the next mayor and governor. The next president can be picked by us. Remember Florida. On our watch we can take back what the Supreme Court stole from us in 2000.”