For Immediate Release

March 5 rally attracts broad coalition

Feb 23, 2009 5:30 PM

A new alliance of community groups, advocates, non-profit organizations and labor unions has formed to push for fair alternatives to the devastating budget cuts currently being considered in Albany and here in New York City. Those proposed cuts – to education, healthcare, social services and more – will have a disastrous impact on neighborhoods and communities around the five boroughs that are already reeling from the economic downturn. 

The broad coalition announced on Feb. 23 a major “Rally for New York” on Thursday March 5 at 4 p.m. at City Hall to protest the proposed cuts and to call for shared sacrifice from the state’s wealthiest taxpayers.

Led by a diverse group of partners including the UFT, the One New York Coalition which represents over 200 local agencies and nonprofit organizations, the Working Families Party, Citizen Action, the Central Labor Council, ACORN, the Alliance for Quality Education, DC37, 1199SEIU, the NYS AFL-CIO, NYSUT and CWA, the group’s goal is to protect vital services and programs that so many New Yorkers depend on during these difficult economic times.

The new coalition is specifically urging the Legislature and the Governor to support the Fair Share Tax Reform Act of 2009, which would generate an estimated $6 billion a year in additional state revenues through a small tax increase for the wealthiest 3.5% of New Yorkers. Along with the infusion of federal stimulus funding and administrative savings at all levels, those new revenues would be a better alternative than cuts to fundamental services. The group will also be working to ensure that the federal stimulus money is used efficiently and effectively. 

Leading up to the March 5 rally, the new alliance will be launching a leafleting and phone bank campaign around the city on Feb. 24.

Governor Paterson has proposed closing an estimated $15 billion state budget gap by making devastating cuts including:

• Over $2.5 billion in cuts to schools and classrooms which would lead to larger class sizes, cuts to programs, and less funding for books, school libraries, computers, science labs and new technologies;
• $3.5 billion in healthcare cuts affecting every hospital, nursing home and home care facility in the state; and
• Billions in cuts to hundreds of programs average New Yorkers depend on such as senior services, disability services, eviction prevention programs, legal aid, emergency homeless services, housing assistance, youth services and crisis intervention programs.

More information on the group’s platform can be found at www.fairsharereform.org.

The architects of this alliance came together because they understand all too well how disinvestment in our communities during the 1970’s fiscal crisis destabilized and crippled our communities for years. They are determined to not see that happen again. 

“The federal stimulus package will have an enormous impact, but the budget crisis that threatens our schools and our city’s safety net services is far from over,” said UFT President Randi Weingarten. “Public schools still face hundreds of millions in potentially devastating cuts that we cannot afford to make. We must come together as a community and fight in Albany and at City Hall against any erosion of our children’s educational opportunities.”

“On March 5, New Yorkers will take to the streets by the thousands to demand that the big-money crowd who got us into this economic mess share in the cost of cleaning it up,” said Dan Cantor, Executive Director of the Working Families Party. “The budget crisis cannot be solved on the backs of working families alone. Everyone must pay their fair share, and together we’ll shout that so loud even Donald Trump in his luxury penthouse won’t be able to tune us out.”

“Governor Paterson has proposed to cut $2.5 billion in funding for New York State’s school children and he has yet to ask New Yorkers earning over $250,000 to pay a penny more in taxes,” said Billy Easton, Executive Director, Alliance for Quality Education.  “The Governor’s budget cuts leave a gaping hole in school funding, while the federal stimulus would help close the gap, there will still be a huge cut in state school funding unless we increase the income tax on high income New Yorkers.  On March 5, New Yorkers will send a message to Governor Paterson and the legislature: stand up for our children and help prevent cuts to our schools by supporting fair share tax reform.”

“On March 5th, people of all income levels, races and backgrounds will join together in cities across the state to demand that fairness be restored to New York’s income tax laws,” said Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York. “Cuts to critical programs and services will hurt working families, people with low incomes, the middle class and people of color the most. It’s about time that we all truly share the sacrifice by calling on the wealthiest New Yorkers to pay their fair share.”

“Currently not-for-profits are suffering from a loss of private and public dollars while trying to serve an increasing number of people in need of their services,” said Michael Stoller, Executive Director, Human Services Council of NYC. “Now is not the time to remove critical dollars. Budget cuts to human service funding streams will have severe repercussions for New Yorkers in desperate need of help.”

“Immigrant workers are an engine of New York City’s economy and are a large proportion of the current and future labor force,” said Ana Maria Archila, Co-Executive Director of Make the Road New York. “Investing in adult literacy programs that support these city residents in learning English is absolutely critical to ensuring the city’s future fiscal health.”

“Out of crisis, comes opportunity,” said S.J. Jung, President of YKASEC – Empowering the Korean American Community. “By enacting fair share tax reform, our state will find an opportunity not only to survive in the short term, but also to thrive in the long term.  This is a showdown over real people’s lives and basic fairness. In order to bring fairness to our state, immigrant New Yorkers will raise our voices together with all other New Yorkers on March 5.”

“The Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) endorses the call to action for all New Yorkers to join together on March 5 to ensure that the Governor and state Legislature put in place a progressive  personal income tax increase that asks New Yorkers who earn over $250,000 a year to preserve our social safety net.  By prioritizing education in the American Recovery Act, President Obama and the Congress have taken the important first step toward eliminating the draconian cuts to our schools that Governor Paterson included in his executive budget. The state  must follow suit by seeing that higher income New Yorkers contribute their fair share.  With this two-level approach New York will be able to keep the CFE promise to provide adequate funding to ensure a quality education for school children across the state and  to continue providing the other vital services our neediest New Yorkers depend upon,” said Geri D. Palast, Executive Director of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity. 

“The cuts proposed by Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg strike at the heart of a quality of life for all New Yorkers that DC 37 members work so hard to protect,” said Lillian Roberts, Executive Director of District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO. “State cuts to Medicaid and school aid, and city cuts to NYCHA, community centers, dental clinics, libraries, cultural institutions, education support services and more are not the solution, especially in this time of economic crisis. There are better choices such as curtailing wasteful spending on private consultants and contracts and asking millionaire New Yorkers to pay their fair share – by instituting a millionaire’s tax. How can we ask the Have-nots to get us out of this mess when the Have’s brought us to the brink of disaster? There needs to be shared sacrifice. The Have’s must pay their fair share.”

“During these difficult economic times, we have to do everything possible to protect our communities,” said George Gresham, President, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “Twenty-one hospitals and 48 nursing homes have closed in New York State in the last eight years. Two more hospitals in Queens are on the brink of closure. Our children may lose their teachers and face larger class sizes. Vital services to seniors and the disabled will be severely diminished. On March 5th, we are calling for fair share tax reform to help save these essential services from drastic cutbacks.”

“Working men and women across this city and state are more united than ever before,” said Denis Hughes, President of the NYS AFL-CIO. “With one loud, strong and purposeful voice, working people are demanding that the pain inflicted by this historic economic downturn be shared by all.  On March 5th, the labor movement will join with all New Yorkers in calling for a fair and even handed approach to solving this crisis.”