Governor Ed Rendell held a conference call with reporters this morning to discuss the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and Transport (SEPTA) Workers Union strike. The governor has been involved with the talks since Friday and expressed frustration that union leadership has decided to walk away from the table without discussing the deal with rank and file members. Governor Rendell said that union representatives rejected SEPTA’s offer of 11 percent increases in wages and company pension contributions over five years; no increase in employee health benefit contributions from the current level of 1 percent of pretax earnings, and a $1,250 signing bonus for workers. “It’s a good contract in the best of times; it is a sensational contract considering we’re going through the worst depressions since Great Depression,†he stated. “I’m disappointed that there is a strike and the way it was done,†he said, “union negotiators did a tremendous job they just didn’t know when to declare victory.†Check the PLS Capitol Toolbox to read the full story.
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OCTOBER REVENUE $19.5 MILLION LESS THAN ANTICIPATED Secretary of Revenue Stephen H. Stetler announced yesterday in a press release that Pennsylvania collected $3.5 billion in General Fund revenue in October, which was $19.5 million, or 0.6 percent, less than anticipated. According to an article in the Patriot News, the state’s three major tax revenue sources — the sales tax, personal income tax and corporation tax — generated $1.5 billion last month. That was down $64.2 million from what they produced in October 2008. The state says that collections totaled $3.5 billion for October, but that figure includes nearly $1.8 billion in transfers from state funds that were approved as part of the 2009-10 budget enactment. Click here to read the Patriot News article and get the full rundown of the collections by going to the Press Releases section of the PLS Capitol Toolbox. DISSATISFIED VOTERS HEAD TO THE POLLS According to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, a recent survey by G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Franklin and Marshall College found that 60 percent of voters believe that Pennsylvania is headed in the wrong direction. That is the highest percentage of respondents to answer in Continue reading Eye Opener – November 3 2009 |
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