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If you spot the bus, come and say hi! The more Manitobans we meet and talk to about the important issues surrounding income inequality, the more successful this tour will be.
Winnipeg (23 June 2014) — The torch, or in the All Together Now! (ATN) campaign's case, the big green bus, is about to be passed on. The Fairness Express has crossed the border into Friendly Manitoba, leaving Ontario behind.
"We are excited about the new leg of the tour that will take us across this beautiful province, to big cities and small towns, and stretches of highways in between," says James Clancy, National President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). "We have a whole new crew of our All Together Now! Fairness Express engagers, members of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU/NUPGE), who can't wait to hit the road to talk to Manitobans about the issue of rising income inequality."
"Income inequality affects us all and it’s been growing in Canada for twenty years,” says MGEU President Michelle Gawronsky. “It is an issue of fairness. It’s also an economic and social issue, because a shrinking middle-class impacts the average Canadian in so many ways. We want to talk about these things and about the public services our members provide, services Manitobans need."
On the Road
We'll be on the road for six weeks (June 26 - August 11) but if our first week schedule tells you anything, it says we'll be covering a lot of ground!
For our first week in Manitoba, we'll cover over 1500 km! To keep up with us, you can follow our stops on our online calendar, but here's a glimpse of our first few days:
June 24 - Fairness Express Engager training, Winnipeg
June 25 - Fairness Express Engager training, Brandon
June 26 - The Pas, Wascana Inn, 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.
June 27 - Flin Flon, Trout Festival, Main St. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
June 28 - Thompson, Pride North of 55, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Don't miss the Fairness Express at Canada Day celebrations on July 1 in Vita, Manitoba!
Success of the ATN campaign's Fairness Express: word-of-mouth communicating
A big part of the idea behind the Fairness Express is to go to where people live. The strength of our All Together Now! campaign is in having one-on-one conversations with Canadians everywhere. It's about listening as much as it's about talking.
Everywhere we go, people want to know what the Fairness Express is all about! When we tell them we're touring the country to talk about income inequality and how we can fix it, people are happy to share how they are coping in an economy that has yet to fully rebound after the 2008 recession. They tell us what they think of government policies, about how corporations have more power than our citizens, how employers are cutting back and how public services are disappearing. We tell them there is hope. Together, we can make a difference in changing our country for the better.
The hope that comes from sharing experiences and history, and talking about solutions, is infectious! We have had thousands of people sign up to be a part of our campaign for fairness.
Follow the Fairness Express online
You can follow the Fairness Express' travels online from our main source, the ATN website's Fairness Express page.We will have regular blog posts and photos from the road.
You can also follow on social media by following the campaign's Facebook page and by following the bus on Twitter @ATNcampaign. The bus tour's official hashtag is #FairnessExpress!
If you spot the bus, come and say hi! The more Manitobans we meet and talk to about the important issues surrounding income inequality, the more successful this tour will be.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE