For Immediate Release
Tuesday, February 05, 2002
AFSCME Hosts Conference to Help Members Develop Strategies to Battle $50 Billion State Budget Shortfalls
Conference to take place Feb. 13-15 in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON —States across the nation are now facing a $50 billion deficit, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, is convening a conference of state and local labor leaders this month to battle the effects of the worst budget crisis in two decades.
The AFSCME Budget Crisis Strategies Conference will take place Feb. 13-15 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Because of the recession, skyrocketing health care costs and staggering unemployment, states and localities are finding it increasingly difficult to fund vital public services for their residents including public safety, education and health care. The problem would worsen because of the Bush administration's plans to cut business taxes and reduce Medicaid reimbursements by $9 billion.
AFSCME's plan involves grassroots solutions to help cities, states and public service employees, many of whom were recently labeled "everyday heroes" because of their hard work and sacrifice in light of the terrorist bombings, recover from the recession. The plan involves lowering health care costs, tapping "rainy day" funds, increased federal aid, and creative state borrowing and revenue raising.
AFSCME International President Gerald W. McEntee and AFSCME International Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy will be joined by other speakers including H. Carl McCall, New York State Comptroller; Felix Rohatyn, former ambassador to France, investment banker, and architect of the New York City bailout in the late 1970s; and Bernie Horn, policy director, Center for Policy Alternatives.
Who: State and local AFSCME leaders;
What: Develop state and local plans to help public service employees fight effects of the national recession on state and local public services;
When: Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 13-15, 2002
Where: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
Public speakers at the AFSCME Budget Crisis Strategies Conference at the Washington Omni Shoreham include:
Wednesday, Feb. 13
| 10:00 a.m. |
Gerald W. McEntee, AFSCME International President Welcome and Keynote Address |
| 11:00 a.m. |
H. Carl McCall, New York State Comptroller The Crisis on the Ground |
| 11:45 a.m. |
Bernie Horn, Policy Director, Center for Policy Alternatives The Health Care Crisis - Problems and Solutions |
Thursday, Feb. 14
| 12 Noon |
Felix Rohatyn, former U.S. Ambassador to France, investment banker and architect of the New York City bailout in the late 1970s Using Public Resources for the Public Good |
