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Luchadoras to Fight for Tax Fairness on Tax Day

Jeremy Sprinkle
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Press Advisory for April 15, 2013

Contact: Jeremy Sprinkle, Communications Director, [email protected], 336-255-2711

LUCHADORAS TO FIGHT FOR TAX FAIRNESS ON TAX DAY

Turning Tax Day 2013 into a fun and memorable event with a serious call to action on Bicentennial Mall, 12:30 April 15th

RALEIGH, N.C. – Working families fed up with paying the costs for the lack of tax fairness will finally get a chance to settle the score between the people and the powerful when champions for both sides face off at a public wrestling match on Bicentennial Mall beginning at 12:30 P.M. on Monday, April 15th - Tax Day.

“We need a champion who will fight for justice and fairness, who will stand up to those in Congress who are holding the middle class hostage, who will challenge legislative leaders who want working folks to pay more so corporations can pay less,” said state AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, MaryBe McMillan, in calling for the Fair Fight.

Famed masked female wrestlers (and bitter arch-rivals) with the Luchadoras of Durham - Juicy Buns and her nemesis, The Scrambler - have taken up the mantles as People's Champion and Champion of the Powerful, respectively.

People’s Champ, Juicy Buns, knows about fighting injustice and winning despite long odds. To win tax fairness, “you’ve first gotta get in the ring,” she says. But in a time when 70% of federal deficit reduction since 2001 has relied on spending cuts, while only 30% has come from new revenues, will the Champion of the Powerful fight fair?

“We'll do whatever it takes to maintain our privilege,” warns The Scrambler, conceding nothing ahead of the Fair Fight. “So the People better bring it!”

Corporate and personal income tax elimination planned in North Carolina will cost our state more than $12 billion in revenue each year. “Tax loopholes and campaign cash won't help the Powerful in the ring,” responds Juicy Buns. “People power always wins in the end!”

It will be the People versus the Powerful in a fun and memorable showdown unlike anything ever held on Tax Day in North Carolina. Be there on Bicentennial Mall at 12:30 PM to find out which side will win the day!

For more information, check out the Fair Fight Tumblr at http://fairfightnc.tumblr.com/.

Who: AFL-CIO
What: Luchadoras fight for tax fairness in a brawl between the People & the Powerful
When: Monday, April 15, 2013 at 12:30 P.M.
Where: Bicentennial Mall (across from the legislative building, 16 W. Jones St, Raleigh, NC)
Why: Tax Day is a reminder that wealthy and powerful special interests aren't made to pay their fair share because too few lawmakers in Raleigh and in D.C. care about being champions of the People who elected them. This year, working people will get to settle the score!

Schedule:
High Noon, setup
12:30, program begins with remarks by MaryBe McMillan
12:35, introduction of our champions
12:40, the “main event” begins!
12:50, presentation of Grand Champion’s belt and a serious call-to-action

Press availability:
Before the Fair Fight begins, MaryBe McMillan with the NC State AFL-CIO, and Jeff Shaw with the NC Justice Center will take questions from reporters; Fair Fight attendees will be able to share their stories about why tax fairness is worth fighting for; meet the Fair Fight champions after the fight.

Photo ops:
1. Masked female wrestlers with larger-than-life personas, Luchadoras, battle it out in public in a full-size boxing ring setup directly across the street from the state legislative building with old state capitol building in the background.

2. About a hundred fans, holding signs and their own Luchadora masks, excited to cheer their champion onto victory!

3. Presentation of the first-ever Fair Fight Grand Champion’s belt.

4. Call-to-action from inside the ring by state AFL-CIO leader, MaryBe McMillan.

Unique recording opportunity:
The sights and sounds of an open-air Luchadoras match complete with referee, blow-by-blow fight announcer, and about a hundred cheering fans will create an unforgettable moment in North Carolina politics.

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About the Fair Fight champions:

Champion of the People, aka JUICY BUNS - From her very first days as the ugly dumpling at the bottom of the basket, Juicy Buns has had to work for all she achieves. After her family turned her out on the street, she earned her keep in the back alley wrestling rings of Mexico City as an apprentice to famed Luchador, El Santo. Buoyed by her training, she returned home to find her siblings - mad with power - had taken control of her small village and were forcing the townspeople to work for no pay in their dangerous dumpling factory. Juicy Buns defeated all 10 of her siblings in a single, epic match! She put the employees in charge of the factory, donned her mask, and set out to defend the workers of the world wherever she is needed.

Champion of the Powerful, aka THE SCRAMBLER - Quite literally the by-product of big business, The Scrambler was born in a pharmaceutical lab and raised as an experiment by a group of white-coated corporate shills. Her 5-by-5-foot cell was lined with old copies of the Wall Street Journal, and she spent her childhood memorizing stock quotes and farm futures. Now fully grown, she still believes companies are her only friends, and she fights for whom she calls, “the Big Man.” She has no empathy for her fellow common man and enters the ring only to gain power, money, and control.

About the Durham Luchadoras:
Designed to promote an image of strong, capable women with personalities to match, the Durham Luchadoras follow in the footsteps of the legendary masked Lucha Libre wrestlers of Mexico. As in Mexico, Durham’s Lucha Libre wrestlers care deeply about their community. Luchadoras fight for social justice with as much ferocity as they bring to the ring. Visit bit.ly/durhamlucha for more info.

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The North Carolina State AFL-CIO is the largest association of local unions and union councils in North Carolina, representing over one-hundred thousand union members, fighting for good jobs, safe workplaces, workers’ rights, consumer protections, and quality public services on behalf of ALL working families. PO Box 10805, Raleigh, NC 27605.

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