City and county employees will gather at Macon City Hall Saturday morning to march in opposition to consolidation.
They will be joined by leaders from local chapters of the AFL-CIO and NAACP. Speakers include state Senate candidate David Lucas, Macon City Councilman Lonnie Miley and local NAACP chapter president David Booker.
The rally is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
THE MACON-BIBB CONSOLIDATION BILL (HB 1171)
The march is being organized by the state chapter of Service Employees International Union/National Association of Government Employees (SEIU/NAGE), according to a news release by union spokeswoman Anna Avato.
LINK TO WMAZ'S COVERAGE OF CONSOLIDATION
"When there is a mandate cut the budget by 20 percent in the first four years, two things are guaranteed: loss of jobs and loss of services," says Miley, the SEIU/NAGE Local 110 Vice President.
He adds, in the news release, that he doesn't think the community can handle "the loss of hundreds of jobs."
Consolidation HB 1171
The union news release:
VOTE NO TO CONSOLIDATION RALLY AND MARCH
Macon City and Bibb County Employees along with community leaders from the AFL-CIO, NAACP, and other community and civic organizations will gather in front of City Hall this Saturday, July 14th at 11am to say NO to the Consolidation of the City and County governments. We will then have a non-violent March to the Bibb County Courthouse where we will have a RALLY with several community leaders speaking including City Councilman and SEIU/NAGE Local 110 Union Vice President Lonnie Miley, David Booker- President of the NAACP, Representative David Lucas, and other religious and community leaders. WE ENCOURAGE ALL TO ATTEND!
"Consolidation is bad for Macon and Bibb County employees as well as its citizens. It does not make financial sense and will cause devastating effects to the local economy. When there is a mandate cut the budget by 20-percent in the first four years, two things are guaranteed: loss of jobs and loss of services. With state unemployment rates at 8.9% and the Macon area averaging around 1400 new unemployment claims a month, the community cannot handle the loss of hundreds of jobs. Our union, SEIU, represents City and County employees and we will stand together and say VOTE NO TO CONSOLIDATION" says Lonnie Miley, City Councilman and SEIU/NAGE Local 110 Vice President.