SCHUMER SAYS "IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE"

Troy, N.Y.--  Let see, do we have this right? New York isn’t Wisconsin when it comes to busting public sector unions, so said Senator Chuck Schumer in a visit to Troy just yesterday.  The Senator was also on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” earlier today, also talking about Wisconsin.  In any event, workers across America should take nothing for granted-- we are being attacked by both political parties and the big business donors who put them in office.

"I am not in favor of the idea we should just break unions,” Schumer said at Brown’s Brewing Company.

Looking at the situation in Wisconsin, where Republican Gov. Scott Walker wants to strip away bargaining guarantees, Schumer said the public employee unions are willing to deal with the financial pressures consuming that state and make concessions. Schumer said the governor has gone beyond what is necessary.

Talking more generally about labor conditions around the nation, Schumer pointed to the fact that the median annual income in the U.S. has dropped during the most recent recession by $2,000 to $46,000.

“The middle class is hurting,” said Schumer, who was promoting legislation to give microbreweries a tax break that would lead to job creation.

“The idea of just taking away workers’ right to collective bargaining is not going to happen: New York is not Wisconsin,” Schumer said.

CSEA officials and rank-and-file members have gone to Wisconsin to join the protests at the state capitol in Madison. Our parent union, AFSCME, was founded in the state.  We will have on-scene reports from our CSEA representatives in the very near future.

“We’re glad to hear (Schumer) say that. We’re taking nothing for granted,” Stephen Madarasz, a CSEA spokesman, said regarding Schumer’s assertion that New York wouldn’t go the way of the Badger State.

Looking at Walker’s position in Wisconsin, Madarasz said, “The governor is clearly talking out of boths sides of his mouth.”