“The theme of this seminar is: go with the flow,” joked Saskatchewan’s Regional Vice-President, Omar Murray, during the Manitoba-Saskatchewan regional seminar.
What do you do when all your seminar material is lost somewhere between Toronto and Regina? As the old union adage goes: “the seminar must go on.” Thanks to a lot of last minute printing (*cough* thanks a lot, Purolator! *cough*), the seminar was a great success.
“The event started off a little shaky,” admitted Manitoba’s Regional Vice-President, Martin Kaminski. “But with a positive outlook on things, we managed to roll with the punches.”
This is the second time that the Manitoba and Saskatchewan regions chose to host a joint regional seminar. “We figured the more people, the more fun,” explained Murray.
Kaminski says he particularly enjoyed the presentations by UNE staff. Among other things, participants were treated to workshops on local finances, communications and grievance handling.
There was also an eye-opening lecture by Idle No More co-founder, Sylvia McAdam and invigorating speeches by UNE National President Doug Marshall and PSAC’s Regional Executive Vice-President of the Prairies Region, Marianne Hladun.
“Sylvia’s presentation on Idle No More and Doug’s presentation on the evil Bill 377 were topical and right out of today’s headlines,” said Murray.
Finally, we were all very fortunate to receive a surprise visit from Holly Serle, Manitoba’s former regional vice-president. Sister Serle drove over 200 kilometers to surprise us – and we’re very glad she did!
“I really enjoyed the opportunity to touch base with some familiar faces and some new ones,” concluded Kaminski.
Last year, in honour of Black History Month, we shared with you the story of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a pioneer of the equality rights movement in Canada. We did that primarily because Black history, especially Black women’s history, has largely been overlooked.
Dr. Audrey T. McCluskey, Professor of African-American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University-Bloomington, confirmed this sentiment when we corresponded with her last year.
“Black women’s history has been in the shadows for too long,” wrote Professor McCluskey. “So much more needs to be done to bring this history of struggle, courage, disappointment, and overcoming—continually overcoming—to a broader audience.”
So with those inspirational words in mind, we’d like to shine the spotlight on another brave Black woman. Her name was Viola Desmond – and in 1946, she caused quite a commotion.
Desmond was a Halifax-born Black woman who owned a hair salon. While on her way to Sydney on business, her car broke down in New Glasgow. After checking into a hotel, she decided to catch a movie. When she asked for a main-floor ticket, she was informed that she’d have to sit in the balcony (apparently, this was the theater’s version of making Blacks sit at the back of the bus).1
“But Viola Desmond recognized instantly that she was being denied seating on the basis of her race. She made a spontaneous decision to challenge this racial segregation, walked back inside and took a seat in the partially-filled downstairs portion of the theatre.”2
That’s when the manager was called… and then the police… until finally, Desmond was dragged out of the theater. Oh, and then they threw her in jail for twelve hours.3
Enter the Judge
The Crown attorney must have dug really deep in the law books because they decided to charge Desmond with defrauding the Nova Scotia government. Yep. Fraud!
When Desmond slipped a dollar for her main-floor ticket, 70 cents were returned to her and she was told to sit in the balcony. A main-floor ticket in the “whites only” section would have cost 40 cents, 4 cents of which were tax. The prosecution alleged that Desmond’s actions amounted to trying to defraud the government out of that extra 1 cent in tax.4
Desmond wasn’t informed of her rights and didn’t have an attorney with her the next morning when she entered the court room. She was fined $26.5
The Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People raised money to fight her conviction and her case made it all the way to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
Unfortunately, justice didn’t prevail. Desmond lost her case on a technicality.
She may have lost her legal battle, but she lives on a part of our history that deserves be remembered. Our country is often remembered for being a haven for escaped Black slaves. For free Black men and women, it was a place that guaranteed their freedom while the Fugitive Slave Act in the U.S. had been putting their brothers and sisters back into slavery. That’s a part of our legacy that we can be proud of.
But we mustn’t deny the darker parts of our history. Segregation did exist on this side of the border.
Viola Desmond lives on because her story reminds us of the countless Black men and women who were victims of discrimination – and to this day, continue to fight ignorance and prejudice. She lives on because she was a strong, brave, progressive woman who took a stand – who refused to accept the status quo – who refused to be told that she was a second-class citizen.
Viola Desmond is a Canadian hero. Let’s honour her and countless others who fought in the name of equality.
Viola Desmond was post-humously pardoned in 2010.6
It’s been a few weeks since our members on the Parks Canada bargaining team began meeting with members all across the country to explain the tentative agreement before them. Dozens of Locals have already cast their vote.
“This is what it’s all about,” said Mike LeBlanc, a UNE member on the bargaining team. “It’s entirely up to the members – it’s entirely democratic.”
Over the past three weeks, LeBlanc has been to Kejimkujik National Park, the Halifax service centre, Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, Prince Edward Island National Park, Fundy National Park and Kouchibouguac National Park. Next week, he will be visiting three sites in Newfoundland.
LeBlanc says the reception has been really positive. Most members are very happy with the many gains proposed; some are concerned about trading the accumulation of severance pay in order to get them.
“I basically explain to our members that we can negotiate with it now, or we can have it taken away from us in the legislature later,” said LeBlanc. “If we go back to the bargaining table, the government is still going to push for severance.”
Over in Quebec, meetings are also going very well. Benoit Dubeau, another member of the bargaining team, met with members in Shawinigan last week, including Local President Daniel Toutant.
“The members listened very attentively to Brother Dubeau’s explanations,” said Toutant. “We even took the opportunity to sign up a few Rands.” Take note: that’s a great idea because members need to have a signed union card in order to vote.
“The members seemed to be really happy with the answers they received.”
Heading west a little further, Sister Loretta Moar has been meeting with members in Ontario and Manitoba. So far, she’s met with office staff in Thunder Bay, conservation members in Nipigon and members working at Pukaskwa National Park in Marathon, Ontario as well as those working at Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba.
“The meetings so far have been very good,” said Moar. She added that most questions have centered around the severance package and payout options.
“There have been no negative comments about any portion of the tentative agreement,” said Moar.
And finally, we’re hoping Brother Kevin King has been travelling with some very warm long johns because he’s been visiting some very cold places. Earlier last week, we posted a photo of King knee-deep in the snow in Inuvik. If you don’t know where Inuvik is, it’s about a 53-hour drive north of Vancouver, in the Northwest Territories… it’s very very north!
King also visited the members in Banff earlier this month. “I spoke for about five minutes, and then answered questions for the next 25.”
His experience echoes that of other bargaining team members. “About 80% of the questions centered on the end of accumulation of severance.”
Brother King later attended meetings with members at Jasper and participated in the recent town hall against the privatization of the Canadian Rockies’ hot springs. More recently, King has been meeting with members in British Columbia along with a fellow member of the bargaining committee, Sister Céline Ahodékon.
By now, some readers might be exhausted just reading about all this travelling! The members of the bargaining team worked very hard to get to a monumental tentative agreement – and their hard work continues until they reach an agreement.
Brother LeBlanc said that while he really enjoys meeting members, he finds the travelling very tiresome.
“You’re away from home a lot. You’re staying in hotel rooms, eating at restaurants, spending a lot of time in airports or driving alone… it’s boring,” explained LeBlanc. “After a while, you almost go nuts,” he added, joking that he’s been talking out loud to himself a lot lately.
But LeBlanc says there are a few things that keep him going, such as the strong support he receives from his wife, Bernadette.
“She’s awesome! Without her support and understanding, I wouldn’t be able to be as involved as I am,” said LeBlanc with a smile. Even apart, the couple finds ways to keep in touch.
“We talk using Yahoo video, we play scrabble online together.”
However, LeBlanc says his cat, Belle, isn’t as supportive. “She isn’t supportive at all. She hates seeing the suitcase,” explained LeBlanc. “And when I finally get home, she ignores me for a few days.”
But despite the many days away from home and a grumpy cat that harbors a grudge, LeBlanc says getting a heartfelt ‘thank you’ makes it all worth it.
“At one meeting, as everyone was rushing to leave to avoid the bad weather, I noticed an older gentleman who seemed to be hanging around,” said LeBlanc. “He came up to me and said ‘I know it’s not easy work. You’ve been here a few times talking about bargaining and I want to thank you for your work because you guys don’t get thanked very often.’”
So, please, let’s all make an important mental note to thank our bargaining committee members. They work tirelessly on behalf of our members and they deserve our heartfelt thanks.
You can share your thanks right now! Please leave a comment in the box below.
I have learned that the Holocaust was a unique and uniquely Jewish event, albeit with universal implications. Not all victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims. I have learned the danger of indifference, the crime of indifference. For the opposite of love, I have learned, is not hate but indifference. Jews were killed by the enemy but betrayed by their so-called allies who found political reasons to justify their indifference or passivity.1
– Elie Wiesel, a Romanian-born Jewish American and Holocaust survivor
It was on January 27, 1945 that the Soviet Army liberated the survivors at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The Soviets found a little more than 7000 prisoners; a dismally small number compared to the 1.1 million prisoners murdered at Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945.2
The greatest victims of the Holocaust were Jews, whom Hitler had targeted for genocide. Over 6 million Jewish men, woman and children lost their lives during the Holocaust. Many suffered and toiled in concentration camps that dotted the map from eastern France to modern-day Belarus.
After the war, over 40,000 Holocaust survivors immigrated to Canada.3 Many Jews settled in Montreal, where their French was a great asset. Even in Canada, the Jewish community had to combat discrimination. In 1946, they even had to bring a case against the City of Quebec for preventing them to erect a synagogue.4 By the late 1940s, human rights legislation removed common discriminatory practices.5
A number of other victims also lost their lives during the Holocaust. Among them were millions of Ukrainians and Russians, including many Russian prisoners of war. Millions of Poles and Yugoslavians were also killed. There were also tens of thousands of Gypsies, mentally and physically disabled persons, gay men and Spanish Republicans. Thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses were also killed – and it’s unknown how many communists, political prisoners, resistance fighters and trade unionists lost their lives.6
Sadly, genocide is not yet part of our past. Many countries are still at risk of genocide and politicide, including Syria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria.7
There are many signs that can signal an impending genocide. Perhaps the most troubling is a tendency to create out-groups, which are then stripped of their humanity.8 During the Holocaust, the Nazis regarded Jews as “parasitic vermin.”9 In Rwanda, the Tutsis were often compared to cockroaches.10
On this day, let’s pay honour to the victims of the Holocaust. Let’s also remember to never be a passive bystander; there are countless who paid the ultimate price for others’ indifference.
1. Remarks on Presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to Elie Wiesel and on Signing the Jewish Heritage Week Proclamation April 19, 1985
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States. It’s a day to celebrate the achievements of a civil rights icon – a chance to look back at how much progress that has been made and to look ahead at the tremendous amount work still left to be done in the name of equality.
This year will also mark the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s famous “I have a dream” speech, which he delivered during the March to Washington. While desegregation and racial harmony were key demands, the march also pushed for more jobs and the elimination of discrimination in hiring practices.
Over 200,000 people joined the demonstration for civil rights. The march had been organized, in part, with the help of labour unions. Asa Philip Randolph, an African-American labour leader, was the march’s head organizer. On that historic day, Randolph told the Times-News that it was “the greatest demonstration for freedom in the nation’s history.”
In 1964, a few months after the U.S. congress passed the Civil Rights Act, Dr. King was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. During the award ceremony, Nobel Committee Chairman Gunnar Jahn noted the following about Dr. King:
“He is the first person in the Western world to have shown us that a struggle can be waged without violence. He is the first to make the message of brotherly love a reality in the course of his struggle, and he has brought this message to all men, to all nations and races.”
With the Conservatives in charge, our country is turning into a giant auction where even our best-kept treasures are being put up for sale. Yes, that’s right; even the Canadian Rockies aren’t safe. Earlier last year, Parks Canada announced its plans to privatize the operations of three of its most iconic attractions: the hot springs in Banff, Jasper and Radium.
Last week, our members met with the local community in Jasper to find out what they thought of commercializing the hot springs — a consultation the government failed to do. Under privatization, the union expects an increase in fees or a decrease in the standards of service. That’s what happens when you take a national treasure and reduce it to a giant money-making machine.
“We opened up the floor for people to comment and ask questions,” said Marianne Hladun, Regional Executive Vice-President of the PSAC’s Prairie Region. “It was an opportunity to see if what we were thinking was accurate.”
According to Hladun, the Jasperites’ opinions were absolutely in sync with our own. Many were concerned the hot springs would turn into a playground for the elite, with spa pricing making it harder for working-class Canadians to afford.
“Fifty years ago last August, we celebrated our honeymoon at the Miette hot springs [in Jasper],” said one resident. “The reason we celebrated there was because it was the most reasonable place we could find after going to university.”
“We stayed at the cabin with the tent tops… but unfortunately they had bunk beds,” she added to much laughter from the crowd at the meeting.
The woman also expressed her concern that the commercialization of the hot springs will prevent future generations from enjoying the hot springs as her family did.
Recently, her daughter got engaged while walking along the trails surrounding the Miette hot springs.
“We love the hot springs,” she said. “It’s turned out to be a wonderful place for us.”
Help us stop the privatization of our national treasures. It only takes a few seconds to send an email to your MP using the PSAC Prairies website.
During its October retreat, the PSAC National Board of Directors drafted the following statement. It has been endorsed and duly signed by all members of the board.
The National Board of Directors stands united in its determination to return to our members a sense of pride in their union, a belief in the principles of trade unionism, and a confidence in their elected leaders.
In all that we do, we shall be guided by the need to champion issues which are relevant to our members and speak to their experiences in the current economic and political climate.
We will not allow the safety of our food, transportation, borders and environment to be eroded by the cutting of public services. We will not allow our communities to be decimated by the loss of good jobs. We will not allow the rights of our equity-seeking groups to be pushed aside. We will not allow government to rule unchallenged.
We will continue to work with our allies and speak with one voice because we are all affected. We will be present in the workplace. We will be vocal in the media. We will engage with our members, face to face, and listen to their concerns.
Above all, we will take action. We will act to protect our union. We will act to protect our right to represent our members, to bargain collectively and to withdraw our labour.
In refusing to be silenced, we will be heard. In going back to our principles, we will move forward. In reclaiming our history, we will secure our future.
Signed by:
Robyn Benson, National President, PSAC
Chris Aylward, National Executive Vice-President, PSAC
Jeannie Baldwin, REVP, Atlantic
Magali Picard, REVP, Québec
Larry Rousseau, REVP, NCR
Sharon DeSousa, REVP, Ontario
Marianne Hladun, REVP, Prairies
Bob Jackson, REVP, BC
Julie Docherty, REVP North
Bob Kingston, National President, Agriculture Union
It seems that the Harper government isn’t done attacking our members. Last Sunday, some contentious changes to our nation’s employment insurance took effect.
The Canadian Press reports that the unemployed will “face stricter, more complex rules for keeping their benefits.” These changes will be especially detrimental to many of our members whose work is seasonal.
According to Service Canada, frequent claimants (those who have had three or more claims or who have received over 60 weeks in benefits over the past five years) may be forced to accept up to a 30% wage cut.
“I’m very worried about our members at Parks Canada. Last year, the Harper government cut the hours and seasons for many of our members. Now, with these changes to EI, they’re kicking them while they’re down,” said National President Doug Marshall.
Marshall isn’t alone in his concern. The Globe and Mail recently reported that Atlantic Premiers also believe that these changes are an attack on season workers:
“The people who they most seem to be targeting are actually people who are in seasonal jobs. Like, that is not an abuse. That is part of rural culture of Canada,” [Nova Scotia’s NDP Premier Darrell] Dexter said. “If they see that as a problem then they essentially see the culture of rural Canada as a problem.”
Regional Assistant Vice-President Mike LeBlanc protested the changes to EI last Friday along with President of Local 60284 Rhéal Vautour. LeBlanc said the very frigid weather didn’t deter more than 400 people from protesting Conservative MP Robert Goguen’s office.
“EI has always been there for me, but it won’t be there anymore because I’ll be deemed a repeat user,” said LeBlanc who works as a seasonal worker in New Brunswick.
“I want to work. I don’t want to be on EI, but there’s no work,” added LeBlanc. “And now we’re going to get hit hard by changes to the very social safety net that’s supposed to keep us afloat.”
LeBlanc said he’s concerned about what this means for Atlantic Canada. New Brunswick’s unemployment rate recently surged to 11.6% in October. In Miramichi, the unemployment rate hovered near 20% last April.
LeBlanc also fears the change to EI may force many New Brunswickers to look elsewhere for work.
“We want to live in New Brunswick. We love our province.”
Rhéal Vautour and Mike LeBlanc at the "scrap the EI changes" rally in front of Conservative MP Robert Goguen's office in Moncton.
I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all our members a joyous holiday season and a Happy New Year.
To say that 2012 was a difficult year for us would be an understatement. For some, the Harper government’s attack on public services was felt very personally – for others, they had to deal with the fact that, while they were spared, their friends or family members were not. And ultimately, we all had to cope with the knowledge that our fellow Canadians and future generations would bear the brunt of these thoughtless cuts.
Brothers and sisters, now is not the time to give up or give in. While 2012 was a terrible year, I have seen moments that give me great hope in the power of our union and the important work we do. I’ve seen countless volunteers step in to help those who are affected – some, even while they were dealing with the news that they were affected too. I’ve also seen new volunteers, who’ve had enough with this government’s treatment of public service employees, keenly interested in joining our movement.
So for 2013, I invite you to recommit to our efforts to protect the important work we do on behalf of Canadians. Let’s continue to fight together for what we know is right.
I hope you take time during the holidays to relax and re-energize. Most of all, I hope you take this precious time to connect with your loved ones and rekindle old friendships.
In solidarity,
Doug Marshall
National President
Union of National Employees
The National Executive will meet in Ottawa from January 22 to 24. The first session will start at 9:00 a.m. in the Union of National Employees boardroom.
If your Local wishes to place an item on the agenda, please contact your Regional Vice-President and provide him or her with clear and concise information. He or she will gladly bring your item before the executive.
About the National Executive: The National Executive is responsible for the policies, programs and direction of the Union of National Employees. Between conventions, it makes important decisions and creates policies that help look after our union. The executive also carries out resolutions adopted by the members during the last convention. Its members meets three times per year to review the union’s activities and ensure that they reflect the will of the membership.
