On Christmas Eve, Acting President Dan Kutin was joined by Mayor Derek Corrigan and Councilors Paul McDonell and James Wang on a visit to some of our worksites.
Important update for CUPE Family Skate this Saturday
For those members who have registered for the party this weekend:
Due to an electrical fire at Bill Copeland Sports Centre yesterday afternoon, the ability to make ice has been compromised.
Sorry, the ice skating portion of the evening has been cancelled.
The upper lobby activities are still going on……The Purple Pirate Children’s Show, Cookie Decorating, Face Painting, Balloon Twisting, Refreshments and of course a visit from Santa!
Metro Vancouver Alliance training in January
There will be a training opportunity with the MVA at the end of January. Free of charge to our members. Come to the January Membership meeting to hear Deborah Littman talk about what CUPE 23 being a member of the Metro Vancouver Alliance means for us.
Map of location – Leadership Institute @ Capilano U
Solidarity continues for Naramata workers
Members of CUPE 608 have been on strike since May 15, 2014. Their employer is attempting to contract out most of their approximately 30 bargaining unit jobs. Although Naramata Centre is owned by the United Church of Canada, it is run by separate board. CUPE is now applying to have the Centre and the Church recognized as a common employer. If successful, more pressure can be applied to the United Church to do the right thing and uphold their reputation for fighting for respect and rights for workers.
For the second year in a row, the CUPE BC Spring School will not be held at Naramata in 2015 as a result of this dispute.
CUPE BC news story – http://www.cupe.bc.ca/news/3591
We Stand with the Caretakers of Burnaby Mountain and Burnaby Residents Opposing Kinder Morgan Expansion
If you were at our June membership meeting you would have seen the presentation by City of Burnaby staff on the City’s opposition to the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline. Following the presentation, the membership voted to support the City’s position on this important issue. We believe that it’s in all of our interests to oppose the project, for a variety of reasons including the safety of humans and the ecology as well as a desire to promote energy conservation and green solutions.
The legal battle has unfolded and Kinder Morgan has been attempting to do testing on Burnaby Mountain which is public, protected land on unceded Indigenous territory. The National Energy Board decision to allow this, against the wishes of the people and government of Burnaby, is being appealed. In the meantime, the courts have allowed Kinder Morgan to proceed.
There is a diverse and determined group of people who are not willing to let that happen and their numbers are growing. At the beginning of November several of them were threatened with lawsuits and injunctions. This week there have been many arrests of protesters. Civil disobedience in the face of injustice is an individual choice. At our membership meeting this week we voted to sign on to an open letter in support of those trying to protect the land for us all.
We, the undersigned, express our support for those who are protecting Burnaby Mountain from Kinder Morgan geotechnical survey work….
The text of the letter and the list of all the other supporters can be found here, along with a link to sign on as an individual – http://peoplesclimateconvergence.org/we-stand-caretakers-burnaby-mountain
In addition to signing the letter, other ways to support the land defenders can be found here – http://www.canadians.org/blog/top-5-ways-you-can-support-kinder-morgan-pipeline-blockade
CUPE National Human Rights Conference
CUPE 23 has voted to send two members to the CUPE National Human Rights Conference. It will be held in Winnipeg from Feb. 5 to Feb. 8, 2015. If you are interested in attending, please contact the office to submit your name for consideration by December 15th.
From the CUPE.ca website:
We are at a critical moment for equality and the labour movement. Though we’ve made important human rights gains over time, growing inequality, globalization, privatization and the rise of precarious work threaten the progress we’ve made. CUPE must be a leader in advancing equality. Our efforts benefit everyone.
CUPE activists will gather to share ideas and develop strategies in areas where workers have power: bargaining, organizing, mobilizing and political action.
The Social Committee presents …
Thanks to our awesome hardworking social committee we once again have holiday social events for adults and children. Please sign up and get your tickets soon!
CLC Winter School 2015
The Education Committee is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted from members interested in attending the CLC 2015 Weeklong School in Harrison Hot Springs. An excellent selection of workshops with a diverse range of topics are being offered. Please see this letter for more details and the list of workshops. The Application Form must be received in the union office by Dec. 02 2014.