BREAKING NEWS: Major Victory! DPW Reverses Decision to Relocate Greater Pittsburgh East CAO to McKeesport

Rallies at Pittsburgh CAO Headquarters and Three Local CAOs Still Planned for April 1 at Noon

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – March 31 – This afternoon, DPW Deputy Secretary Lourdes Padilla announced that it had reversed its decision to close the Greater Pittsburgh East CAO effective April 1. The CAO will stay open on a month-to-month lease while the agency searches for a new location within five miles of the current location.

In response to the closing, SEIU Local 668, the union representing the majority of its employees, and Just Harvest, an anti-poverty, anti-hunger nonprofit, organized rallies on Tuesday, April 1 at 12:00 noon to demand DPW stop the closure of the CAO. Those rallies will continue as planned to ensure that DPW finds a new location within two miles of the old location that is accessible via public transportation and centrally located. Organizers of the rallies also call for clear and timely communication with all stakeholders in the relocation process, especially with those families in need served by the CAO.

“This is a victory for our members, who are dedicated to ensuring that decisions are made in the best interests of the families they serve,” said Kathy Jellison, President of SEIU Local 668. “And we will continue to work to ensure that this process is as seamless and painless for the Pittsburgh community as possible.”

“Workers and the community united, got active, and kept DPW from making a decision that would have had a disastrous impact on thousands of people in this county,” said Ken Regal, Executive Director of Just Harvest. “There is still work to be done to make sure DPW puts their clients first with acceptable standards of customer service and is transparent in their processes. But this is a huge victory for struggling families and taxpayers alike who can now have more confidence in responsive and accountable government, and that the safety net will be there for all Pennsylvanians when they need it.”