The story behind the firefighter tea party commercial.
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On Labor Day we first shared with you the commercial above from New Haven Fire Fighters Local 825 titled "The Tea Party". STATter911.com Communications helped produce the spot.
Now, as it starts it run on TV in Connecticut the story behind the spot is getting some play with articles this week in two papers and on TV newscasts.
Reporter William Kaempffer of The New Haven Register takes a look at The Tea Party video and two other commercials from the union. Kaempffer talked with a local Tea Party representative who believes the problem is government and not the firefighters. He also spoke with union officials Jim Kottage and Frank Ricci.
Here's an excerpt from the article:
Ricci said that PSA is “really not a shot at anyone.” The broker stands for Wall Street (not DeStefano, whom the union executive board endorsed), which got its bailout when the economy tanked, he said. But now-underfunded pensions funds took big hits just like people’s 401K plans did.
According to Kottage, borrowing a popular refrain at the height of the recession, Wall Street got bailed out but not Main Street, and not firefighter pensions.
What some people don’t understand, they said, is that firefighters contribute to their pensions and don’t get Social Security when they retire. But city officials have said that pensions, some of which in the police and fire departments reach six figures, and health-care-for-life benefits will bankrupt the city.
