April 2, 2014
VDLC: March Minutes
Want to know what's going on with other unions in the lower mainland?
Vancouver and District Labour Council notes for TSSU
Agenda
GUEST SPEAKER: SETH KLEIN, CCPA
- CCPA has lost two major pieces of funding in this last year: from BCNU, who CCPA cut out due to union raiding, and; from SSHRC federal funding
- Work is important, had 3.5million downloads from the website last year
- Pushing on issues that bridge union movement to social movements, including environment, government jobs policies, shifting thinking on tax policy
- Calling for supporters to take out individual memberships this year to support them in time of financial difficulty.
GUEST SPEAKERS: DERRICK O'KEEFE AND NADIA SANTORO, PEOPLE'S SOCIAL FORUM
- Nadia Santoro co-chair of VDLC youth committee and involved in People's Social Forum (PSF)
- Derrick working with Interfor union & former co-chair of StopWar.ca
- PSF this summer will be holding an On to Ottawa trek in homage to the historical movement, starting in Vancouver and moving across Canada taking up different themes, uniting labour and social movements and issues.
- PSF came to Canada because Quebec labour movement, which has had a solid practice of sending large delegations to World Social Forums around the world. At the last event in Tunisia the Quebec delegates proposed a World Social Forum in Montreal. It got put off, but raised opportunity for a People's Social Forum summer 2014 to organize communities and unions across Canada ahead of the fall-2015 federal election
- Call from BC PSF committee to send a large delegation from BC. If you have 10days – 2weeks to head across Canada with the busses then set aside time in August for that, if you only have 2 or 3 days then plan to get to the PSF in Ottawa then.
PRESIDENT'S REPORT: JOEY HARTMAN
- Municipal election: VDLC is working on creating a list of electable and supportable candidates for the Vancouver and North Vancouver elections in the fall. Will only support as many candidates as there is space to elect, and by name only, not party. Only a couple of unions have dedicated delegates to choose candidates, if your union is interested in taking part, then appoint a delegate.
- Metro Vancouver Alliance is having its founding assembly, Wednesday March 19, 7pm at Maritime Labour Centre to build relations between unions, faith groups, and community on issues of: transit, housing, poverty, isolation. There are 700 people registered for the launch event, where research committees will be struck “to identify very credible asks” of the politicians on these issues. The event is already sold out. If your union is not yet part of the Metro Vancouver Alliance then Joey will come present to your executive so you can join the Metro Vancouver Alliance.
- Mayday: On Thursday May 1 we will ask people to gather at Clark Park, Commercial and 15th, and march down Commercial for a short rally at Grandview Park. Young Workers Committee is planning a social event in the evening on the history of Mayday at the Wise Hall.
- VDLC delegation trip to China: self-funded group of around 14-15 people (it does cost about $5,000) going June 22 – July 2nd. Delegation will meet with Chinese unions. There is still space to join this delegation.
EXECUTIVE RECOMMENDATIONS: JOEY HARTMAN
- Motion: to endorse the BCFed call for a $13 minimum wage towards a poverty reduction plan (Approved)
- Motion: to participate in the CLC survey to end violence against women in the workplace (Approved – find the survey at www.fluidsurveys.com/s/DvatWork)
- Motion: To support Defence of Medicare and March 31 Day of Action for Health Accord Canada to stop the privatization of health care, and donate $200 to counter the lawsuit coming from a private surgical clinic on Cambie. (Approved – see new website http://savemedicare.ca)
REPORT OF UNIONS
- COPE 378: Coast Mountain Bus Company defeated a final offer from the boss, and then had a 97% strike vote; issued 72 hours strike notice last Friday, employer withdrew condition demands and ratified an agreement. Now going into bargaining with ICBC.
- Teamsters Local 31: Good news that Teamsters has organized Busters Towing. Bad news that Coast Mountain Bus Company has decertified, hoping to move those members into other unions. Ugly news is about the container truck drivers' dispute, where Owner-Operator associations are competing with hourly-rate union drivers and it’s a race to the bottom.
- BCTF bargaining will be happening April 1st. Keep an eye out.
- CUP-W is working to keep public on our side, to stop the gutting of postal service. Next town hall on defending home deliveries, Thursday March 20, 7pm at Nikkei Centre, Kingsway and South Oaks.
- CUPE 3304: elected new executive, Jennifer Clarke from risk management is new president. She is young and has lots of energy. Thanks to Darrel Robinson, past president of 15 yrs.
- UNIFOR: Issues at the port are complex, main reason for the conflict is deregulation. Both at ports and airline industries deregulation has caused havoc. Like at the ports, ground handlers at the airports are in a race to the bottom. We are undercutting eachother so much that you can't make money anymore. Delegate represents Hanlax and Service Air, bought eachother out, then Swiss Port bought both out. Only Swiss Port and Air Canada will be handling baggage. There is no federal regulation, it's run province to province.
REPORT OF COMMITTEES
- Women's Committee: 450 tickets sold for IWD, very successful.
- Young Workers Committee: Chair and co-chair elections last month. Co-chair George Christeu (sp?), and delegate speaking whose name I didn't get. Next meeting April 14, 6pm at Maritime Labour Council. Planning a quarterly newsletter.
- Solidarity in Action Committee: 4 days ago marks 10 months of the Ikea lockout; VDLC went down for the day with some food, Solidarity Notes Choir, and a march around the parking lot. The people there are still in it for the long haul, are dedicated to seeing it through. VDLC has been down twice since the last meeting, it means a lot to the picketers. In April there will be an international solidarity action and an online action corresponding with it. See Stefan to get involved.
OTHER REPORTS
- Matt DeBlasio, COPE Liaison: COPE Policy conference is happening the weekend of March 28-29 at the Japanese Language Hall on Alexander and Princess in the DTES. All COPE members welcome to come set COPE's policy program for the 2014 civic election.
- The Advocate, the magazine of retired union workers, is struggling for funding.
GOOD AND WELFARE
- April Pizza Educational will be on Green Jobs
- Several choirs in Vancouver are organizing a Pete Seeger tribute event on April 6, 7pm at the Peretz Hall on Ash St near Oakrige mall. Money will go 2/3 to the Unistot:en camp and the remaining 1/3 to the Tsleil'waututh Sacred Trust initiative to stop the pipelines locally here.
(Adjourned)
