Unions Bitch About Boehner To Warm Up For Thursday Wall Street Rally

At the Tax Day protest, Christopher Robbins / Gothamist

In the wake of the additional budget cuts and teacher layoffs announced on Friday, the city's unions are warming up for Thursday's rally on Wall Street by protesting House Speaker John Boehner's remarks tonight at the Economic Club of New York. Boehner, who is in town after stumping upstate for congressional candidate Jane Corwin earlier today, is expected to speak on "creating a better environment for private-sector job growth," which to the unions is code for "trying to cut funding for the regulations designed to prevent another collapse."

Thursday's rally promises to combine the forces of all the city's major public unions, including the United Federation of Teachers and 1199 SEIU. The special guest at the UFT's spring conference last week was Wisconsin state senator Jon Erpenbach, who led the state's Democratic leaders into exile in a failed attempt to prevent union-busting legislation there. While the city's government is in no position to eliminate collective bargaining, the protest will begin at City Hall before marching to Wall Street, closing the symbolic loop between business-cozy legislation and the citizens who supposedly shape it. Organizers are hoping to get more traction than they did today at the Blackstone group where they delivered a letter asking the financial behemoth to pay their "fair share" of taxes.

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By Christopher Robbins in News on May 9, 2011 5:45 PM

Comments [rss]

carishina

It's great and needed to bring back the voices of unions, teachers
and working class people to the media, we mostly see bankers, corporations and dumb celebrities speaking and making breaking news. I don't think this is boring and who says that everything the gothamist writes needs to be for your entertainment.

After all you're all seflsuficient independant upper middle class americans in may ways
thanks to the fights of unions and labor leaders... I applaud media
giving platform to the working class!!! I'm sure most of your grandparents were unionized.

proudliberal1947

Why not build Public Gallows complete with Hang man's rope and the Names of the Turd republicans on the rope.

Or a even better one Large Black BODY Bags with Love note on it like Hurry Home Love mom and dad. maybe they'll get the word, me I "ROFL" because these COWARDS will defecate in their draws. LOL