AFSCME New York Members March on City Hall
March 25, 2011
On Thursday, AFSCME members led thousands in a march on New York City Hall and on Wall Street to demand that the wealthy pay their fair share to help close the City’s budget gap.
An income tax surcharge on the richest New Yorkers is set to expire this year, and if it does, the resulting tax break for millionaires will add $5 billion to the budget gap facing the state. This budget gap, in turn, is being used to justify deep cuts in aid to New York City, causing NYC to slash the vital public services AFSCME members provide.
AFSCME activists in New York are also fighting back against a proposal to eliminate day care services for 16,500 children, gathering petition signatures and distributing over 25,000 fliers urging citizens to call Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) and protest yet more cuts that target the most vulnerable.
Also on Thursday, New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness (NYFF) launched a statewide radio ad campaign taking Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to task for offering the richest 3% of New Yorkers a massive tax break while asking AFSCME members, working families and the elderly to shoulder the burden of huge cuts to public services.
NYFF, a coalition of labor unions and social justice organizations led by AFSCME NY, is providing a counterpoint to the Committee to Save New York, a business-funded group pushing anti-union policies.
