May Day Call For Working Class Unity In NYC: Unions-Immigrants To Combatby PeoplesVideo - YouTube

April 26, 2011 joint press conference on the steps of NYC City Hall joined the May 1st Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights with the Labor & Immigrant Rights & Jobs for All Coalition. The two coalitions announced plans to conduct a joint rally in Foley Square after the May 1st Coalition led march to the downtown site from Union Square. They announced intentions to combine forces in a post May Day battle against the forces of austerity and repression that have declared war on the whole working class.

New Yorkers to Wall Street on May 12: Make Big Banks & Millionaires Pay

COALITION PLANS WEEK OF ACTION TO STOP BLOOMBERG’S BUDGET CUTS WITH TAXES ON MILLIONAIRES AND ENDING GIVEAWAYS TO BIG BANKS

National Movement Connects the Dots to NYC, Demands Reform and Fair Share in Taxes from Financial Sector
A growing coalition of community, labor, and progressive groups announced today plans for a week of events starting May 9^th, calling for Mayor Michael Bloomberg to end taxpayer-financed giveaways to Wall Street and ask for fair-share taxes from millionaires to mitigate his proposed budget cuts. The week of action will culminate in a major mobilization in Lower Manhattan on Thursday, May 12.

The coalition, uniting under the banner “Make Big Banks and Millionaires Pay” will contrast the corporate welfare, property tax giveaways, and seemingly endless local and national tax cuts enjoyed by the financial sector with Bloomberg’s proposed cuts to childcare, classrooms, public safety, and dozens of other services working New Yorkers rely on.

“The big banks wrecked our economy and are back to making billions in profits and lavish bonuses, while the rest of us are still cleaning up the mess they created,” said Mary Brosnahan, the Executive Director of the Coalition for the Homeless. “Now Bloomberg has a choice: ask Wall Street bankers to contribute their fair share to fixing New York City, rather than enacting devastating cuts to working families.”

The organizers promise more than a typical “rally” on May 12^th, with a day of diverse, creative actions across the downtown financial district. Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers, said: “On May 12, tens of thousands of New Yorkers will descend on Wall Street, creating a giant school without walls throughout the financial district. Together, we will educate our city and expose the people and institutions that are destroying our jobs and our economy, and the politicians who are letting them get away with it.”

The week of actions coincides with a growing national movement by communities increasingly questioning the practices of the financial industry and fighting back against attacks on working people. “We are connecting the dots from the big banks that crashed our economy, destroyed millions of jobs and foreclosed on millions of family homes to the human impact here in the financial capital of our country, ” said Michael Kink, Executive Director of Strong Economy for All Coalition.

As the week of action approaches, organizers plan to release new data detailing the tax breaks and giveaways New York City doles out to the banking industry, as well as the effect of Wall Street-caused foreclosures on New York’s communities and tax revenue. “When New Yorkers see the skewed choices this city has made, it is no longer an abstraction,” added Kink. “Homeless shelters are bursting at the seams, and child care and senior centers are closing down -- not because we have gone broke, but because Bloomberg has chosen to spend hundreds of millions in subsidies for the people who need it least.”

The following community groups and unions have joined the May 12 coalition (list in formation):

Center for Children Initiatives
Center for Working Families
Citizen Action of New York
Coalition for the Homeless
Community Voices Heard
Housing Works
Make the Road New York
New York Communities for Change
New Deal for New York Campaign
Organization for a Free Society
Picture the Homeless
United Students Against Sweatshops
Urban Youth Collaborative
VOCAL-NY
1199 SEIU
SEIU 32BJ
CWA 1104
CWA 1180
CWA District 1
Professional Staff Congress – CUNY
United Federation of Teachers

Learn more at www.Onmay12.org
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OnMay12
On Twitter: http://twitter.com/onmay12

Walmart? FUHGEDDABOUTIT! - New York Communities for Change.org

On June 23rd, New York Communities for Change, alongside Working Families Party, RWDSU, SEIU local 32BJ, and the New York City Council Progressive Caucus (among others) rallied on the steps of City Hall to protest the proposal to open a Walmart in Brooklyn.

The message was clear - hard-working families in Brooklyn and throughout the 5 boroughs are OPPOSED to Walmart's low wages and mistreatment of employees.

NYCC and our allies put together this video message to Walmart. Wanna open up shop in Brooklyn? FUHGEDDABOUTIT!



Spread the word about the fight to stop Wal-Mart and share the video with your family and friends!

City Officials, Civil Rights Leaders, and Grassroots Organizations Rally Against Nonpartisan Elections...

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A growing coalition of city officials, civil rights leaders, civic groups and grassroots organizations rallied today near City Hall against a controversial proposal to make New York City elections nonpartisan, a move soundly rejected by New York City voters in 2003.

The groups say nonpartisan elections have been shown to suppress voter turnout, deny voters critical information about candidates, privilege well-known and wealthy candidates and make it harder for minority candidates to compete in elections. The rally is being held on the same day that the Charter Revision Commission is holding a hearing on voter participation issues, including nonpartisan elections.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said: “Nonpartisan elections undermine our democracy. They create a political system that is dominated by wealth, suppresses voter turnout and makes it harder for minority candidates to compete. Our broad coalition will fight to stop nonpartisan elections and preserve the diversity and integrity of our City’s democracy.”

“Voters want to know where candidates stand,” said New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “Party affiliations are important because they clearly tell voters where candidates stand on many social and fiscal issues that matter to our city’s electorate.”

Former Comptroller Bill Thompson said: “New Yorkers voted overwhelmingly in 2003 that knowing a candidates party is important to them and helped them identify the candidates’ core values and beliefs. Knowing your elected officials beliefs matter and the Charter Commission should listen to the voters of New York City and reject nonpartisan elections.”

“So-called minorities have been a majority in New York City for decades, but we've still had only one Mayor of-color, and the first majority minority City Council was elected just 6 months ago,” said Hazel Dukes President of the NAACP New York State Conference. “We've made tremendous racial progress in this city, but non-partisan elections threatens to undo those gains. The Charter Commission should listen to the voters of New York City and reject this bad idea.”

“Adopting nonpartisan elections would be rolling the dice with the city's democracy," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. “This proposal risks reversing decades of gains by minorities in city government at a moment when New York is more diverse than ever before.”

“Simply put, political parties give voters an idea of the beliefs of candidates,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “To increase voter turnout, we should be looking for ways to make it easier for voters to know where candidates stand, not more difficult. I’m a proud Democrat, and when I say that, I know it means something to people. The reality is, doing away with party affiliation gives unfair advantage to those who can buy the most name-recognition. The party system—be it two parties, three, or even more—is the best way for the electorate to form like-minded communities and to figure out which candidates share their civic goals.”

“The question of nonpartisan elections was already placed before the voters of this City in 2003, and it was soundly rejected by a two-to-one margin. The Charter Revision Commission should not waste its time rehashing old business, especially unpopular ideas that have the potential to disenfranchise African-American and Latino voters. The voters have already sent a crystal clear message that they do not want nonpartisan elections, and asking them again would only waste time and resources that could be put to better use,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Susan Lerner, Executive Director, Director of Common Cause said, “Study after study reveals that nonpartisan elections actually decrease voter turnout and disadvantage minority and working class voters. If we truly want to increase civic participation, the Commission should look into changing the time of the municipal election to the fall when federal elections are held and instituting a Vote by Mail system. The Commission should be looking to put more information on the ballot, rather than less.”

Dan Cantor, Working Families Party Executive Director said: “Voters know nonpartisan elections weakens our democracy and gives another leg up to wealthy candidates who can outspend the competition. That’s why they’ve resoundingly rejected the idea, and why the Charter Commission should too.”

“Nonpartisan elections will further disengage low-wage communities of color from the political process,” said Hector Figueroa, 32BJ Secretary-Treasurer. “We should be focusing on strategies to reach out to these communities, not to turn them away.”

Mayor Bloomberg Under Fire for his 'Trickle-down Theory': Spend Money to Make Money by Adam Lisberg - NY Daily News

I just wonder if being the richest person in New York City and his own tax savings influences his decision not to tax the rich more...Doh..!

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Mayor Bloomberg is being slammed by conservatives and liberals for his 'trickle-down theory' of New York's economy. Whyld/AP

Mayor Bloomberg has a trickle-down theory of New York's economy: Spend money to make money, and make sure the people at the top have money to spend.

He believes in generating jobs through big projects like rebuilding Coney Island and Willets Point - subsidizing them with tax breaks and public money if necessary.

At the same time, he protects rich New Yorkers from any more tax hikes, saying their big spending creates jobs for everyone else.

Just 18,000 New Yorkers pay half the city's income taxes, Bloomberg said last week, while half of New Yorkers pay no income taxes at all.

"If you hurt, for example, our financial services industry, it's the people at the bottom ... that are going to get laid off," Bloomberg said.

Now he's being challenged on several fronts. The opposition comes from different sides of the spectrum - and isn't always consistent - but agrees that just because Bloomberg dominates the budget process doesn't mean he's right.

Call it the trickle-up theory.

"If nobody can show that trickle-down theory works," said Controller John Liu, "we should get rid of it."

The conservative Citizens Budget Commission slammed Bloomberg's $2 billion third-term economic development plan, saying there's no evidence it generates new business.

The liberal Fiscal Policy Institute slammed Bloomberg's reliance on Wall Street, saying he should focus on bringing up the subpoverty-level wages of the poorest working New Yorkers.

"Relying on better wages for every New Yorker makes a lot more sense as an economic recovery strategy than waiting for Wall Street bonuses to trickle down," wrote FPI economist James Parrott.

The tension was on display last week at a hearing on a bill to require a prevailing wage for workers at buildings with city-funded tenants.

The Bloomberg administration said it would force rents up, but it has strong Council support. (It helps that the bill is backed by building workers union 32BJ, which backs the Working Families Party, which helped some Council members get elected.)

Less likely is a tax on Wall Street bonuses, pushed by the Council's WFP-backed Progressive Caucus, which contends it won't drive rich New Yorkers to leave. They don't have the votes to pass it, but they want to steer the conversation their way.

Councilman Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn) said Bloomberg doesn't seem to worry about why so few New Yorkers are at the top of the tax bracket and so many are at the bottom.

If Bloomberg really wants to grow jobs, Lander said, he would reverse one of his proposed budget cuts: Saving $4 million by eliminating 737 low-wage Parks Department training jobs for people on welfare just entering the workforce.

"It seems to me that's one of the areas where you'd want to expand instead of cutting back," Lander said. "I'd rather see us use more of our economic development resources in projects that more directly create jobs."

Powerful Union 32BJ Endorses Dems www.qgazette.com Queens Gazette

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After previously announcing the endorsements of eight incumbent city councilmembers from Queens who are seeking re-election, the politically powerful Service Employees International Union, Local 32 BJ has also endorsed the four Democrats running for "open" council seats.

They are Assemblymember Mark Weprin (District 23, Hollis), who's running to replace his brother David, a candidate for city comptroller; Jimmy Van Bramer (District 26, Long Island City), seeking to replace Eric Gioia, who's running for Public Advocate; S.J. Jung (District 20, Flushing), who's running to replace John Liu, also running for city comptroller, and Frank Gulluscio, (District 32, Howard Beach), challenging Councilmember Eric Ulrich, the only Republican in the council.

Local 32 BJ had previously also endorsed Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Republican/Independence Party candidate for mayor, and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, a Democrat.

Local 32 BJ, the largest property service union in the country has 70,000 members in New York City, 17,600 of them in Queens. As part of its political program the union intends to mobilize thousands of members to turn out Queens voters in support of these candidates, according to a release announcing the endorsements.

Interview with Camille Rivera - Assistant Political Director - Local 32bj SEIU on The Perez Notes on Wednesday March 4th at 6pm...

On Wednesday, March 4th at 6PM, Roberto Perez will be interviewing Camille Rivera who is the Assistant Political Director for local 32BJ SEIU.

To listen to the interview go to www.lagcc.cuny.edu/webradio. THE PEREZ NOTES airs every Wednesday from 6-8PM so spread the news and tell a friend.

Working Family Party Celebrates Ferreras Victory in 21st City Council District...

The Working Families Party congratulated today the historic victory of Queens City Council candidate Julissa Ferreras in the Special Election for the 21st City Council district.

The grassroots party played a major role in the victory, lending its staff to run Ferreras' bid to become the first Latina elected official in Queens.

“Julissa Ferreras will be a force for New York’s working families in the City Council,” said a jubilant Jose Schiffino, member of the Queens Chapter of the Working Families Party. “We endorsed Ferreras because of her tireless work fighting for responsible development and better schools, and we’re proud to have helped put her over the top.”

Working Families Party staff ran the Ferreras effort, and organizer Ted Fertik served as the campaign manager. The WFP and its affiliates, including ACORN, the Hotel Trades Council, and SEIU locals 1199 and 32BJ, together knocked on over 20,000 doors to help put Ferreras across the finish line.

Julissa Ferreras said: “Without the Working Families Party, I never would have been able to get out my message of uniting our communities. This campaign was about fighting for all of us, and I was proud to have the WFP with me every step of the way.”

The Working Families Party has helped elect dozens of City Councilmembers, including Letitia James, who became the first victorious third party Council candidate in decades in 2003.

In 2008, the Working Families Party received over 210,000 combined votes across New York for its Congressional candidates.

New Player Enters Senate Fight by Irene Jay Liu - New York Politics Capitol Confidential - Albany Times Union

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32BJ SEIU, the largest private sector union in the state, and sister union to the powerful 1199 SEIU healthcare union, is thowing themselves into the fight for the Senate majority. And unlike their sister, they’re backing the Senate Democrats.

32BJ has committed upwards of $250,000 to the wider effort of helping the Democrats take control of the Senate. They’ve donated to individual campaigns, given money to the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, and are doing independent mail and television ads for select candidates, including Democrats Brian Foley on Long Island, “Baby Joe” Mesi in Buffalo, and Joseph Addabbo in Queens.

The photo above is from a mailer that 32BJ is sending out to households in the 3rd SD on behalf of Democratic challenger Brian Foley, who is challenging Republican Sen. Caesar Trunzo. They’ll be sending out five different mailers, not in coordination with the campaign. See two full mailers here and here.

In addition, they are enlisting their membership to help Addabbo against Maltese. In this race, they’ll be up against their sister union, 1199, which recently endorsed Maltese.

Also, the union is heavily supporting Mesi in Wester New York. They’ve purchased airtime and will run television ads for the last ten days of the race, starting next Friday.

This is the first time that 32BJ has really thrown itself into the Senate fight, and unlike most unions (which generally support incumbents), is thowing all its resources behind the Democrats.

The majority of 32BJ’s membership is in the New York Metro area, but they’re weighing in heavily in an upstate race, a “sign of things to come,” said 32BJ spokesman Matthew Nerzig.

The union represents building maintenance workers and deals mostly with private real estate companies - and have had less intereaction with state government compared with 1199. Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith is a businessman and has ties to the real estate industry.

32BJ is heavily invested in IDA reform and part of the reason they are working so hard in the Foley/ Trunzo race is because Trunzo “has not been very cooperative in helping our efforts to reform IDAs,” said Nerzig.