SEIU Local 11 vs. Billionaires for Bush 10-22

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-19-2007/0004685841&EDATE=

SEIU Local 11 to Stage Counter-Protest as Billionaires for Bush Show
Their Support for 'Embattled' Fisher Island Residents

MIAMI, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --- Workers, community
activists, and SEIU Local 11 will stage a demonstration to counter the
presence of Billionaires For Bush (B4B), who will be in South Beach on
Monday in support of residents of Fisher Island, America's wealthiest zip
code. The Billionaires vow to defend Fisher Island residents against recent
charges that they mistreat island workers and support their efforts to
avoid paying taxes on their luxurious homes. "These are our people," said
B4B Co-Chair Ivy League-Legacy. "When will ordinary Americans learn that
the very super-rich play by a different set of rules?"

WHO: Billionaires for Bush, SEIU
WHAT: SEIU will stage a protest as the Billionaires for Bush arrive in
a white limo to board the Fisher Island ferry and tour the island
WHERE: Fisher Island Ferry Terminal,
190 Mac Arthur Causeway, Miami Beach, FL
WHEN: Monday, October 22 at 11:00 a.m.

While middle class homeowners in Florida have seen their property taxes
go up 15% over the last 5 years, the wealthy residents of Fisher Island
have successfully petitioned the county to lower theirs. "We have a message
for the people of mainland Florida: "Thanks for paying your taxes so we
don't have to," said Billionaire Rob Dapore, adjusting a "Friends of Fisher
Island" badge on his tuxedo lapel.

SEIU has learned that the Billionaires plan to board the
invitation-only ferry so they can tour the island, shop for vacation homes,
and advocate for lower taxes on the wealthy. Between 2002 and 2005,
according to a recent SEIU study, Fisher Island property owners managed to
use the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) process to lower their cumulative
assessed property values $965 million below what they should have been.

"Workers on the island face segregation, discriminatory wages, and
rising healthcare costs," said SEIU Local 11 president Rob Schuler. Reached
aboard his yacht, Billionaires For Bush Co-Chair Monet Oliver DePlace
replied, "He makes indentured servitude sound like a bad thing." "We can't
let ourselves be bullied by a few underpaid groundskeepers," added Ivy
League-Legacy.

"I don't understand why the workers need to be on the ferry at all,"
said heiress Meg A. Bucks, "They can swim, can't they?"


SOURCE SEIU Local 11

[Robbien]

1. I just love Billionaires for Bush and using them for this is just perfect

The truths that come out of their mouths is horrendously funny and sad at the same time.