(This article appeared in the Summer 2005 edition of Organize Magazine.)
Usually, when we meet with our employers, it’s during a crisis. We might be on a picket line or locked out. We may be across the table at bargaining. We may face them in arbitrations or even in court.
Usually, when we meet with our employers, it’s during a crisis. We might be on a picket line or locked out. We may be across the table at bargaining. We may face them in arbitrations or even in court.
These are highly charged situations that don’t allow for a meeting of minds on a common concern. Sometimes, these confrontations are unavoidable. At CUPE, we don’t back down and we will continue to fight unfair employers and those bent on privatizing. But we also want open dialogues with our employers where an exchange of ideas is helpful and healthy.
Since our last issue of Organize, I’ve been meeting your employers. I have exchanged views with mayors, councillors and city managers, health care administrators and chief librarians, among others. I have talked to them about issues that could affect our workplaces. I have given our views on decisions they might make, backed by a well-researched rationale for adopting our Rebuilding Strong Communities approach.
I have also met them at major gatherings, like the annual conference of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) in St. John’s, Nfld., in June. About 1,800 delegates from across Canada attended, giving our top national leaders a chance to engage them in discussions on everything from public private partnerships to the federal government’s Deal for Cities and Communities.”
More than 500 of them visited our Strong Communities booth at the FCM trade show. We gave them literature on how to build strong communities, told them about co-operative initiatives like Water Watch and City Watch, and compared notes on workplace education.
Following that meeting, CUPE National helped some of our library locals when they met their employers at the annual conference of the Canadian Library Association (CLA) in Calgary. It was a first for CUPE in this sector.
Again, we were talking to your employers in a friendly forum about your issues.
We need to do more of it … and we will as part of our continuing Strong Communities initiatives.
Paul Moist
National President