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Dear ATU Members,
There were 51 senators who supported the American Jobs Act last week—a majority. It should have passed the Senate.
But even as outrage against an economy stacked against the 99 percent spreads like wildfire across America, Congress continues to fail workers, again and again. Last week Senate Republicans blocked progress for workers with procedural maneuvers—and prevented the American Jobs Act from getting a vote at all, in spite of majority support.
This shows just how powerful the 1 percent is—the richest Americans want tax cuts for themselves at all costs, even if it means cutting vital public services for the rest of us.
But President Obama hasn’t given up on jobs. And neither have we. He’s called on the Senate to pass pieces of the American Jobs Act. The first piece is the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act, which would create or protect nearly 400,000 education jobs while preventing the layoffs of thousands of police officers and firefighters.(1)
Tell your senators to pass the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act now.
Most of us can’t afford to replace police on the beat with our own private security guards—and who wants to live in the kind of society where we would need to? The vast majority of us rely on the government to provide education for our kids. And all of us—even the top 1 percent—need firefighters if our homes are burning.
What doesn’t Congress get? What’s so controversial about the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act? Republicans have supported bills like this in the past. This bill should have overwhelming bipartisan support.
Let’s make sure every senator knows we won’t let favored treatment for the 1 percent—like sweetheart tax breaks for Wall Street bankers—cut teachers, police and firefighters from our communities. Working families have far more votes than millionaires and we deserve and rightfully demand a society that works for the 99 percent.
Tell your senators: Let’s get this done. It’s time to get America back to work, starting with our teachers, firefighters and police officers.
In Solidarity,
Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO
(1) http://democrats.senate.gov/2011/10/17/fact-sheet-teachers-and-first-responders-back-to-work-act |
