Fight for a Fair Economy (FFE-Buffalo Chapter) held an all-day training on February 18 for some one hundred 1199ers and community activists on how to help develop, implement and change policies and practices that will result in an economy that will work for everyone. A focus was on working together to end corporate giveaways and start investing our money in schools, healthcare, infrastructure, quality of life services and good jobs.



Leaders were trained on issues of corporate tax loopholes and tax subsidies and honed their skills to engage legislators, the public, and the press. This new effort is centered on ongoing leadership development and mobilization in order to hold elected officials accountable, win adequate funding for the programs that matter most to working Western New Yorkers and communities in need.



“Big corporations are using tax loopholes to avoid paying their fair share in taxes, which leads to budget cuts and job layoffs because there is less tax revenue for essential public services” said Jeffrey Anderson, an 1199SEIU member. “I am an unemployed healthcare worker, and I lost my job because the healthcare facility where I worked was forced to close due to a lack of funding, because corporations are not paying what they should be. This year corporations will receive over $1 billion in tax refunds from New York State, despite record profits. The middle class has to make up for this loss of tax revenue, and our communities get cheated out of much needed funding.”



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“Corporations have gamed our economic development system,” said Agnes Mabins with the Civil Service Employees Association Local 815. “Businesses get big tax breaks while failing to create the good jobs they promise. Each year in New York State, we lose another $8 billion dollars through Industrial Development Agencies and various subsidy programs. Locally, the Amherst IDA gave Northtown Automotive a $536,000 tax break to move its Lexus dealership across the street on Sheridan Drive. This tax break increases the tax burden on all Erie County residents.”



“It is time to do right by hard working families,” said Bill Roberts, a member of Nativity Church in Amherst. “Closing corporate tax loopholes and reining-in subsidy spending would provide more than $9 billion to invest in the things our communities really need – good jobs, good schools, quality health care, well-funded transit, and good public services.” If you are interested in getting involved, please call Don at 716.995.3708.