WHO:   School cleaners, mechanics, bus aides, bus attendants and other blue collar school workers

WHAT:  Shale Pay Up Protest. School employees from Philadelphia and Western PA will rally at Buchanan Lobby Firm—which represents key shale industry groups—and then march to Speaker Mike Turzai’s office.

WHY:  Blue collar school workers see firsthand the damage massive state funding cuts are doing to the education of our children. While Governor Tom Wolf and most Pennsylvanians support increasing school funding by passing a fair severance tax on natural gas drillers, Republican lawmakers have refused. They’re fighting to let the industry off scot free, while increasing sales taxes on working families. The proposed budget agreement would raise Pennsylvania’s sales tax to 7.25 percent, up from 6 percent, while allowing the shale industry off scot free.

Pennsylvania is the only major gas producing state that does not require Marcellus Shale drillers to pay their fair share with a reasonable severance tax. The workers will tell legislators to stop standing with the drillers and work in good faith to pass a budget that funds schools.

WHEN:               Tuesday, Nov. 17 Noon

WHERE:             Buchanan Lobbying firm 409 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg, PA

Followed by march to Speaker Turzai’s office

VISUALS:             Drum line, Signs, Banners

With 145,000 members in eleven states and Washington, D.C., including 22,000 in Pennsylvania, 32BJ SEIU is the largest property service workers union in the country.