Rally Against Proposed GOP Paycuts
ByMore than 300 public employees packed the steps of the Montana Capitol today to protest GOP plans to drastically cut state employee pay. The GOP plan would cut state employee pay by on average 15%. The bill was scheduled for a hearing this morning, however was cancelled just a few days ago.
The pay cut bill, proposed by Rep. Wayne Stahl, fly in drastic contrast to the Republican election promises of improving the quality and quantity of jobs in the state.
If put into law, the pay cuts would have a devastating impact on Montana as a whole, and particularly devastating impacts in our rural communities. In many of these rural communities, state employee pay is a crucial component of their economy. Therefore, this bill would not only hurt the pocketbooks of the state employees, it would also make it harder for Main Street businesses to thrive.
The enormous size of the rally stood in stark contrast to the size of Tim Ravndal’s Tea Party rally that was held shortly thereafter.
"We believe that the current budget, heading to the Senate Floor next week, unnecessarily pits Montanans against, creating winners and losers” 