Stop the War on Us! March On Albany to Stop Pataki’s Attack on Our Health, Our Families and Our Lives!

Tuesday March 25, 2003

As our government tries to silence opposition to the war overseas, Pataki has escalated his daily war on working people here in New York. Nearly two years after 9/11, unemployment in New York is increasing and many are still suffering from serious health problems from the WTC toxic air. Worsening conditions mean that more workers are getting hurt on the job. Thousands of injured workers are already suffering years of waiting at the Workers’ Compensation Board, often denied the benefits and medical treatment they desperately need.

Working people & their families are…

…UNDER ATTACK: Pataki proposes massive healthcare budget cuts

· A $1.2 Billion Cut in Medicaid

· Drastic cuts to Family Health Plus and Medicaid

…UNDER ATTACK: Pataki’s Workers’ Compensation Board delays and denies urgently needed compensation and health benefits to injured workers.

…UNDER ATTACK: Pataki sent police to brutalize and arrest injured workers peacefully protesting outside his mansion, violating their constitutional rights to speak out on his healthcare record.

We Demand that the Government:

• Prohibit mandatory overtime and end the long hours that rob us of our health
• Overhaul Workers’ Compensation System by providing immediate benefits, raising the minimum weekly benefit level, and resolving cases within 3 months
• Expand Family Health Plus so all New York working people can enjoy health coverage
• Provide reparations for its coverup of the post-9/11 health crisis, and establish an institution to study and treat the effects of the toxic air.

GET ON THE BUS at 8am at the YWCA building in Downtown Brooklyn at 30 Third Ave. between State & Atlantic and in Lower Manhattan at the corner of Rutgers and Madison.

Call National Mobilization Against Sweatshops (718) 625-9092, Chinese Staff & Workers’ Association (212)619-7979, or Workers’ Awaaz (718)565-0801 to reserve a seat.

Sponsored by The It’s About TIME Campaign for Workers’ Health & Safety