How many kids need to go hungry to pay for corporate tax breaks and giveaways? Apparently, 2 million — unless we act together right now to stop it. 

Tell Congress: No child should go hungry to pay for corporate tax breaks.

Here’s what’s happening: Just before Memorial Day, Tim Cook — CEO of Apple — went before Congress when Apple’s complex, but entirely legal, tax-avoidance scheme was exposed. Congress put on a show about how outrageous it is. But, at nearly the same time, when the cameras weren’t rolling, the House Agricultural Committee voted to give more subsidies to big agribusiness and cut food aid for 2 million families, kids and seniors.

Harsh cuts like these aren't a necessity. They are a choice to support tax breaks for the wealthy and big businesses (like Apple) by literally taking food from hungry kids. 

It’s beyond outrageous. It’s morally reprehensible. Tell your representative to reject cuts to food aid for hungry children in order to pay for corporate giveaways.

It’s a national shame that one in five children in America are at risk of hunger while companies like Apple skirt taxes on at least $74 billion in profit. This is the price America pays when Congress refuses to fix our rigged tax system that lets corporations and the rich get away with it. 

The bottom line is that children should not go hungry to pay for corporate tax giveaways — for Apple or any other big businesses.

The House of Representatives begins debate this week on a bill that would cut $20 billion from food stamps. (And use that money to pay for wasteful subsidies for big corporations!) That would mean cutting off two million Americans from benefits as well as 280,000 school-age children from their free school meals.

The full House will vote soon on whether to accept these cuts. Send your representative a message right now telling them to put nutritional aid before corporate subsidies.

Thanks in advance for taking action and please help spread the word after you have — we need to make sure Congress hears from everyone on this one. Kids are going hungry and corporations are getting richer. We have to stop it. In solidarity, AFSCME

300 Million Engines of Growth - A Middle-Out Plan for Jobs, Business, and a Growing Economy!

No one has all the answers or can predict with precision what the best economic policies will be in five years or in ten. Economic realities are constantly evolving, and policymaking needs to keep up. But while the future will always contain unknowns, the policies we propose are grounded in both economic theory and empirical analysis. They would build a stronger economy and provide the means to adapt to changing times.

The United States is at an important juncture. We can proceed as we have in recent years, with income inequality rising, growth stagnating, middle-class incomes falling, crisis compounding on crisis—all circumstances that have coincided with the growth of a philosophical view that is opposed to any public attempts to address shared economic challenges and a fatalism about America’s future. Or we can choose to make investments that need to be made and reform the aspects of our economy that are not performing up to 21st century standards. We just have to agree to do so.

Last week the Center for American Progress released a plan to boost the U.S. economy with investments and policies benefiting middle-class workers. The 250-page plan is based on the premise that shared prosperity is essential for a thriving economy. The plan proposes policy solutions to improve the skills and earning power of middle-class workers and to create an economy with good-paying jobs. Proposals include making it easier for workers to form labor unions, funding one million new apprenticeship programs in American companies, making college more affordable, enacting the President’s preschool for all initiative, raising the minimum wage, and overhauling immigration policy.  It also recommends new or increased taxes on carbon emissions, financial transactions on Wall Street, dividends, capital gains and profits of targeted corporations, including oil companies. ~ Center for American Progress

The AFSCME Master Negotiations Committee has been meeting for the past few months and have agreed to a number of proposals for the contract. The Committee will wrap up their work at the June 24th meeting. After that, the final contract proposal will be polished and readied for presentation to the Employer at our first Negotiations meeting scheduled for August 12th.