Recently in Victories Category

Source: By Tara Lohan, AlterNet, July 9, 2010  

 In 2008, weeks after communities all over the United States celebrated the Fourth of July, the tiny town of Felton, Calif., marked its own holiday: Water Independence Day. With barbecue, music, and dancing, residents marked the end of Felton's six-year battle to gain control of its water system. The fight, like the festivities, was a grassroots effort. For when a large, private corporation bought Felton's water utility and immediately raised rates, residents organized, leading what was ultimately a successful campaign for public ownership and inspiring other communities nationwide.

.... Like many other communities with a privately controlled water system, Felton quickly experienced some of the drawbacks: skyrocketing rates, and little public recourse. But officials of some cash-strapped towns seek privatization because they believe a corporation will help lift their burden.

 Source: by Mike Hall, AFL-CIO blog, Jun 16, 2010 

Union and community activists in Trenton, N.J., rallied voters with door-to-door campaigning to beat back the New Jersey American Water Company's nearly $250,000 advertising and mail blitz to privatize a prized and profitable part of the city's water system.

In a referendum yesterday, voters rejected, 6,968 to 1,812, a proposal to sell to American Water the city's municipally owned Trenton Water Works suburban infrastructure--pipes, water towers and tanks. Said Bob Houser of the Utility Workers (UWUA):

Source: AFSCME Council 31 On The Move, April 2010 (see p. 11)

Source: By Jennifer Coffman, Ann Arbor News (MI) May 8, 2010

Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education meeting (April 28, 2010): The most recent regular school board meeting of the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) ended the debate over privatization of the district's custodial and maintenance workers - it's not happening.

The board's ratification of an agreement between AAPS and local members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union retains the 164 workers and their seven supervisors as AAPS employees. In return, custodial and maintenance workers agreed to lower wages, less vacation time, and almost double the cost of health insurance premiums.

Source: OCSEA Magazine, Vol. 66, No. 2, Spring 2010  (p. 21)

Forr the second time, the union leadership at the Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare System Campuses has successfully negotiated to keep the custodial work right where it belongs - in the public service!

Source: By Dave Moller, The Union (CA), Wednesday, January 13, 2010

One of three committees working on ways to save Nevada County's financially-strapped libraries will recommend the county bail itself out and not rely on an outside firm.

The library systems Citizens Oversight Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend a plan from the Truckee Friends of the Library that keeps all the libraries open.

..... Committee members also rejected a proposal from private firm Library Systems & Services, saying it did not have enough details about how services would be kept as close to whole as possible.

Source: AFSCME Works Online Xtras, January 11, 2009

In a major victory in AFSCME's fight against privatization, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) will shut down its Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton on Feb. 1. It housed fewer than 250 inmates last year, in part because Minnesota is placing more offenders in state-run facilities. Prisoners from the privately-owned 1,600-bed jail will be transferred to a public detention complex in Faribault.

 Source: Ralph Ellis, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 8, 2009

When Milton became a city three years ago, its founders embraced privatization, paying a company to collect garbage, draw up zoning maps and handle the day-to-day duties of a municipal government. But the relationship soured when the city needed to cut the budget. Last week, Milton ended its contract with CH2M Hill, a Colorado-based firm, and went to a mostly traditional form of government. ..... City Manager Chris Lagerbloom said the change should translate into at least $1 million in yearly savings -- a significant sum for a city with a $22.9 million budget.

Source: By George Morse, EastBayRI.com (RI), 12/3/09 

EAST PROVIDENCE - In a split vote Tuesday night the East Providence City Council approved a new, three-year extension to a collective bargaining agreement with Local 2969 Rhode Island Council 94, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, a unit representing school department custodians and maintenance personnel.

..... By the time an agreement was reached, the union's concessions made them cheaper than private contractor SSC Service Solutions (a bidder for the job) by as much as $117,000 a year. Also, Mr. Barham said that since the school department looked at private groups, parents have "vehemently" opposed having private workers in schools.