3,000 go to Albany to fight fiscal cuts and press for increased revenues

By Diane S. Williams

Thousands of AFSCME members from all over New York State converged on the Capitol April 1 to deliver a strong message to Albany legislators: Fix the budget, restore cut fund and allow civil servants to do their jobs. DC 37 sent the largest contingent, more than 2,100 rank-and-file lobbyists led by Executive Director Lillian Roberts.

Concern for job security, quality of life and effective delivery of public services prompted the DC 37 unionists and members from AFSCME Councils 35, 66, 82, 1000 and 1707 to stand up for New York and fight to restore vital funding that Gov. George E. Pataki cut from his proposed 2004 budget.

The unprecedented turnout further emboldened labor leaders from across the state to call on the three-term governor to make “a better choice” in his budgetary decisions.

As it stands, Gov. Pataki’s budget threatens to cut $2 billion from the state’s Medicaid program and slash $1.7 billion from education by eliminating universal pre-K and increasing primary school class size — although students face tougher academic standards. CUNY and SUNY students face tuition hikes and decimated financial aid programs, and the governor intends to cut $1 billion in jobs and services.

If the budget passes as proposed, working families and their children would suffer irreparable damage for years to come, said Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.

“Not on our backs”
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver uncloaked an additional $6.7 billion in taxes, assessments and fees veiled within Pataki’s fiscal scheme which would restore the clothing tax and eliminate programs like Health Plus insurance for tens of thousands of poor and uninsured New Yorkers, Mr. Silver said, “It appears that TV ads were more important than people’s health to the governor.”

“The budget should be resolved on the revenue side, not on the backs of union members,” said CSEA head Danny Donohue, who called for unity from AFSCME’s six New York state councils and their more than 400,000 members. “We are not going to be played against each other,” Mr. Donahue said.

The governor’s proposed budget reneges on the divisive deals he cut with some unions in exchange for support over Democratic challenger H. Carl McCall in the 2002 election. Guest speaker AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee said, “AFSCME made the right choice, the others made the wrong choice and elected Pataki.”

The state’s $11.5 billion debt, its last-place rated bonds, and the lack of job growth indicate the severe economic decline New York and the nation have undergone since George W. Bush came to office two years ago.

“Bush’s policy to leave no millionaire behind gives the rich a $90,000 tax cut,” Mr. McEntee said, “and a working family $200.”

Citing the Republican party’s attack on the labor movement and the cost of the war on Iraq, Mr. McEntee asked, “What about the classrooms here? Where’s the funding to rebuild New York City?” The answer, he said, is for unions to “mobilize, mobilize, mobilize.” And DC 37 has done just that.

In the days leading up to AFSCME Lobby Day, the union held a shop steward rally, and on March 15 its Lobby Institute prepared members to meet with legislators on key issues affecting working families.

“DC 37’s focus is on restoring revenue enhancements that could generate billions. We want to see legislators reinstate the commuter tax, close corporate tax loopholes and impose a millionaire’s tax on the wealthy,” said DC 37 Political Action Director Wanda Williams. For example, loopholes and nondisclosure allow multibillion-dollar New York-based corporations like Toys “R” Us and AOL Time Warner to pay just $150 in state taxes — less than the average $40,000-a-year wage earner’s tax bill.

“It’s time politicians stand up for the people who elected them and make corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share,” said DC 37 Political Action Committee Chair Leonard Allen.

DC 37 pushed other legislative priorities forward at the April 1 event, including its petition drive opposing Medicaid cuts. Members distributed leaflets and hand delivered to each state legislator thousands of postcards, along with the April issue of PEP, outlining the union’s position on the fiscal crises at hand.

“We saw people power in action today,” said Ms. Roberts. “Members are the experts. They can communicate to the policymakers and legislators. Members saw the importance of lobbying and politicians saw our powerful numbers.”

As 52 buses returned to DC 37 headquarters, members geared up for DC 37’s Lobby Day May 6 with AFSCME’s powerful message in mind: “When we fight, we win. When we don’t, we lose.”