The National Executive Board met in Ottawa, March 29-30, 2006.

NEB Resolutions

Child Care

Members unanimously endorsed a resolution calling for the union to make
child care a political action priority. Chartered organizations are
asked to:

• work with child care coalitions and the Blue Code Campaign for
  child care, and sign onto the open letter at www.buildchildcare.ca;
• pressure the federal and provincial governments to honour the federal-provincial bilateral agreements;
• seek support and lobby federal opposition parties.

The Stanhope Manifesto on Workers’ Compensation

At
the request of representatives from CUPE, NUPGE and the Compensation
Employees’ Union, Board members were asked to endorse a statement of
principles of a fair and comprehensive workers’ compensation system,
hence the “Stanhope Manifesto”. The statement sets out principles that
unionized employees of Canadian workers’ compensation boards believe
are the minimum conditions for a comprehensive and fair workers’
compensation system.

Generally, the document is well laid out, but the NEB suggested
improvements that would strengthen the commitment to prevention, the
right to refuse, and ensure that occupational illness is included in
all parts of the document.

Locals are encouraged to use the Manifesto in their lobbying efforts. The statement can be found at www.cupe.ca/workerscomp.

Jack Layton, NDP Leader

NDP Leader Jack Layton met
with National Executive Board members and thanked CUPE for our support
in the election campaign. He committed to a renewed, deeper
relationship between the party and labour, and outlined the NDP
priorities for working families. He also encouraged CUPE divisions and
locals to invite their NDP MPs to make presentations at meetings and
other gatherings.

NEB Task Force on Energy

Canadians are struggling with energy sustainability and clear policy to
move forward. The National Executive Board has decided that CUPE needs
to look at all factors and issues related to this important policy
area. With this in mind, a CUPE Task Force on Energy has been
established and will be meeting to discuss energy issues.

NEB Sub-Committee on Solidarity Pacts

The 2005-2007 Strategic Directions Plan included a section titled –
Gaining Ground with other Unions. To strengthen and actively pursue
this direction, National Executive Board members established a small
sub-committee to meet with NUPGE to develop a solidarity pact between
our two unions.

National Women’s Task Force

The NWTF held its first meeting on February 25-27 to formulate their
mandate and begin developing national and regional work plans. The
members have begun making introductory presentations at various CUPE
provincial events and are looking forward to reaching out and meeting
with CUPE sisters and brothers to engage in the discussions that are
needed to make our union stronger and fully participatory.

NEB Decisions

The National Executive Board adopted the December 31, 2005 year-end
financial statements for the General Fund, the National Strike Fund and
the National Defence Fund.

The approval of the financial statements confirmed the union’s
substantial commitment to support the CUPE-BC Teachers’ Federation
dispute, the OMERS pension fightback campaign, a national Child Care
campaign (with other unions and coalition partners) and more resources
for municipal and provincial election campaigns.

National Office Building Project

A PowerPoint presentation highlighted the structure, special efficiency
and environmentally-friendly features of the proposed new building to
house the CUPE National Office and CUPE Ottawa Area Office.
Construction of the new building will begin in July 2006, on Tremblay
Street, located in Ottawa.

Bargaining Trends

Stemming from a NEB strategic session, members are closely
reviewing and discussing organizing and bargaining trends on a national
and regional level at each meeting. A useful and well-developed tool,
Economic Climate for Bargaining, provides an overview of the current
bargaining trends across the country. The report can be viewed at cupe.ca/economicclimate and is updated regularly.