WHEREAS:
Puerto Rico continues its long road to recovery almost one year after the unprecedented devastation inflicted by Hurricane Maria, which likely killed over 1,000 people, caused more than $100 billion in damage, knocked out the electrical system, destroyed half a million housing units and wiped out over 80 percent of crops; and
WHEREAS:
The response of the Trump administration has been woefully inadequate to meet the critical needs faced by the 3.5 million U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico; and
WHEREAS:
The Puerto Rican economy was already plagued before the hurricane by long-standing structural problems, a vicious downward economic cycle exacerbated by outmigration, and a government that dealt with the fiscal effects of this downward spiral through austerity measures and by issuing more debt; and
WHEREAS:
The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) enacted by Congress in 2016 to address Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis requires that any fiscal plan must “ensure the funding of essential public services” and “provide adequate funding for public pension systems”; and
WHEREAS:
The fiscal plan certified by the federal government-appointed board established by PROMESA is based on an overly optimistic view of how structural reforms might stimulate growth and relies on unrealistic economic assumptions that fail to take into account the full effect of spending cuts and the loss of tax revenues; and
WHEREAS:
The board and governor’s fiscal plan “reforms” education by closing over 300 schools and increasing class sizes in the remaining schools, cuts the health and family services departments, makes major cuts to other departments and services, and pursues other undefined “right-sizing” and “government transformation” measures without adequate detail and justification; and
WHEREAS:
Reductions in the fiscal plan also include outsourcing jobs, personnel reductions through attrition and consolidation, a continued payroll freeze and a cut to the government’s negotiated contribution to employee health care; and
WHEREAS:
The board has imposed additional requirements to the governor’s fiscal plan outlined by mandating a 10 percent reduction in public pensions, and additional labor reforms such as “employment at will.” These actions impose an unjust and immoral burden on public sector workers, current and future retirees and their families; and
WHEREAS:
A fiscal plan for Puerto Rico must address the devastation caused by the hurricane and the problems that caused the prior deterioration of the economy.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will continue to fight for the preservation of collective bargaining rights for public sector workers in Puerto Rico; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will continue to coordinate its efforts with SPU-AFSCME Council 95 and other labor unions representing public sector workers in Puerto Rico to persuade the governor and the board to implement a fiscal plan for Puerto Rico that allows for a return to sustained economic growth, rejects austerity, protects pensions and labor rights, and proposes steps to adjust the commonwealth’s more than $70 billion debt, suspending any payments until the economy recovers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will continue to engage with the U.S. Congress to enact a Marshall Plan for Puerto Rico, which would provide billions of dollars in economic stimulus to revive public health services, improve public education, increase fire and police protection, restore basic sanitation, provide services to the elderly and other vulnerable populations, and rebuild infrastructure; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will continue its efforts to persuade the U.S. Congress to pass legislation that provides equal treatment for Puerto Rico under Medicaid, Medicare and other federal programs that are critical to the public’s health, welfare, safety and security.
SUBMITTED BY:
Annette A. González Pérez, President and Delegate
Nilsa Gómez, Secretary
SPUPR/AFSCME Council 95
Puerto Rico