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Thousands Rally in PA to End ‘Payless Paydays’August 3, 2009  WE WANT OUR PAY! – Thousands of AFSCME and other union members packed the Capitol in Harrisburg to demand an end to a budget impasse that is holding up payrolls. Photo Credit: Carl Socolow More than 2,000 state employees, most of them members of AFSCME Council 13, rallied at the Capitol in Harrisburg last week to demand an end to “payless paydays” – the result of a budget impasse that could force as many as 77,000 Pennsylvanians to perform their public duties without full pay. David R. Fillman, executive director of Council 13 and an AFSCME International vice president, called the state’s refusal to pay its workers “unethical, inexcusable and, worst of all, unnecessary. For 28 days, elected officials have served their agendas rather than the people – and, once again, state employees are getting shafted.” The payroll crisis is the result of a struggle between the administration of Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and the Legislature to reach a budget deal that will solve the Commonwealth’s $2.3 billion recession-caused deficit. Rendell contended that the state cannot pay its workers until a budget that was due July 1 has been approved. The day after the July 28 rally, Rendell announced that he will seek a “bridge” budget so that state payrolls can resume within a few weeks, and other basic operations can continue. The governor signed the stopgap measure on Aug. 5. The Rendell administration cites a Commonwealth Court ruling to back its argument that workers cannot be paid unless a budget is passed. Opposing that interpretation, Council 13 and other unions are seeking a ruling from the state Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear arguments in September. Council 13, which represents about 45,000 state workers, sent 27 busloads of members from around the state to the rally – the second “Day of Action” organized by several Pennsylvania unions since July 17, when 33,000 workers received their last full paycheck (containing only 70 percent of what they regularly earn). A week later, another 44,000 collected only 20 percent of their pay. If the stalemate is not resolved by Aug. 7, workers will receive no paycheck at all. Lasheba Dillard, a single parent of four children and a member of Local 2534 (Council 13), expresses the frustration of all state workers: “On behalf of my family and everyone in this situation,” she said from the steps of the Capitol, “please pass the budget now!” Read about the July 28 rally in the The Philadelphia Inquirer and learn more about the issue on Council 13’s website. Also, view Council 13’s photos of the Day of Action. |
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