Table of Contents
Every week, OPSEU's We Own It campaign publishes a newsletter called The We Own It Weekly. It's a round-up of news and information about the growing movement to protect communities from privatization.
To receive the newsletter directly, you can sign up for it on the We Own It website. You can also keep in touch with the campaign through its Facebook page and Twitter feed.
And here's the latest issue:
It's just four months to the provincial election—do you know where your candidates stand on privatization?
With your help, we're going to find out!
To ensure all candidates fill out the survey, we want to keep it to five questions. But we've got 10 potential questions that we'd like to ask.
And here's where you come in.
Please help us decide which five questions we should put to our candidates.
All you have to do is tell us which five you think are best. Which five will give you the information you need to cast the best ballot for yourself, your job, your family, and your community?
Remember, we're not asking you to complete the survey. We're asking you to help us decide which questions should appear on the survey
Click here to choose the 5 questions you'd most like your provincial election candidates to answer
In the news
We ❤ #PublicPlowing Twitter rally reaches tens of thousands
During our noon-hour Twitter rally, more than 75,000 people saw tweets demanding that Premier Kathleen Wynne and Transportation Minister Kathryn McGarry bring privatized snowplowing back in-house.
The rally is over, but you can always join our Twitter conversations. We're @WeOwnItCA.
Johannesburg bringing thousands of security workers back in-house
In order to boost the pay and job-security of thousands of workers, South Africa's biggest city is putting an end to privatized security.
“The city has paid‚ on average‚ $14,000 per security guard‚ while the guards themselves received as little as $4‚500 as a salary per month‚” says Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashab.
“Our approach in this matter was to find a means of offering these contract workers the dignity of fair pay‚ stable employment and benefits available to employees of the city."
In Iowa, privatization means health workers waiting a long time to get paid
Medical facilities across Iowa are struggling to pay their staff because of the state's "reckless experiment" with privatized Medicaid.
According to The Globe Gazette, medical facilities are having to wait weeks and even months to get paid.
"The switch to [privatized Medicaid] has been a huge setback," says the head of 31 nursing homes, Richard Allbee. "In the almost 50 years we've been in business, we have not worried about trying to meet payroll for our 3,000 employees as we have in the past two years."
Three reasons Trump shouldn't privatize the International Space Station
The Washington Post is reporting that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to privatize the International Space Station.
But as Time Magazine points out, it's a bad idea fiscally, scientifically, and politically.
We Own It Events
We Own It appreciation night at Peterborough Petes game
Thursday, February 22, 7 p.m., Peterborough Memorial Centre
Kenora Town Hall on Public Services
Wednesday, April 4, 6:30 p.m., Lakeside Inn, Kenora