PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Act 47 Plan is now the law
by stephen donahue Tuesday, Jun. 29, 2004 at 1:35 PM
sdonahue412@hotmail.com

Implementation of anti- worker plan to begin immediately.

On Tuesday, June 29, 2004 the Pittsburgh City Council in a 5 to 4 vote made the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act (Act 47) Recovery Plan for the City of Pittsburgh the law. Effective immediately the plan will be implemented wherever it can be. As union contracts run out, new contracts will include wage freezes for city workers along with increased contributions from these same workers for their health care. Also the Act 47 Plan implements a punishment to bargaining units that do not bend over a kiss the boss’s ass. Called a Labor Agreement Implementation Delay Adjustment, it mandates a 1% decrease in wages for each month that a city union does not have a collective bargaining agreement that follows the Act 47 boiler plate. In other words, collective bargaining in Pittsburgh is now dead. Privatization, outsourcing and managed competition will also be the law for Pittsburgh for now on.

The new Act 47 Law also goes after regular city residents also. If you live in a mansion on Beechview Blvd. you are okay but if you live in neighborhoods like Lawrenceville, Hazelwood, Homewood or Carrick and you earn around $20 thousand a year you are going to get screwed. Revenue raising only comes from taxes on earned income. If the legislature signs off on it, them everybody who makes $12,000.01 and up will pay a new $145 Occupation Privilege Tax. The money the rich live off of like dividends, inheritance, interest and capital gains is not taxed, only the wages earned by those who actually work. The parasites get off free. The new tax on all for profit businesses will come from a payroll tax. Wonder how many bosses will just take that from their employees?

The provisions in this new law that do such things as close down city pools permanently and place $700 fees on your next ambulance ride are too numerous to mention. One worth honorable mention however is the Prisoner Processing Fee. Now every city resident who is processed at the County jail, and there are on average close to17 thousand of us a year who go there, will have to pay a $200 processing fee. Think about that before your next CD action.

Of course the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority says that this new law does not go far enough. They will show their cards in the late summer. It won’t be good unless you are rich.

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