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Union UpdateJanuary 30 to February 24, 2006 In this issue:
PSAC Convention: A work in progress
The participants were grouped into four resolutions committees: the General, Collective Bargaining, Constitution and Finance Committees. The resolutions are submitted to the convention by Component and Regional conventions, equity conferences, Area Councils, Direct Chartered Locals and the National Board of Directors. The Constitution Committee reviewed and made recommendations on resolutions that call for amendments to the PSAC Constitution and Regulations. The Collective Bargaining Committee studied the resolutions that affect the union's internal bargaining processes such as bargaining conferences, strike and ratification voting procedures and strike pay, as well as resolutions on potential bargaining demands. The Finance Committee discussed and made a recommendation on the proposed PSAC budget for the next three years and analysed the cost impact of some of the resolutions referred to the other Committees. The General Resolutions Committee reviewed all the resolutions not specifically related to the other Committees on a wide range of topics such as funding for the union's conferences, member education, health and safety and equity days. As in the past, each of the 17 Components was invited to send one representative to each of the four pre-Convention Committees. This year, for the first time, delegates representing equity groups, Area Councils and Directly Chartered Locals were also assigned to the Committees. Turmel meets new government on public sector issuesPSAC National President Nycole Turmel met with Treasury Board President John Baird and his Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Poilievre on February 15, 2006. Turmel was among the first to meet the new ministers after their assermentation. The meeting took place during the PSAC Pre-Convention Committee meetings, on the day John Baird took office. A number of issues were addressed during the meeting, including public sector staffing, term employment, government accountability, whistleblowing legislation and both Service Canada and Shared Services. Turmel took the time to advocate for a strong federal public sector that provides a broad range of services to the Canadian public. She also brought the Minister up to date on the joint PSAC-Treasury Board Committee established to explore employer funding of the PSAC Social Justice Fund. While these and other issues were canvassed in an exploratory rather than substantive way, Turmel described the meeting as positive and welcomed the TB President's commitment to consult and meet on a number of issues of importance to federal public sector workers. Turmel also took time out from PSAC Pre-Convention Committee meetings this week to meet with newly-elected MP, Paul Dewar who is replacing Ed Broadbent in the Ottawa-Centre riding. Dewar has been appointed the New Democratic Party critic for Treasury Board, the National Capital Commission and Crown Corporations. During the meeting, Turmel and Dewar discussed issues related to public sector staffing and accountability and committed to working closely to ensure that the new government acts responsibly on files that have an impact on the work and working lives of federal public sector workers. PSAC members active during electionPSAC members across the country worked hard during the last federal election to keep their brothers and sisters well informed on issues affecting the labour movement. Many ingenious and creative approaches were used to that end as reported from each PSAC region. In the Atlantic region, PSAC area councils in St. John's, Fredericton, Gander, Halifax and Charlottetown participated in “all-candidates” meetings. In Newfoundland, the campaign to bring federal jobs back to the province became an election issue and PSAC members from the Gander Area Council met with party leaders during the campaign to ask for their commitment to reinstate the Gander Weather Centre. The Regional Women Committees took advantage of the election campaign to focus on the issue of preserving a national childcare campaign. PSAC member, Sister Jeannette Manuel-Allian, was the NDP candidate in the Mirimichi and was endorsed by the Atlantic Council Political Action Committee. In Quebec, the PSAC regional council prepared a list of questions for candidates in two key ridings. Unfortunately, the two sitting Members of Parliament for those ridings never held a general meeting and did not offer an opportunity to answer the questions. The PSAC members went to work instead on the campaign for candidates who could defeat the sitting MPs. They worked as deputy returning officers on Election Day among other positions. Members also attended the launching of campaigns and established contact with political assistants who could open doors for them on Parliament Hill. Ghislaine Jalbert, a member of the PSAC Regional Council, worked to elect two new MPs and is planning to meet with them soon to talk about the pension plan for Statistical Survey Operations workers. In the National Capital Region, members of the Ottawa Area Council (OAC) sent questions to candidates and attended all candidates meetings. The OAC then proceeded to endorse a number of candidates from several parties likely to support issues of interest to our members. This endorsement was publicized through the regional PSAC web-site and at a press conference. The OAC helped sponsor an “all-party” policy meeting on Women's' issues, which was well attended. PSAC members were active in all regions of Ontario. The political action work in the Hamilton region is especially noteworthy. The Area Council and the Women's Committee targeted three ridings to elect NDP candidates. Bob Black, Area Council President, Aileen Duncan and Cathy Tarves from the Women's Committee called members in the region to inform them of the issues and the candidates. Together they made close to one thousand calls! The three NPD candidates won the election in the designated ridings. Bob Black said it was a very positive experience and that many members expressed their gratitude to see their union actively involved in the political process. Several initiatives took place in the Prairies region leading up to the federal election. In Winnipeg, the PSAC sponsored an “all-candidate” meeting which was well attended by PSAC members and members of the community. A “lunch in the Park” was held for members to hear from candidates and the CLC on issues impacting workers. The Prairies activists in Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Edmonton co-sponsored all-candidates meetings. In Alberta, all the candidates were sent surveys on their positions regarding PSAC identified issues. Survey results were then sent to the membership in each respective area of the province. In Saskatoon and Prince Albert billboard ads were erected reminding the community that their vote was the loudest voice. As well, two NDP candidates, Don Kossick and Nettie Weibe were endorsed by the PSAC. In British Columbia region, PSAC members in conjunction with the Canadian Labour Congress and the British Columbia Federation of Labour organized and launched one of their biggest political action campaigns. This “member to member” initiative was designed to have members talk to members about issues that affect them and their families. Like the Provincial and Municipal election campaigns, this Federal campaign was about fusing collective resources to defeat governments that work against the interests of workers. The PSAC, CLC and BC Fedederation of Labour all produced election literature that outlined key labour related issues, and the members ensured their distribution. In addition to the mail-outs and plant-gate distribution of information, the region conducted a phone canvass of its membership. In the North, PSAC members sent a questionnaire to all candidates to determine their positions on a series of issues pertaining to northern workers and the labour movement. They received responses from NDP candidate Pam Boyde and Liberal candidate Larry Bagnell. They also developed a series of documents, including a power point presentation, to provide members with analysis on electoral issues that were important to the labour movement. March 8, 2006 – International Women’s Day It’s time to rise again – We all need a universal child care program!International Women's Day represents nearly a century of struggle for the equality of women world-wide. This March 8th women in the PSAC are not only celebrating the gains we have achieved over the last century, we are also actively participating in a campaign to ensure that child care is publicly (and not for profit) delivered, universal and affordable. Given the election of the Conservative government, the challenges facing working women and their families are greater than ever. In fact, the threats to the rights we have won are at stake and PSAC women will not stand by and allow those rights to be eroded. That is why the PSAC has made CHILD CARE one of our main priorities this year. We know that the number of women in the labour force is high and growing. At the same time, the overwhelming responsibility for the care of children remains with women and the lack of affordable child care spaces in quality public and not for profit centres remains a major obstacle to women's full equality. We were on the right track when the former government signed agreements with provinces that promised to make a universal, publicly-funded child care program a reality. These agreements are in jeopardy under the new Conservative government. They have vowed to dismantle them by 2007. While the Conservatives will be implementing their version of “choice” in child care, this $100 per month cannot begin to cover the real cost of child care for most women in the workforce. What can we do? We must urge Prime Minister Harper to honour the signed agreements between 10 provincial premiers and the government of Canada to deliver a universal child care program. Download and sign the letter to PM Harper on the PSAC website www.psac-afpc.com to pressure the Conservative government to uphold those agreements. Lobby your local Members of Parliament to pressure the government to defend and honour the agreements with the provinces. Join your Regional Women's Committee and take on the child care campaign by educating our union sisters and brothers and our communities about the importance of a child care program. Get involved and support child care coalitions like the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada. If you have any questions about the PSAC Women's Program, please contact Mariam Abou-Dib, the National Women's and Human Rights Programs Officer. March 21, 2006: United Nations Day for the Elimination of Racial DiscriminationB ecause of the globalized economy, the labour movement and social justice groups in Canada and around the world face a more difficult challenge in the fight for equality. Globalization has resulted in increased poverty and hunger, in weakened social services such as public health care and education, and in an increasing gap between the rich and the poor. Racialized people, including Aboriginal peoples, are also denied equal economic, social, and political opportunities, resulting in unequal pay, lack of access to social and health services and wealth gaps along racial lines. With rampant privatization and cuts to vital social services over the last decade under governments pushing a corporate agenda, racialized people have been further marginalized. This marginalization has disenfranchised racialized people, and particularly racialized youth. In the aftermath of 911, the U.S. , Canada and other countries have used race, culture, ethnicity, religion and country of origin to invade privacy, unjustly detain and deport and deny other basic fundamental civil and human rights. The same flawed criteria and analysis seems to apply to decision to deny humanitarian aid and even go to war. Every year, the PSAC marks March 21, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, as an important day. On this day in 1960, brothers and sisters were killed and injured fighting against the repressive South African Apartheid regime, which was eventually defeated internally and with the help of international pressure. In 1966, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared March 21 as the International Day for the Elimination of Racism. Nearly four and half decades later in the face of rising world poverty and health related issues such as AIDS in Africa and Asia and South America, the struggle against racism again calls for national and international solidarity among the labour movement and social justice groups. March 21 – the day for the elimination of racial discrimination – must be reinforced each day in the workplace and in our union. To that end, we will continue to work to increase the representation of racialized people where they are under-represented and on establishing more racism-free workplaces and unions. |
In mid-February, more than 80 convention delegates came from all over Canada to spend a week or more in Ottawa reviewing and discussing all the resolutions that have been submitted to the PSAC triennial convention.