SEIU Local 11 Vs. Billionaires for Bush

MIAMI, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Workers, community activists, and SEIU Local 11 will stage a demonstration to counter the presence of Billionaires For Bush (B4B), who will be in South Beach on Monday in support of residents of Fisher Island, America’s wealthiest zip code. The Billionaires vow to defend Fisher Island residents against recent charges that they mistreat island workers and support their efforts to avoid paying taxes on their luxurious homes. “These are our people,” said B4B Co-Chair Ivy League-Legacy. “When will ordinary Americans learn that the very super-rich play by a different set of rules?”

   WHO:     Billionaires for Bush, SEIU   WHAT:    SEIU will stage a protest as the Billionaires for Bush arrive in            a white limo to board the Fisher Island ferry and tour the island   WHERE:   Fisher Island Ferry Terminal,            190 Mac Arthur Causeway, Miami Beach, FL   WHEN:    Monday, October 22 at 11:00 a.m.   

While middle class homeowners in Florida have seen their property taxes go up 15% over the last 5 years, the wealthy residents of Fisher Island have successfully petitioned the county to lower theirs. “We have a message for the people of mainland Florida: “Thanks for paying your taxes so we don’t have to,” said Billionaire Rob Dapore, adjusting a “Friends of Fisher Island” badge on his tuxedo lapel.

SEIU has learned that the Billionaires plan to board the invitation-only ferry so they can tour the island, shop for vacation homes, and advocate for lower taxes on the wealthy. Between 2002 and 2005, according to a recent SEIU study, Fisher Island property owners managed to use the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) process to lower their cumulative assessed property values $965 million below what they should have been.

“Workers on the island face segregation, discriminatory wages, and rising healthcare costs,” said SEIU Local 11 president Rob Schuler. Reached aboard his yacht, Billionaires For Bush Co-Chair Monet Oliver DePlace replied, “He makes indentured servitude sound like a bad thing.”"We can’t let ourselves be bullied by a few underpaid groundskeepers,” added Ivy League-Legacy.

“I don’t understand why the workers need to be on the ferry at all,” said heiress Meg A. Bucks, “They can swim, can’t they?”

SEIU Local 11

CONTACT: Tanya Aquino of SEIU Local 11, +1-321-960-3802