Union activists support First Nations National Day of Action - June 29th
CUPE’s National Executive Board is meeting in Ottawa this week, and passed a resolution calling on CUPE members and all Canadians to support the Assembly of First Nations National Day of Action, planned for June 29, 2007.
Speaking on behalf of the NEB, National President Paul Moist reinforced CUPE’s nationwide support for this planned day of action in response to the crisis that Aboriginal communities face throughout the country.
“I am proud to be the leader of Canada’s largest union and even more proud that our leadership voted unanimously to support our brothers and sisters in Aboriginal communities across this country in a day dedicated to promoting issues that Aboriginal people face.”
CUPE members are encouraged to check http://www.afn.ca and participate in local events.
CUPE supports the CLC’s campaign to protect jobs
CUPE’s National Executive Board met this week and passed a resolution pledging our continued support of the Canadian Labour Congress’s “Made In Canada” campaign, geared towards keeping well-paid manufacturing jobs in Canada. This campaign was launched in May, and will enter into phase II on Labour Day.
Our president’s position is clear: “CUPE’s voice belongs with these private sector workers,” Moist said. “Our parents and grandparents built this country and we need to take it back”.
June 21st: National Aboriginal Day
First proclaimed in 1996, National Aboriginal Day on June 21st was a day of celebration where all nations within Canada recognize the important contributions that First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples have made to Canada.
Aboriginal groups across the country held many events to celebrate June 21st.
Locked out workers call for a one-day boycott
In an attempt to entice their employer back to the table, locked-out workers at le Journal de Québec, the Sun-Media Corporation (Quebecor) newspaper based in Quebec City, called on Quebec City readers to boycott the paper for one day, on June 21, 2007. Last week, for the third time since they (members of CUPE) were locked out last April, the paper’s journalists and printers contacted the conciliator in an attempt to re-boot negotiations.Red Deer local wins Task Force scholarship prize
CUPE Local 1445, whose members work at Red Deer College in Alberta, has won a scholarship for a member to attend a CUPE week-long school. The prize was awarded for completing one of the National Women’s Task Force questionnaires, which were sent to all CUPE locals late last year.
“It’s very exciting,” said Sandra Phillips, president of CUPE 1445 and a member of Alberta’s ad-hoc Task Force committee. “I was very much promoting the individual survey to all our members and to our own Local. As well to find out that we’ve actually been drawn (for our Local’s participation), it’s the icing on the cake.”
Media gain access to frontline with CUPE flood watch
Lower Mainland media jumped at the chance to spend time with CUPE members on the front line of flood watch. CUPE locals organized the tours where our members talked to reporters about a day in the life of a civic worker deployed to flood watch, and the mechanics and protocols of preparing a community against threatening floods. CUPE members were interviewed by Global TV, News 1130, Fairchild TV, 1320 AM, Ming Pao Daily, Maple Ridge News, The Abbotsford Times, and the Weather Network!
For more information or pictures, please visit http://www.cupe.bc.ca/4011.
Maurice Cody child care workers join CUPE
Maurice Cody child care workers, who work in a school-based child care centre at Maurice Cody Public School, have voted to become members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The 11 early childhood educators and child care workers voted on Tuesday, June 19th, to join CUPE in a certification vote supervised by the Ontario Labour Relations Board.Part-time city workers to picket Vaughan’s staff appreciation BBQ
Part-time workers for the City of Vaughan will hold an information picket on June 22nd, to inform residents, city councillors, and co-workers attending a staff appreciation barbecue about their current round of collective bargaining. Part-timers, members of CUPE 905, are the only group of city employees who do not have benefits. Mostly women, about half working in the Recreation Department, will be in a legal strike/lockout position on July 2, 2007.
The picket starts at noon in Vaughan Civic Centre Park.
Special Days:
- June 29th: First Nations National Day of Action