BLUE MOUNTAINS UNIONS & COMMUNITY
Ten reasons to rebuild strong communities
1. You live in your community. It's your window on the world and a part of who you are, where you live, work and relate socially. It's neighbours and family, where your children are nurtured to embrace a diverse society, and where you are most likely to have an impact on the lives of those who matter most to you.
2. You work in your community. Whether you're on the front line or working behind the scenes, your work is important. Reliable, efficient and affordable public services bind our communities together, contributing to a better quality of life and allowing our local economies to prosper.
3. You spend in your community. By shopping at local stores and services, you help build your neighbours' business. Good jobs in the local economy come from defending workers' right to a living wage, employment equity and a union, leaving no one struggling to make ends meet.
4. You care in your community. You are caring and compassionate and that means you want a public health care system that provides the best care possible to anyone who needs it. You want social services and community supports that allow every person to be as healthy, secure and independent as possible. And you want to ensure no one is making a profit from sickness or people at risk, and that the social safety net is secure.
5. You study in your community. Whether it's developing your own skills and knowledge or securing our children's future, accessible quality education is key. You need community schools that meet students' needs and, at the post-secondary level, top quality teaching and research, with much lower tuition fees and wilder access.
6. You breathe in your community. We need action to ensure clean air and pure, safe and affordable water. That means support for public transit; reliable, affordable public power; energy efficiency; waste reduction; and new green technologies. It also means water systems that are publicly funded and operated to guarantee high standards and to make sure no one is denied access because they cannot afford to pay.
7. You vote in your community. Whether the issues are local or global, it's likely at the community level that you'll have the greatest impact politically. Vote. By electing people-friendly candidates, you help fence off corporate interests and privatization. Encourage local authorities to protect local control from international trade agreements. Demand accountability, transparency and opportunities for input.
8. You celebrate in your community. There's lots we should be proud of. Our diversity and commitment to equality and opportunity. Our heritage and traditions and the things we do each day to build a better future. By coming together through our arts, our sports, our science and our work for justice, there is much to celebrate.
9. You invest in your community. By ensuring your pension funds are invested in public infrastructure, you win three ways. You contribute to stable forward-looking investments in upgrading and expanding needed facilities. You help maintain good paying jobs in the public sector. And you ensure a fair, secure return, making sure your pension is healthy when you retire and for generations to come.
10. You need a strong community. Your well-being in the community relies on a budget that invests in people. Get involved in your local budget consultation process. By organizing local action to influence budget decisions, you can help guarantee adequate funding for needed services and infrastructure. By strengthening the public sector, you can help defeat privatization that only siphons tax dollars to the pocket of private companies.
Your community. Working together we can make it stronger.