The President's 2019 Budget Pushes Families Over The Brink 
 ByDavid Lawrence 
 
 The just-released President's fiscal year 2019 budget drastically cuts vital safety net programs for millions of older and our most vulnerable   citizens. The authors admit that soaring budget deficits caused by the Trump-GOP tax cuts and enormous spending increases will not be         resolved any time soon.   
 This is all great news for the very wealthy who will get huge tax breaks, and the military-industrial complex which will vastly increase the   obscene profits of war. The rest of us get to pay off government debt levels that are expected to rise by $7 trillion over the next decade!   Here  are some of the worst immediate consequences of the President's proposed FY 2019 budget  
 Cuts Medicare by $500 billion over ten years, threatening the health care of tens of millions of retired workers and their families 
 Slashes $1.4 trillion from Medicaid which covers long-term care for millions of seniors 

•  Calls for an estimated $700 billion in spending reductions by repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, which
  
•  will cut needed health   care for millions of families 
•  Includes $64 billion in cuts to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) 
  
• Slashes $90 million from Social Security customer service, which will delay benefits payments and create longer waits for many services 
  
•  Defunds the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps low income seniors pay their heating bills 
  
•  Fails to control health care costs by refusing to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, forcing them to pay premium prices to drug companies  
  

 Wages have been technically flat and in practice declining for decades due to corporate influence of politicians and public policy. Pensions   have been all but obliterated over the last few decades. War has been waged against organized labor. And now, in the wake of massive tax   cuts for the wealthy and profitable corporations, President Trump proposes to slash programs that help retirees and the working class to   attain proper medical care and make ends meet. 
 Our families, our lives are being undermined and shattered. It is time to go into the streets with our union brothers and sisters, our church   members, our school friends, our entire communities. It is time to put an end to the exploitation, impoverishment, and attacks on our very   existence.  
 Source:National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare ​

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 NYC Labor to came together in solidarity with the 1,800 striking cable workers to march across the Brooklyn Bridge, and rally in Foley Square. The workers at Charter/Spectrum have been on strike for six months, and we are with them in their fight for a fair contract.

Charter Communications refused to bargain in good faith, attempting to slash benefits by halting their contributions to workers’ pension and medical plans. Charter/Spectrum has unfairly disciplined workers for repeat service calls from customers, when the root cause lies in the company’s outdated faulty equipment and unrealistic promises to customers. The warehouse workers, service technicians, and members of the engineering department have been without a contract since 2013.

 IBEW President Lonnie Stephenson joined Local 3 Business Manager Chris Erikson, NYS AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento, NYC CLC AFL-CIO President Vinny Alvarez, and labor leaders and union members from across NYC to stand up for our striking sisters and brothers.