Sadly, the AFL-CIO became the latest union to cower before Bruno and endorse the anti-union candidate in Senate District 48 upstate. Will Barclay is Joe Bruno's horse in the race and if he doesn't win, the rumor in Albany is that Joe will just retire and not run for re-election. He knows that without holding the majority, there is no reason to stay in office because all of his power will evaporate and then he can't make all the sweetheart deals (with those unions for starters) that he has grown accustomed to.
So what is challenger Darrel Aubertine doing in reaction to all of this union drama with Joe Bruno?
Darrel's plan starts with efforts to retain jobs in the 48th Senate District, by protecting New York workers and promoting New York products.
Remove Benefits for Outsourcers: Darrel promises to work toward Senate adoption of the State Financial Incentive Protection Act. This would prohibit companies that cut jobs due to outsourcing from receiving taxpayer-funded incentives (A11682, 2004). While similar legislation was defeated in the Senate this January, Darrel believes public support for this idea is strong and he will sponsor it in the Senate.
Promote New York products: There are several ways to promote products made by New York companies. One way is to inform consumers about which products are made locally. Darrel authored a bill in the Assembly that would require country of origin labeling on food products (A1999, 2007). Another way to promote New York products is to ask companies that receive grants from New York to first consider New York-based companies as primary suppliers.
Legislation that did just that with University-related economic development programs (A389, 2007) passed the Assembly last year but died in the Senate. The COOL bill faced the same fate, passing in the Assembly only to stall in the Senate. As Senator, Darrel will work to make sure both bills become law.
If these unions that are involved with Bruno had a clear conscience, they could see the easy choice for who will protect upstate NY's economy. Of course they aren't, and are desperately trying to hold Bruno in his position to keep whatever deals that have going on indefinitely. Woe is Albany....time for a change!
|