The state’s Department of Public Welfare is planning to close the Greater Pittsburgh East CAO, which serves more people in need than any other office in the county.
As of Friday, as reported on the front page of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, DPW’s plan was to force all GPE clients to go to the McKeesport CAO starting May 2 – a trip that would require at least two buses, two fares, and take at least an hour and a half one-way. (More info below.)
After a blast of community outrage, the Post-Gazette on reported on Saturday that DPW is promising to reverse course.
Today the paper challenged DPW to make good on that promise and put their clients’ needs first.
DPW must make a clear commitment through a transparent process to put people first and to maintain an office that’s easily accessible to GPE clients.
Until then, we must keep the pressure on!
Join Just Harvest and SEIU Local 668
at the rallies on
Tuesday, April 1
11:30am – 1:00pm
| Greater Pittsburgh East 5947 Penn Avenue, 2nd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15206 |
County Assistance Office Headquarters 301 Fifth Avenue, Piatt Place Pittsburgh, PA 15222 |
SEIU Local 668 will also be holding rallies at: |
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| Southeast District 220 Sixth Street McKeesport, PA 15132 |
Alle-Kiski District 909 Industrial Blvd New Kensington, PA 15068 |
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We hope you can make it, but if you can’t, please voice your opposition to the closing of the Greater Pittsburgh East CAO on Twitter. Select a Tweet below or craft your own. Please use the hashtag #SaveGPE. Tweet now, and join us in Tweeting on Tuesday between 12:00pm-1:00pm. Stand in solidarity with Just Harvest, Pittsburgh’s SEIU 668 CAO workers and working families in Pennsylvania. Sample Tweets: Closing the Greater Pittsburgh East CAO will hurt 20,000 families Tweet #SaveGPE DPW is creating #BarrierstoBenefits by closing Greater Pittsburgh East CAO #seiu668 Tweet #SaveGPE Making it harder to help families in tough times only hurts families in need Tweet #SaveGPE 2 buses + 2 fares + 2 hours = TOO MUCH! Tweet #SaveGPE |
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