The
International Association of Fire Fighters union has distributed a video to its
members that compiles several damaging comments Mitt Romney has made about
firefighters and other public employees, claiming the GOP presidential nominee
would make for "the most anti-worker president firefighters have
faced."
In
the video, entitled "Mitt Romney In His Own Words," IAFF President Harold A.
Schaitberger calls Romney "one of the leaders of the attacks on firefighters and
paramedics this election." The video goes on to show Romney at campaign rallies
and in interviews making comments on public-sector employees and budget cuts
that would offend many of the nation's firefighters.
In
one clip, taken from a campaign event in June, Romney blasts Obama for his
remarks that the economy's private sector was "doing fine," while tacitly
endorsing the rollback of collective bargaining rights for public-sector workers
in Wisconsin. "He said we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers,"
Romney says of the president. "Did he not get the message of
Wisconsin?"
In
another clip that also made waves in June, Romney states falsely that
firefighters don't receive federal funding. "The federal government doesn't pay
for firefighters or policemen, so that's completely absurd," he
said.
In
fact, as the video notes, local fire departments rely on the federal
government's Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants,
which help departments avoid layoffs and boost staffing. Firefighters, cops and
teachers on the whole receive billions of dollars in federal funding. Huffington
Post
AGB/SM
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