During an American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) lobbying event to push an across-the-board pay increase for state workers, I heard a good bit of rhetoric from the government union about “fighting for pay.” Fearful that AFSCME views their fight for pay as a fight with the taxpayers, I publicly asked who they are fighting against. The response surprised me:
Jeff Mazur, AFSCME executive, claims that the union’s fight is with politicians who would rather spend money on corporate welfare, such as tax credits and publicly funded stadiums. I’ve written favorably before about AFSCME’s opposition to corporate welfare, and a publicly funded football stadium is corporate welfare at its worst. I’m glad more people, including labor organizations, are seeing the stadium proposal for what it is.
