Buffalo City Unions Protest Outside Wilmers’ Home
(Buffalo, NY, August 31, 2006) - - Buffalo city unions took their protest over wage freezes to the doorstep of another control board member late Thursday.

Teachers, police officers, firefighters and other city workers joined the picket line outside an upscale apartment complex at Delaware and West Ferry.

Thursday’s protest targeted M&T Bank chairman and Buffalo control board member Robert Wilmers.

Buffalo Teachers Federation president Phil Rumore said, “Well, I think what our teachers are here for, is to do the kind of contrast between turning down a contract that would give people that make $8.00 an hour a 25-cent raise and asking for more, when some of the people live in beautiful places like this.”

Control board members, including Wilmers, say the city cannot afford to lift the pay freeze yet.

OK, this is going way over board. Where have any of these protestors been when the control board is in session? If you want to protest then protest there, it’s an open meeting so protest out in front of there. Why threaten the guys family? This is just wrong, simply wrong and just a perfect example of strong arm tactics the unions pull.

I heard one guy on TV tonight saying with the rising costs of gas, utilities etc we are being strangled….. Well guess what, we are all being strangled by taxes, gas, utilities and everything else. I haven’t gotten a raise in a decade. In order to give myself a raise I have to charge the people I work for more money, any increase I have gotten barely covers my increased expenses.

Ya can’t squeeze blood out of a rock and this rock is as dry as a bone. There is no more to give. At least I didn’t hear the word genocide come from them tonight.

Don’t like it? Try finding a job in the private sector, best of luck to you. Government employees salaries far exceed the private anymore.