CUB stands against privatization of City water

Efforts to privatize the water supply in Baltimore got more difficult as the leadership of the City Union of Baltimore and allies offered testimony and support for a city council resolution that would take the matters to the voters in November. CUB President Antoinette Ryan-Johnson addressed the council, reminding them of the value of public goods, both as a shared resource and also as a provider of stable jobs for city residents.

The privatization of a number of public goods and services have been ongoing in the modern age of deregulation. In efforts to shrink the size of government, municipalities and states across the country have been outsourcing their governmental responsibility. This often increases the costs of public goods and services while also shrinking the labor force and democratic voice of those workers in the workplace.

Baltimore had been flirting with efforts to privatize the water in earnest since 2014. Since then, the AFT-Maryland behind the leadership of the City Union of Baltimore has stood in opposition to privatization. The passage of this resolution would mean that it would be added to the city’s charter that any privatization efforts must be voted on and passed by the citizens. Adding to the charter is a ballot procedure and this will be on the ballot this November.

2018-08-06