SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger Responds to Chamber of Commerce Using Taxpayer Bailout to Fund Anti-Employee Free Choice Campaign

WASHINGTON, DC-- Today on their blog, the Chamber of Commerce admitted to accepting dues from member companies who have received taxpayer bailout money. In response to the Chamber of Commerce's admission, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger issued the following response:

The Chamber of Commerce's solution for fixing our economic crisis is to use funds from taxpayer bailed-out companies to fight smart economic policies that will restore balance to our economy and help rebuild the American Middle Class.

"Despite tanking our economy and demanding billions in bailouts, some financial institutions and their trade groups like the Chamber of Commerce are still fighting to protect a failed status quo of corporate excess. Their risky short-term profit schemes have put millions of Americans out of work; their long-term strategies appear designed to slow us down on the road to recovery.

"Over the years, the Chamber has made clear its stand against working people. They've spent millions blocking pro-worker legislation like the minimum wage, medical and paid sick leave, the Employee Free Choice Act, and expansion of children's healthcare coverage. They've used their influence in Washington to help build an economy where the average CEO earns 344 times what the average worker earns and taxpayer-financed bonuses and bailouts are just part of the cost of doing business.

"American taxpayers have had enough. The Chamber of Commerce must stop accepting taxpayer funds to lobby against taxpayer interests. It's time to close the chapter on corporate excess, rebuild an economy where everyone shares in the prosperity they help create, and restore America's middle class."

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