Fun and Smarts at the UnFair
By Clyde Weiss
Step right up, AFSCME Sisters and Brothers! Show us your determination to "smash the privateers." That's right — lift that hammer high and swing it hard, to preserve public-sector jobs throughout the country.
It's the UnFair, a carnival of games to educate AFSCME members on the evils of privatization, the enemy of public employees everywhere (for some examples, see next page). Knowledge is power when it comes to defeating the privateers — the kind of power now being wielded by Greg Devereux, executive director of the Washington Federation of State Employees/Council 28, as he smashes his hammer down hard "against the privateers." Ding!!!
If you dare, step boldly into the House of Horrors and learn the frightful but true stories of privatization's ugly underbelly. Read, for instance, how a prison run by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) left the residents of Youngstown, Ohio, in fear for their lives after six prisoners, including four convicted killers, cut through two chain-link fences and climbed over razor-wire to escape the dysfunctional private facility. CCA had authorized its prisoners to wear street clothes, allowing escapees to blend in, undetected in the general population!
Shuddering yet? Relieve some tension by singing a song to stop the privateers. All together now (to the tune of "Bye, Bye Love"):
Bye, bye jobs.
Bye, bye human needs.
Hello, corporate greed.
Don't let them privatize.
It's time to organize!
Great voice or not, the message is clear, right?
Now, what's going on over at that stage? Do you want to be a "Privatization-Fighting Millionaire?" You'll be on track if you answer this question: According to a recent AFSCME-commissioned poll, what percentage of likely voters opposes the idea of privatizing prisons? 51 percent? 25? 33? or 85? If you said 51 percent, consider yourself somewhat informed on the evils of privatization. But there's so much more to know, you can never stop learning.
Over at "Family Feud," you can challenge your privatization knowledge against a test audience. Try this one: "The public looks at what when evaluating public services?" Did I hear you say money? Right! It's the No. 1 answer of those asked in our test audience.
There's even a "Wheel of Fortune," where Patricia Bentson, treasurer of California Local 101 (Council 57), is having a ball. "I think this is a fabulous idea," she says enthusiastically of the UnFair. "It's a lot better than saying, ‘We're done for the day, let's go shopping.' We learn something in our off-time."
