By the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO

– In a bizarre press conference yesterday, that drew quick condemnation from leaders in both parties, Tom Corbett announced that he had signed the budget, while issuing line-item vetoes of approximately 72 million in spending. The cuts were apparently intended to be punitive, as a reaction to the General Assembly’s refusal to pass Corbett’s signature pension reforms. In the press conference, Tom Corbett railed against unions, identifying them as ‘special interests’ who were working to block his agenda.

Corbett has yet to explain how the line-item vetoes he issued relate to the pension fight, or more importantly, how his pension plan would provide any relief to taxpayers. To learn more about why the Governor is wrong on pensions,

Pensions

By The PA. AFL-CIO

Currently there are attempts being made to replace pensions that workers have earned and contributed to. Elected officials have admitted that it is the fault of Wall Street and themselves for poor investment returns and underfunding, yet they want workers to pay for those mistakes. We must fight back with the truth.

Here are three things you should know about state employee pensions:

Employees have been paying their fair share all along, contributing between 6% and 10% of every paycheck to their pension, even when the Commonwealth and many school districts failed to make their contributions.
Politicians are trying to make public employees pay for mistakes made by the greed on Wall Street… but the changes they are proposing will actually cost the taxpayers MORE money!
Act 120, the 2010 Pension Reform Law passed with bipartisan support already reduced pension benefits and raised the retirement age for new employees. Now politicians need to fulfill their promise by honoring the commitments they made. Give Act 120 a chance to work!

The fact is that our public pension systems in PA are not facing a ‘fiscal cliff’, and there is plenty of time to allow the meaningful reforms of Act 120 to prove their value.

Check back here often and follow the blog below for updates on this critical legislative issue that affects so many working families in Pennsylvania.

Source: http://www.paaflcio.org/?page_id=158