WASHINGTON, DC - After automatic across-the-board budget cuts, known as the sequester, took effect today, Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:

The failure to avert the sequester will devastate vital services that millions of working families rely on and cost our economy jobs when we can least afford it. These harmful and unnecessary cuts are bad for the economy, bad for workers and bad for the state and local governments. Unfortunately, extremists in Congress walked away from solutions that the vast majority of Americans support.

"Working people will feel the impact of these indiscriminate cuts and so will their children. Rjo Winch, a child care provider from Hartford, Connecticut, worries that the sequester cuts to child care funding will leave thousands of parents in Connecticut without access to the child care services their families and children depend on. Hundreds of thousands of workers like Rjo will feel the impact of these cuts.

"Instead of allowing cuts to vital services like child care, Congress needs to focus on job creation and ensure that everyone pays their fair share."

With 2.1 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers--not just corporations and CEOs--benefit from today's global economy. www.seiu.org

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