Community, Labor Groups Protest George Amedore’s Support for Sending Jobs Overseas, Demand Fair Elections Campaign Finance Reform

Republican Committees That Support Amedore Received $193,050 from Companies, Trade Groups and PACs that Oppose Reasonable Limits on Off-Shoring

Albany, NY – Capital District members of the Communications Workers of America and Citizen Action of New York, along with members of other labor and community groups, rallied outside the Verizon Building in Albany today, raising the fact that Republican campaign committees affiliated with 46th Senate District candidate George Amedore received $193,050 in 2012 from trade groups, companies and PACs like Verizon that oppose reasonable limits on off-shoring of call center jobs.

“Assemblyman George Amedore claims in his ads to want to protect jobs, but when he had a chance in June to vote on a bill that would have ended tax breaks for employers who move their call centers overseas, call centers like the one I work in right here in the Capital District, he voted NO,” Amy Quinn, CWA member and voter in 46th Senate District.

Amedore voted against the “Save New York Call Center Jobs Act of 2012,” legislation that passed the Assembly in June that requires companies that intend to relocate a call center entirely or shift at least 30% of its total call volume compared to the previous year to give 100 days’ notice to the New York State Labor Department before the relocation. The Labor Department is also required by the bill to compile a list of the companies that relocate call centers (or shift 30% of their volume); companies that engage in off-shoring of call centers are prohibited from receiving state grants, loans, tax benefits or other financial support from the State for five years (A.9809, Jeffries/S.6918, Kennedy). The bill passed the Assembly 112-30, even receiving the support of 20 of Amedore’s fellow Republicans; the bill died in the Republican-controlled Senate at the end of the 2012 legislative session.

“George Amedore opposes the real campaign finance reform that New York needs to ensure voters’ voices are heard,” said Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York. “The legal bribery that happens through campaign contributions must end if we have a chance at growing our communities, creating jobs, giving our kids the education they need, and providing the services that every New Yorker relies on.”

George Amedore has consistently voted against real campaign finance during his time in the Assembly. He opposes a system of small donor matching funds like the one Governor Cuomo is supporting – a system that has proven to increase participation in elections and boost the influence of small dollar contributions in campaigns.

State Senate candidate Cecilia Tkaczyk said, “During three terms in the State Assembly, George Amedore’s voting record has made one thing clear – he will always put corporate profits and his wealthy campaign donors ahead of hard-working New Yorkers. George’s record of voting to raise taxes shows that he does not understand the difficult decisions being made around kitchen tables in communities throughout the 46th Senate District and all of Upstate New York. As working families struggle, George has been busy lining his campaign coffers with massive donations from the wealthy corporations that he has voted to protect during his time in office. George doesn’t share the values of the voters of the 46th Senate District and that is why they will reject his anti-middle class message on November 6th.”

“To turn this economy around, we need to move in a new direction and help the middle class — but George Amedore offers us the same old special favors for the very rich,” said Michael Kink, Executive Director of Strong Economy for All. “Amedore won’t raise the minimum wage, Amedore won’t close corporate tax loopholes and Amedore won’t get big money out of politics. But Amedore will try to pass more tax cuts for millionaires and more special deals for greedy corporations. It’s not the right direction for New York’s economy — and it’s not the right direction for the voters of the forty-sixth Senate District.”

Citizen Action of New York analyzed 2012 campaign contributions data on the New York State Board of Elections website to Republican-affiliated committees (i.e., the New York State Senate Republican Campaign Committee and the New York State Republican Committee and their “housekeeping” committees) from trade groups that lobbied against the Save New York Call Center Jobs Act and their member companies and PACs. (See the chart below.) The bill’s opponents, including Verizon and the New York State Business Council, gave a total of $193,050 to the Republican-affiliated committees. It is clear that Amedore benefited from this corporate largesse: Board of Elections data indicates that the Senate Republican Campaign Committee gave Amedore’s Senate campaign $107,774.69 in 2012.

According to a June 2012 report by the Center for Working Families (“How State Legislation Can Protect Consumers and Keep Call Center Jobs in New York and New Jersey”), Verizon, a major operator of call centers, shed over 4,500 New York call center jobs between 2000 and 2012. About 4 million people, or 3% of the U.S. workforce, are employed by call centers, according to a separate December 2011 Communication Workers of America report (“Why Shipping Call Center Jobs Overseas Hurts Us Back Home.”)

###