Needed: Respect!
From the Secretary-Treasurer: William Lucy
Imagine driving into a town or city through mountains of uncollected trash. Entering a restaurant and discovering there is no water suitable for drinking or food safe enough to eat. Checking into a motel and finding no heat or electricity. Imagine schools closed, police and firefighters gone and health care a thing of the past.
Although you may think I'm talking about New Orleans post-Katrina, I'm actually referring to any state, county or city without the vital public services we all depend on. If anti-worker politicians from the President on down continue to devalue public services, we may find ourselves in ghost towns where the everyday services we take for granted no longer exist.
The Bush administration's budget proposal for 2007 clearly illustrates a government that's run amok, decimating vital programs without thinking twice. From hacking away at key first-responder programs to cutting community block grants that help cities and towns provide public-run programs and create jobs, public services are in the crosshairs of the Bush budget.
WRONG KIND OF FIX
That comes as no surprise. The Bush administration has a history of misplaced priorities. Instead of fixing levees, it puts in the fix for thousands of pork barrel projects. Instead of investing in our infrastructure, it invests in tax breaks for the wealthy. And instead of funding first responders at home, it funds a divisive war abroad.
The message from Washington, D.C.: We don't care about vital programs that provide states, counties and local communities with resources to maintain mass transit, critical infrastructure, health care, training and education. We just care about continuing to give billions in tax breaks to billionaires.
This hits AFSCME members right where they live — and work. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), Bush's former budget director, is on track to have the first privatized state government, forcing 2,500 state workers from Council 62 who administer Food Stamps, Medicaid and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families to either work for privateers or find a new job. Daniels is also looking to privatize three state hospitals, and has closed many local Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices. As he increases unemployment, he's restructured the unemployment insurance office, eliminating jobs there and instantly backlogging claims.
TAKING THE HIT
Erie County, N.Y., has faced years of budget deficits. Its solution? Lay off county workers. Our members from Local 1095 (Council 66) and Local 815 of the Civil Service Employees Association/AFSCME Local 1000 take hit after hit. The county has delayed highway repairs. Social service providers handle increased caseloads. County probation officers who weren't laid off are experiencing a 30 to 40 percent increase in their workload. Ironically, despite unemployment growth, county employment counselors are being cut.
In San Diego, as hard-working city employees contributed faithfully year after year to their pension fund, the city was diverting its contributions to such projects as building a baseball stadium and expanding the convention center. Now the pension funding bill is due, and the city is crying broke. Despite a low level of staffing and a high level of taxpayer satisfaction compared to other California cities, Mayor Jerry Sanders (R) is targeting AFSCME Local 127 (Council 36) members and the public services they provide. He's pushing two ballot initiatives that will hurt our members and do nothing about the under-funding of the pension system. Our 2,000 members already agreed to a 1.9 percent wage cut last May. Now it's up to the mayor to do his part.
We must not let public services be unfunded, under-funded or awarded to the lowest bidder. Let's fight for an America where public services and the people who provide them are valued. Let's make that happen, by electing people who believe in public services and beating back the privateers.
