Labor ups the pressure on GOP centrists ahead of July session

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: The Hill

The nation’s leading public-sector employees union will launch a newspaper advertising campaign this weekend to pressure centrist Senate Republicans to support increased federal aid to states.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will spend $175,000 on newspaper ads targeting Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe (R) and Susan Collins (R) and Sens. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio).

The union is bracing for a major cut in public-sector jobs over the next year as states and cities scramble to balance their budgets. Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com, predicted earlier this week that as many as 400,000 workers could lose their jobs in the next year.

AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee is warning centrist Republicans that blocking increased aid to states will add to the federal deficit as unemployment rises.


Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/107969-labor-ups-pressure-on-gop-centrists-ahead-of-july-work-session

[jwirr]

1. The more pressure on them the better. It would not hurt for DUers

in those areas to write letters supporting the ads.

[Omaha Steve]

2. I'm AFSCME Local 251

I contribute to our PAC regularly to help with things like this.

K&R.

[AlinPA]

3. They say that teabagger Scott Brown is a centrist?

[cowman]

4. And just where the hell

do we get the money? Maybe if we brought the troops home we could use that money, but I just don't see where the money would come from.

[BootinUp]

5. Stimulus spending

to prevent deflation will pay off in the long run. According to economists I read stimulus spending so far adds less than 1% to long term deficits.