Victory in Baltimore
Community group fights utility
By Sharon Black
Baltimore
At a press conference on June 27, the All Peoples Congress
announced a temporary victory after Baltimore Gas &
Electric Company announced that its downtown offices would
remain open until 2003.
The company had said two months ago that it would close its
last two customer service offices on July 1, provoking protests
from the All Peoples Congress and the Office of People's
Counsel.
BGE had arranged for customers to pay their bills at ACE
checking. ACE has come under attack from senior advocate groups
and has been sued by consumer groups for fraudulent loan
practices. It provides "pay day loans."
Workers at both locations were slated to lose their
jobs.
All Peoples Congress organizer Renee Washington stated,
"People would have been ripped off, first by BGE and then by
ACE checking, which would have taken advantage of people with
cut-off notices who were desperate to have gas and electric
service.
"We fought hard, held protests and collected petitions. Both
the workers inside the building and the community were united
in wanting to continue service. We are proud of this victory
but understand we must keep up the fight for justice."
BGE will continue with plans to close a smaller office
outside the city and will reduce hours. The All Peoples
Congress has vowed to continue fighting and has called on the
community to remain vigilant.
Reprinted from the July 11, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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