News

VA: Va. legislator withdraws support from controversial Loudoun charter school proposal

A Virginia state senator has withdrawn support from a proposed charter school which would be the first in Loudoun and possibly in northern Virginia if allowed to open because of public “misgivings” and other concerns.  Washington Post

CA: TSA Union Gets Sacramento Airport Privatization Revoked

After close to one year of lobbying efforts and a public campaign, the American Federation of Government Employees—the union for TSA workers in Sacramento and nationwide—today applauded the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors for voting to rescind its approval for Sacramento International Airport to be allowed to privatize, or use corporate airport screeners in place of federal employees. The Herald

PA: Union fights effort to privatize Pa. Lottery

With a day to go until the private company’s offer is set to expire, AFSCME Council 13 is waging a strong counterattack against outsourcing the profitable lottery in the courtroom, the Statehouse, and the streets. This week, a particularly edgy – some might consider over-the-top – billboard appeared near the Capitol, skewering the British firm that is the sole bidder for the lottery, which dedicates 100 percent of its profits to programs for seniors. The billboard depicts a caricature of a pig in a suit with a Union Jack on its lapel, holding a vacuum cleaner that is sucking dollar bills out of an elderly woman’s purse.  Philadelphia Inquirer

NY: SUNY Downstate Medical Center: Too big to fail

Facing chronic deficits SUNY brought in a new director and hired Pitts Management to fix the hospital but it’s resulted in layoff notices going out to PEF-represented nurses and others.“What’s happening at SUNY Downstate is a thinly veiled attempt to privatize this public hospital, which provides necessary health care services to hundreds of thousands of patients,” said UUP president Phillip H. Smith.  Albany Times Union

Massive Cuts to Postal Service a Step Towards Privatization?

Activists argue this is part of an ongoing divestiture of assets that, along with $12 billion of annual outsourcing, is a significant step toward the privatization of the US Postal Service…. And now thousands of buildings may be sold and thousands of workers laid off in what USPS says is an attempt to save itself, but critics argue is a step toward privatization. The Real News Network