NYC workfare workers plan protest
Workfairness, an organization of workfare workers and
supporters in New York, will hold a press conference and rally
outside City Hall at noon April 1. The group will protest Mayor
Giuliani's plan to end food stamps for tens of thousands of
poor people in April.
Under the 1996 federal welfare repeal signed by President
Clinton, state and local governments have the authority to
decide who will receive federal aid like food stamps. In
February Giuliani announced he would not sign a waiver to
continue food stamps for able-bodied single adults between ages
18 and 50.
The cutoff will have a devastating impact in many Black and
Latino neighborhoods.
Workfairness Co-Chair William Mason slammed the mayor. "Food
pantry shelves throughout the city are already bare," he said.
"But most people don't even know their food stamps will be cut
off. It has been hushed up by the mayor's kept press. There are
going to be a lot of desperate and hungry people next
month.
"What Giuliani is saying is that the lives of poor people
are absolutely meaningless to him," Mason said. "How are people
supposed to live on $68 in cash benefits every two weeks?"
He added: "Workfare workers and people on welfare need to
join with those fighting against police brutality. When more
people are homeless, when more people are hungry, then the
racist police will declare open season on us, just like they
did with brother Amadou Diallo."
For more information on fighting the food-stamp cutoff,
readers can call Workfairness at (212) 633-6646.
--Greg
Butterfield
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
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