American Water, the largest for-profit water utility in the nation, has filed in Virginia for a rate hike of 22%.  At the same time, it is trying to CUT union employee health benefits even though the company made a 10% profit in 2010.  The company seems to be trying to follow the lead of Republican governors in Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, New Jersey, and other states in curtailing workers’ income, pension and health benefits, and job security – even while the recession continues for most working families continues.  Join members of the NOVA Green Party as we support the union employees of American Water preserve their hard-earned benefits against corporate greed.  

As Greens, we stand shoulder to shoulder with workers and labor unions in their drive to get a fair deal with their employers. The key word is fair. In these current economic times, government agencies and private companies are using the recession as an excuse to cut workers benefits, pay, and right to organize, all under the guise of balancing the budget or belt-tightening.

The fairness issue comes into play when the cause of the current economic crisis is not the workers, it was greed at the top levels of some of the largest US and multi-national companies. Big profits were not enough, only huge would do. So greater and greater risks were taken until the inevitable crash came.

Now, they are coming after the workers.