NEARLY 100 EVENTS TAKING PLACE NATIONWIDE TODAY IN TARGETED STATES TO PROTECT WORKING FAMILIES BY STANDING UP FOR “FAIR TAXES, NOT CUTS”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – National labor groups, including the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, National Education Association and SEIU, in coalition with Americans for Tax Fairness and Health Care for America Now, are holding nearly 100 events today to protect working families by standing for “Fair Taxes, Not Cuts.” The coalition also launched an online Thunderclap – a tool that amplifies a message by saying it all at once in social media, including Facebook and Twitter. More than 1.8 million people will see the joint Thunderclap today: http://bit.ly/XxTfjV
“As Congress considers options to avert the $1 trillion in across-the-board ‘sequestration’ cuts slated to begin March 1, we are urgently pressing Members of Congress to increase tax revenue from the richest 2 percent of Americans and from big corporations. It’s time they pay their fair share of taxes. A fair budget agreement requires this. It’s wrong to reduce the deficit on the backs of the middle class by cutting vital programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and education,” said Frank Clemente, Campaign Manager, Americans for Tax Fairness.
“Republicans are yet again holding the economy hostage with another manufactured crisis. Voters across the country sent a clear message this past election and they want our elected leaders to make sure corporations and the richest 2% pay their fair share. Working families have already sacrificed enough. Republicans in Congress need to stop manufacturing one budget crisis after another to ram through their unpopular agenda and get their way. They need to stop trying to cut Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare benefits, stop trying to slash the safety net, and stop trying to protect Wall Street and the rich. Instead, they should focus on things that matter, like fixing the economy and putting America back to work,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
“Today, people from across the country are standing up for the vital programs that protect millions of Americans. Big Corporations continue to pay little to no taxes while millions suffer. It’s time we ask them to pay their fair share and protect seniors, working families and children,” said Chuck Loveless, Federal Government Affairs Director, AFSCME.
“Across-the-board cuts will mean fewer educators in our schools, students crammed into already overcrowded classrooms, shorter school weeks, 4-year-olds cheated out of early childhood education, and dreams dashed for aspiring college students. We cannot ask those in the greatest need to bear the greatest burdens in this economy. The 3 million members of the National Education Association are standing up to protect working families because too many critical services in education, health and other key areas have already seen a cut of more than $1.5 billion—a slash that our communities could not afford in the first place. We ask that Congress finish the job and protect Americans from the looming cuts facing the nation in February,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel.
“It’s wrong that some in Congress want to cut Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and Social Security instead of making major corporations pay their fair share of taxes. Many Fortune 500 companies get more money back from the government than they pay in taxes. Congress should make corporations and the super-rich pay their fair share in taxes, not take a meat ax to services that everyday Americans rely upon. Congress should reject any budget that sells out working families and middle-class Americans,” said Ethan Rome, Executive Director, Health Care for America Now.
“As we approach a deadline that could enact devastating automatic budget cuts, these actions today highlight the feeling of the nation – we need jobs, not cuts. Cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security are not acceptable options in addressing the deficit. We must invest in America and create more sources of revenue by making sure corporations pay their fair share. We cannot simply cut our way to prosperity,” said Peter Colavito, Director of Government Relations, SEIU.
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Contact: Trevor Thomas, Americans for Tax Fairness; 616-430-2030; @4TaxFairness
Amaya Tune, AFL-CIO, 202-637-5018; Atune@
Chris Fleming, AFSCME, 202-327-8420; CFleming
Miguel Gonzalez, National Education Association, 202-822-7758; MGo
Avram Goldstein, Health Care for America Now, 202-587-1634; agoldstein@
Tyler Prell, SEIU, 202-730-7278; tyler.