National Candlelight Campaign Against Cuts Coming to Downtown Asheville
Media Advisory for December 10, 2012
Contact: Jeremy Sprinkle, Communications Director, 336-255-2711, [email protected]
WORKING FAMILIES TO BRING NATIONAL “CANDLELIGHT CAMPAIGN AGAINST CUTS” TO DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE
Senator Burr urged to say: No cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security and end tax breaks for top 2% at vigil on Monday, Dec. 10
(Asheville, NC - 12/6/12) North Carolina working families will gather at sunset on Monday outside the Federal Building in Asheville for a candlelight vigil to show public support and a moral imperative for Senator Burr and the rest of our congressional delegation to do right by workers, veterans, students, and retirees in budget negotiations. Doing the right thing means making sure the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes and opposing any cuts in benefits to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. Reverend Charles Mosley, minister of Nazareth First Baptist Church in Asheville, will open the candlelight vigil with a prayer. Two Asheville-area residents will then share a personal story about what Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid have meant to their lives. The vigil will end with a minute of silent reflection.
Since the election, working families in North Carolina have been mobilizing around the “Lame-Duck” session of Congress. On Nov. 8, workers and retirees joined others across the country for meetings in Congressional district offices. On Nov. 27-28, a delegation of North Carolina labor leaders traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby members of our delegation. The Candlelight Campaign Against Cuts is the latest effort to make sure Congress gets the message that standing against tax fairness and for cuts to earned benefits is not only hugely unpopular but morally indefensible.
What: Candlelight vigil against cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and taxes on the rich
Where: Senator Richard Burr’s office, 151 Patton Ave., Asheville, NC 28801
When: Monday, December 10, 2012 at 5:00 PM (sunset)
Who: Western NC Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, MoveOn.org, Nazareth First Baptist Church
Speakers:
1. Rev. Charles Mosley
2. Two Asheville-area residents with personal stories about our vital social insurance programs
Photo ops:
1. A group of two to three dozen North Carolinians lighting candles at sunset and holding vigil in the heart of downtown Asheville
2. Signs urging Senator Richard Burr to do right by North Carolinians
Interview opportunities:
1. Rev. Charles Mosley
2. Asheville-area denizens with a personal stake in negotiations on averting the “fiscal cliff”
3. Labor leader Mark Case, president of the Western NC Central Labor Council
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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.
