SEIU on SCOTUS McCutcheon Decision

[Omaha Steve]

For Immediate Release: April 2, 2014
Contact: Tyler Prell, 202-730-7278

SCOTUS McCutcheon Decision: Too Much Power for the Wealthy

WASHINGTON, DC – After the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in McCutcheon vs. FEC, Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:

“This ruling is an unwelcome sequel to the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United which will further erode the ability of 99 percent of our citizens to meaningfully participate in the political process and to have their voices heard in the governance of our country. Today, in a 5-4 ruling, a majority of the Court twists the freedoms guaranteed under our cherished First Amendment to use them as a sword to further undermine the foundations of our democracy. In Citizens United the Court ruled that corporations can freely use their amassed resources to drown out the voices of real people in the political process. With today’s decision, the Court has eliminated the long-standing limitation on the ability of billionaires to buy the gratitude and loyalty of elected officials with a blizzard of separate campaign contributions to candidates and political party organizations. Taken together, these two decisions will effectively drown out the voices of working people in the political process and deny them access to their elected officials. To a Supreme Court which equates speech with money, only the voices of the rich are entitled to protection under the First Amendment.

“This is a disappointing opinion that puts the underlying values of our democratic system at risk.”

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With 2.1 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers—not just corporations and CEOs—benefit from today's global economy.
www.seiu.org

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