March for Main Street Scheduled For January 7, 2009

The working people of New York will take to the streets around the state Capitol in the March for Main Street on January 7, 2009, when Gov. David Paterson delivers his State of the State address.

All working New Yorkers live on "Main Street" and thousands of them will march for fairness in New York's taxes, budget and services. Their voices need to be heard and respected as tough budget decisions are made.

The event is being coordinated by the NYS AFL-CIO, CSEA, PEF, UUP, SEIU 1199 and AFSCME, which combined represent nearly 1 million working New Yorkers. All have offered a range of alternative ideas to address the state's fiscal challenges through better choices than what Governor Paterson has put forward.

"The labor movement recognizes the urgency of the current fiscal crisis," said NYS AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes. "However, what is needed is a well thought-out solution to a very complex problem. The New York State AFL-CIO believes in a balanced approach to navigating New York out of this downturn. Budget cuts are not a cure all. While cuts will be part of the equation, we must also ensure some degree of economic stimulus while reasonably maintaining the services vital to the lives and well-being of all New Yorkers. It is important to keep in mind that we are at the very beginning of this process. As such, we must consider a long term, responsible solution that does more than just cut our way out of this economic downturn," Hughes said.

"The governor keeps saying that 'everything is on the table' but his proposals have only been about cutting back essential public services and shifting more burden to working New Yorkers," said CSEA President Danny Donohue. "We have put forward a number of responsible alternatives to save and generate several billion dollars for the state, which have so far been ignored. We have no doubt the governor will hear us on January 7."

"The state work force has already shared the pain of closing this budget gap with the 10 percent cuts to state agencies," said PEF President Ken Brynien. "The state already implemented $1.6 billion in cuts including $1.2 billion cuts to the state work force. The workers of New York State did not cause this budget deficit, we should not be asked to make all the sacrifices necessary to solve it. We have suggested many other responsible options that could reduce the deficit by as much as $10 billion."

"In times of economic crisis, the state needs a strong public university system more than ever," said Phillip H. Smith, president of United University Professions. "We are urging the governor to look for ways to raise revenues to balance the state budget, instead of slashing more funds from the State University of New York on top of the $148 million already slashed this year. "Cutting state dollars for SUNY will block access to college for thousands of potential students, delay graduation for thousands of current SUNY students, and undermine efforts to develop the educated work force we need to help speed our economic recovery."

"We remain hopeful that Governor Paterson's proposed budget for 2009-10 will truly embrace the governor's call for shared sacrifice," said George Gresham, president of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. "The proposals that have been put forth to date by the governor have fallen painfully short of this standard, putting the full brunt of the budget crisis on the backs of working and middle-class families. It is simply unacceptable for Albany to continue with massive cuts to crucial services without also asking New York's wealthiest to shoulder some of the burden as well. We are proud to join this broad coalition of New Yorkers who are standing up for fairness as we try to make it through these challenging economic times. We know that only by going into this troubling period together, with all of us making sacrifices, will we be able to come out of it together."

Other unions and organizations are also expected to join the March for Main Street.

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