SLIDESHOW

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

New York State Teachers Union gears up for fight with Gov.-elect Cuomo

Wednesday, December 15th 2010, 4:00 AM
Teachers union opposes Gov.-elect Cuomo's education cuts.
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Teachers union opposes Gov.-elect Cuomo's education cuts.

ALBANY - The state's powerful teachers union is lining up in opposition to Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo's agenda.
Richard Iannuzzi, president of the New York State Teachers Union, said he expects a battle over Cuomo's plans to cut school funding and impose a 2% cap on property tax increases.
"I expect the good people in the Assembly and Senate to push back on that," Iannuzzi said. "They understand the importance of education."
Cuomo has been anticipating attacks from major public sector unions and other special interests and has recruited help from private-sector unions and the business community.
Those groups are expected to help fund an effort to fight the ad wars the traditional interest groups use to try to trample a governor's agenda.
Iannuzzi stopped short of accusing Cuomo of trying to pit public and private sector unions against each other.
"Some of his supporters are looking to drive a wedge between the haves and the have-nots, and those are the haves that are trying to drive the wedge," he said.
The "haves," he said, are those with millions of dollars to support Cuomo's agenda.
"My goal, and the goal of the union movement, is to speak truth to that power," Iannuzzi said. "And what is fair is not balancing the budget on the backs of working people."
Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto called the property tax cap the "cornerstone to providing relief for our citizens."



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