FREDERICTON ( March 20, 2013):  CUPE NB launches today a campaign to encourage its membership and all New Brunswickers to buy local products first.

“The 10% Shift campaign is to encourage New Brunswick’s 30,000 CUPE members and their families to shift just ten percent of their spending to locally-produced goods and services”, explained Daniel Légère, President of CUPE NB.

“We can all do our share to keep our local economy strong. We understand the challenges that local governments face every day and the 10% Shift is one way for us to put forward positive solutions that benefit the entire community.”

“We challenge municipalities and the provincial government to pledge to the 10% Shift.  If we want to rebuild and strengthen our economy; we need to buy locally, we should all think local first.”

“We believe it’s time for New Brunswick to move forward.  We have many local entrepreneurs that create jobs in our respective communities. We need to support them.”

“The 10% Shift is not a new concept; it has been spreading across the States and Canada. In New Brunswick, there are already various initiatives in communities to buy from local merchants instead of big box stores owned by foreign corporations.”

“The 10% Shift campaign is reinforcing those local initiatives. Over the years, we have seen our manufactures close their doors, unable to compete with goods from Asia. Some move their productions oversea to increase their profitability. Those decisions based on profit have devastated many of our communities.”

“The government has been focusing on attracting big businesses to set up shop through financial incentives. A good example is Acton which received $50 million in loan guarantees and went bankrupt.  The jobs created with tax payers’ money were gone. ”

“We believe there is more than one way to boost our economy. For example, if every one of us spend a small amount of our weekly disposable income on local goods supporting our local entrepreneurs, at the end of the year it would have a huge impact on our communities.

“That’s how we build strong communities. That’s the philosophy behind the 10% Shift campaign, which encourages consumers to “shift” ten percent of their spending to locally owned businesses and services and encourages New Brunswickers from all over the province to make a more conscious and deliberate effort to use individual purchasing power to improve local economies.  If there is one thing we control, it’s our own wallet and shopping pattern,” concludes Légère.