Cheh Leads Charge To Freeze City Worker Pay

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

DC city workers might be forgiven for thinking they now work for Wisconsin, where public workers continue to battle attacks on their livelihoods and rights. While Mayor Vincent Gray has proposed levying a small tax on residents making over $200,000 a year to help balance the budget, Ward 3 Council Member Mary Cheh (right) has joined with fellow Council members Kwame Brown, David Catania, Jack Evans, and Vincent Orange to oppose the tax and to freeze pay for city government employees instead. “It seems that Cheh has decided it is better to balance the budget by violating union contracts and taking money out of the pockets of city workers than to ask a little more from those who have the most,” says Janelle Treibitz, Save Our Safety Net. Community and labor activists are urging those concerned to call Cheh at (202) 724-8062 “and tell her to support the Mayor's tax proposal and stop trying to balance the budget on city workers,” adds Treibitz. They’re also planning a Safety Net Reality Tour on Wednesday; stay tuned for further details.
- photo by Darrow Montgomery/Washington City Paper