Media Advisory for Tuesday, May 15 at 4:00pm
Contact: Umang Patel, umang@fightforphilly.org; 267-254-7968 or Jess Burgan, jess@fightforphilly.org; 202-487-9409
Community Members to Roll Out the (Human) Red Carpet for Governor Corbett
Philadelphia’s 99% to protest Governor’s address to the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, demand 1% pay their fair share
Philadelphia – Hundreds of Philadelphians will greet Governor Tom Corbett as he makes a rare visit to the city for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s Conversation with the Governor on Tuesday, May 15.
Activists will demonstrate how Tom Corbett, the Chamber of Commerce and the 1% are walking all over Philadelphia’s working and middle class. Local community members will roll out the red carpet to welcome the Governor and others who are supporting a state budget that slashes funding for education, public transportation and vital healthcare services.
While the Governor “shares his vision for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Greater Philadelphia region” with the Chamber, attendees will commence the “People’s Conversation.” Students, parents, community leaders and activists from a diverse range of groups will talk about
Many of the Chamber of Commerce’s members take advantage of corporate tax cuts and loopholes that cost the state more than $1 billion in revenue yearly. For example, Comcast, a sponsor of the event, utilizes the Delaware Loophole which alone costs Pennsylvania taxpayers more than $500 million. Corporations in Philadelphia like Comcast are making millions off the 99% and profiting at our communities loss, and Governor Corbett continuously chooses to protect tax loopholes and benefits that favor the 1%.
As the June 30 state budget deadline looms, and Philadelphians have been told to accept a reality which includes the closing of forty public schools, thousands of good jobs slashed and the depletion of cash assistance, more and more people are demanding that the Governor stop putting big corporations and the very rich ahead of our families and communities. The movement against Gov. Corbett’s cuts is growing statewide, with hundreds of Pennsylvanians citing his proposed cuts to public and arts education in their outrage at his “lifetime achievement award” from the Pittsburgh Opera, and voters throughout the state traveling to Harrisburg to voice their opposition to his budget which cuts vital services to Pennsylvania families while protecting corporate tax dodgers.
What: Human Red Carpet to Welcome Governor Corbett to Philadelphia
Who: Hundreds of Philadelphians and a broad, growing number of community, faith and labor groups, including: ACTION United; Coalition Advocating for Public Schools; Decarcerate PA; Fight for Philly; Juntos; MoveOn; Neighborhood Networks; Occupy Philly; One Voice; PA Cares for All; Philadelphians Allied for a Responsible Economy; Philadelphia Unemployment Project; SEIU 32BJ; SEIU 668; SEIU Healthcare PA; SEIU Pennsylvania Joint Board; Teacher Action Group; Youth Art and Self-empowerment Project; Youth United for Change
When: 4:00pm on Tuesday, May 15
Where: Prince Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street