VIHRC AGM September 9, 2010 5 to 8 pm PSAC Victoria Regional Office – 210-1497 Admirals Road

What is the Vancouver Island Human Rights Committee?

Our goals:

• to actively promote and encourage members from the Aboriginal Peoples, Racially Visible Persons, Pride and Access equity groups to participate in the union and in society as a whole;
• and to educate union members at large on sensitivity and inclusiveness in the union.

Our hope:

• that you join us in championing human rights on Vancouver Island.

Our agenda:

• Adoption of minutes
• Election of officers
• Resolutions
• Dates for 2011 meetings

Afterwards, please stay for snacks and drinks and to meet the committee.

Download the poster (pdf)

PSAC members marched with Pride in Vancouver on Sunday August 1st.  This year, the Multi-Union Pride entry, which won the prize for “Captivating Community Cluster”, took inspiration from Vancouver Pride’s “educate, liberate and celebrate” theme. MUP educated last year, liberated this year, and next year they’ll celebrate!

PSAC BC also hosted a Think Public booth at the Pride Festival at Sunset Beach. PSAC members and the public stopped by to play “Spot The Public Service” and learn about the work PSAC members do. We also gathered over 300 signatures on our long form census petition.

Read more for some photos …

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Join us for the evening to listen to a keynote address from David Foster, Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance

The BlueGreen Alliance is a national (USA), strategic partnership between labor unions and environmental organizations dedicated to expanding the number and quality of jobs in the green economy.

Date: Friday, September 10

Time: 7:00 -10:00pm

Space is LIMITED – Register Now to ensure your seat.The event is Free, but you must pre-register at columbiainstitute.ca.

This event is part of the Green Jobs Conference, which is sponsored/hosted in part by the Union of Environment Workers/PSAC, along with many other Unions and environmental groups. Download a poster (.pdf)

Labour Day is just around the corner … here are some events scheduled for Monday, September 6, 2010. PSAC members and staff will be at all three events – stop by the PSAC booth or table and say hi!

• Vancouver Labour Day Picnic – a celebration of Solidarity
• Sept 6th – 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
• Central Park, Burnaby, BC (map)
• Families welcome! Come join us for food, music and games for kids.
• Download a pdf copy of poster.

• 22nd Annual Victoria Labour Day Picnic – hosted by the Victoria Labour Council
• Sept 6th  – 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
• Irving Park, Victoria, BC (corner of Menzies & Michigan – map)
• Kids games – Clowns – Refreshments – Fun for the whole family!
• Volunteers and Donations are Welcome! Contact the Victoria Labour Council
• Download the poster as .pdf.

• 1st Annual Fraser Valley Labour Day Picnic – hosted by the Fraser Valley Labour Council
• Sept 6th – 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
• Mill Lake Park, 2310 Emerson St. Mill Lake, Abbotsford, (Bevan Road Entrance – map)
• East Meets West! Join members of the PSAC East and West Fraser Valley Area Councils and other Unions for entertainment, food, information booths, kids events and solidarity!
• Contact: Fraser Valley Labour Council, phone: 604 314-9867
• Download a poster as PDF: Labour Day Picnic Fraser Valley

Is there a Labour Day event happening in your community? Email Patrick and we’ll add it to the list!

Photo day at psacbc.com! Thanks to Amal Rana and Aly Kanani (President, CEIU 20901) for this report and photos from the Union Pride Celebration at Library Square in downtown Vancouver.

On Thursday, July 29th, CEIU Local 20901 held their 1st annual Union Pride Celebration at Library Square. Everyone was invited to celebrate the LGBT community. The event was also a celebration of culture and diversity. A number of people came out to mingle, enjoy wonderful food and conversation, fabulous decorations and great music. Congratulations to the local executive for such a successful event! We look forward to next year!

Cheers to Garry Fraser and Jennifer Ho (NAT 20088) for these photos and report from the PSAC Think Public booth at Surrey Fusion Festival, July 17 and 18!

PSAC BC set up a Think Public Booth at the Surrey Fusion Festival on July 17th and 18th. Many members volunteered to help promote Public Services and encourage the public to sign a petit…ion to the House of Commons urging them to reverse the decision to eliminate the mandatory long form Canada Census questionnaire.

The event was a celebration of community diversity in the second largest city in BC, Surrey. We had many good discussions with the public on why Public Services are critical for Canada. Many people played our game of spot the Public Service and were given a Think Public prize.

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June was a busy month around the province! Here are some photos and a video of some of the activities PSAC members participated in.

Under the theme “Step In to Something That Moves You” PSAC women activists, old and new, joined together at the 2010 BC Regional Women’s Conference in Vancouver. They heard from guest speakers and held discussions and workshops on a variety of topics including childcare, women and pensions, pay equity, work-life balance, violence against women, lobbying and political action/campaign work, and debated resolutions to be sent to the PSAC National Women’s Conference. Huge thanks to Virginia Vaillancourt for putting together a most excellent video!

In Victoria, PSAC staff and members from the South Island marched in the 2010 Pride Parade under the theme “Gay Rights are Human Rights” and hosted a booth at the festival held at MacDonald Park.

• Read the PSAC Pride Statement at the national website.

In Cumberland, a delegation of PSAC members from the Campbell River and District Area Council attended the Miners Memorial Day Weekend, where they laid a wreath to commemorate the miners who worked and lost their lives in the mines of Cumberland and other workplaces throughout BC.

Meanwhile, back on the mainland, PSAC BC hosted a Think Public! booth at the Surrey Canada Day festivities. Staff and members met with the fair goers and spoke with them about the value of strong, quality, public services and public pensions.

“Read more” for the photos and video …

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Negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreement between PSAC/UNDE Local 1018 (Comox) and IMP Limited will commence Tuesday July 6th. The parties meet again on Wednesday July 7th. Lloyd Barrow, Grant Golem and Alex Martell are the Local representatives on the PSAC negotiating team. The PSAC negotiator is Dave Jackson.

PSAC members who work for IMP Comox perform first and second level maintenance activities on Comorant helicopters. Some of these workers are employed as technicians, crew chiefs, maintenance planners, storespersons and administrative assistant.

VIHRC Meeting Minutes April 22, 2010

• In attendance: Robert Mitchell, Paul Jones, Laura Gracie, Wendy Bruce, Michael Doerfler, Virginia Vaillancourt, Maddalena Maher, Dave Jackson, Rosemary MacKenzie – Tracy Shudo via teleconference.
• ASL & SIGNED ENGLISH INTERPRETERS: Mary Butterfield & Mary Warner & Student Translator, Alison Corrigan.
• Regrets: Mark McCavour, Cindy Little, Anita Hoffman, Mandi Schubert and Ryan Dowell.

Meeting started at 6:32 p.m.

Continue reading below, or download the meeting minutes (.pdf).

Round table introductions were done.

Reviewed and adopted last minutes from February 18, 2010.

1. VIHRC Bank Account Signers: Rosemary reported all five financial signers signed the new paperwork provided by Community Savings, which included the Treasurer (Wendy Bruce), who was elected at the last meeting. The five signers are Michael Doerfler, Wendy Bruce, Paul Jones, Virginia Vaillancourt and Rosemary MacKenzie.
2. Follow up with Treasury and VIHRC financial details and budget was presented by Wendy Bruce. The current balance is $391.93. 2 statements have been received because we have 2 accounts, one is an equal shares account with the Community Savings account of which we put in $50.00 and have earned $.03 cents in interest so far and our business checking account which started with a balance of $450.00. Once the BC Committee receives their allocation we will receive ours shortly after that. Treasurer wants to apply for a local access fund to help pay for interpreters instead of from our operating budget.
3. Pride 2010 funding request – Paul: Looking for money for Pride activities, as we don’t know how much we have for funding Paul has made a motion to move this item to next meeting on June 22, 2010. Carried.
4. National GLBT convention resolution re: “Pride” term – Paul: Resolution made at the convention, great exception to the word Pride, resolution did not pass. Copy of National conference from 2007-2009 for anyone who wants to know what happened at these conventions. There were many discussions around the word Pride and many did not feel it was a very good word to use as it indicated only the GLBT group were proud and did not include other members under the 4 equity groups, it was felt that Pride was a term that excluded other equity people.
5. Progress/vote on VIHRC logo designs – Robert: Robert gave a power point presentation with 4 designs for discussion and voting on. Symbols such as a dove, human figures, candles and urban imagery were used in the designing and planning. VIHRC has voted on a logo for the committee. The Committee would like to thank Robert for all the hard work he put into the planning and designing of these logos.
6. Update on banner style & costing – Mark: Moved to next meeting.

• Break 7:32 Meeting Resumed at 7:36

1. Duty to accommodate – Maddalena: Presented to the Committee a power point presentation on the role of Community based Health Providers regarding Occupation Addiction Medicine. It was very informative and gave some of the responsibilities and rights between the employers and the employees as well as what information your Dr. is allowed to release to the employer. She advised of actual outcomes of cases heard by the courts and HR Tribunals. Bill C-45 is the key to understanding the term safety in the workplace. Thank you Maddalena.
2. Amendments to TOR – Dave/Michael: Amendments to clean up the language of our VIHRC TOR previously voted in from our February 18, 2010 meeting to ensure clarity and consistency within the document. Amended version submitted. Discussion ensued and vote taken and passed to clean up language of our TOR as presented at today’s meeting. Cheque signers will communicate via e-mail to put in place processes for cheque signing which will then be amended and voted into the VIHRC’s TOR.
3. Clarification on committee positions’ roles – Michael: Duties and responsibilities of committee positions for secretary duties. Recording secretary to use audio/digital recorder for meetings, meeting notifications and e-mailing agenda items along with the chair. Rosemary will usually do up agenda items and send them out to the committee members. She also has a template for signing in of members on meeting nights to ensure the contact information is up to date.
4. VIHRC National Access conference in Ottawa – all: 4 members of our committee have been chosen for this convention; Paul, Maddalena, Wendy and Mark, congratulations! Paul would like to add a resolution for this conference; however the deadline has now passed. Deadline was the same time as the delegate applications on March 3, 2010. Virginia felt that this was unfair as members who would like to put forth a resolution may not do so because they don’t know at that time if they have been accepted as a delegate or not. Michael has brought forth some considerations he would like to be brought forward at this convention regarding a special access fund being started to accommodate funds for equipment for business related equipment for PWD members such as laptops and projectors for PSAC related business. Robert mentioned that his local has just bought a new laptop and are looking to donate their old one. He will look into the possibility of donating it to the VIHRC. Thank you!!! Paul will also bring forward a special resolution during convention to request a new access fund be established for special equipment needed for PWD members.

• Final note to this: VIHRC has just been advised that we have another member of our committee who has been selected to attend this conference too. Congratulations Michael for being chosen to attend this conference as well!

1. Website hosting for VIHRC resources – Michael: Moved to next meeting June 22, 2010.

Meeting adjourned at 8:29 p.m.

Next meeting is June 22, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at the PSAC office.

In attendance: Brenda Esplen, Jeannette Lum, Sharon Hazelwood, Gwen Williams, Leanne Hughes, Cindy Little, Virginia Vaillancourt (Chair), Rosemary MacKenzie (PSAC Staff) Regrets:   Dyan Day, Mandi Schubert.

Meeting called to order at 5:40 pm

Review of April 13, 2010 minutes and approval

M/S/C
Jeannette Lum / Cindy Little /  Carried

Continue reading below, or download a copy of Victoria RWC May 27 minutes (pdf)

Budget

New signers are now on the account and we’re figuring what’s in our account.   Brenda will explain what we have in each account.   We will discuss budget for the upcoming year.   One requirement for the Victoria RWC is to submit a budget to the REVP each year.
After a cursory glance here is our balance as of March 31, 2010 :

• $1175.54 in our Business Chequing
• $129.47 in our Equity Shares Account
• $700.98 Plan 24 Savings Account

Our next meeting is June 21st, so here is some suggestions re:  funding line items to think about.

• Assistance to conferences
• Meeting (foods / movie rentals etc)
• December 6th event / March 8th
• Contingency Fund / Miscellaneous
• Donations

If you think of anything more before June 21st, just let me know (Virginia).

Funding for Women who’ve been selected to the BC Regional Women’s Conference

Re:   $75 registration fee.   Is any assistance needed by anyone?

As well, each RWC has been asked to bring a “basket” for the silent auction.   Suggestions?  How much do we wish to make up the basket for?  Tangible items……………

• Murchies # 10 blend tea / Empress Tea
• A candle from the Day of Mourning Event
• Roger’s Chocolats , Smoked Salmon
• Bottle of wine from a local winery, Maybe something from Butchart Gardens, Books from a local author
• Postcards from Victoria

As well, we’ve been asked to assist in funding a beverage for the participants from the RW Conference.  Up to $200.  There will be 63 participants registered, plus the staff etc. Everyone was in agreement.

Air Travel to RW Conference.

We’ve be able to purchase two Harbour Air tickets from a local who had two extra flight tickets, willing to sell them to us for a reduced costs.

Gwen Williams and Sharon Hazelwood will be utilizing these tickets, as they are travelling as a team.

Delegate for the PSAC National Women’s Conference

It was asked if anyone was interested in going to the National Women’s conference as a delegate.   Only Virginia was interested.  Brenda said she would try and apply to go via her local.

Virginia will be the delegate
Brenda will be the alternate.

Meeting adjourned at:   6:40 pm

Vancouver Island Human Rights Committee – Notification of Regular Meeting

• Open to: All PSAC Members on Vancouver Island
• Date/Time: June 22, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.
• Location: PSAC Victoria Regional Office, 210-1497 Admirals Road
• Teleconference: Please call 250-953-1050 or 1-866-953-1050 for ‘call in’ coordinates, no later than June 22 at 12:00 noon.

Come out or Telephone in & See what your newly formed Vancouver Island Human Rights Committee (VIHRC) has been doing for you! New members and allies are always welcomed to observe or join VIHRC!

VIHRC is particularly keen in welcoming any member from 4 equity groups:

• Aboriginals;
• Access (Persons with Disabilities which also includes invisible disorders such as ADHD, Brain injury, OCD etc.);
• Pride (Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transgendered, Transsexual etc.);
• Racially Visible

Regular meeting atmosphere is casual. Please contact 250-953-1050 or email PSAC Victoria Regional Office at mackenr@psac.com for more info. Download the poster!

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2010 Pride in Labour

PSAC BC & Paul Jones, GLBT Regional Council Coordinator invites you & your families to join us in the 2010 PRIDE Parade & Festival in Victoria. “Gay Rights Are Human Rights”

When: Sunday July 4, 2010

Meet at 10 am on Broad St. (by the Victoria Events Centre) Parade Starts at 12:00 noon. Beads provided.

A family friendly event will follow at MacDonald Park. Access accommodations will be accommodated by an 18-­‐foot trailer that you may ride on. Download the poster.

NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETING

DATE: June 21, 2010 (Monday)
TIME: 5:30 P.M.
LOCATION: PSAC Boardroom, 210-1497 Admirals Rd., Victoria, BC

AGENDA: To be announced.

Please forward any agenda items to the Chair, Virginia Vaillancourt at: uvaevictoria@shaw.ca

Please R.S.V.P as various snack food will be provided – email Rosemary at mackenr@psac.com

Note: the building door is locked by 5:30, so if you can, please arrive a few minutes earlier. Thanks.

National Component – LOCAL 20150 – INAUGURAL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

• 5:00 PM, JULY 13, 2010
• Leylum, 2nd Floor, 1138 Melville Street

AGM AGENDA

1. Call to Order by the Chairperson
2. Guest Speakers
3. Approval of By-Laws
4. Nomination and Election of Officers
5. Adjournment

Refreshments will be served.

Download the meeting notice and proposed local bylaws (pdf).

PSAC REGIONAL OFFICE 210-1497 ADMIRALS ROAD

Proposed Agenda

1. Treasurer’s report
2. Pride Parade – July 4 – Paul Jones
3. Update from National Access Conference
4. Regional Women’s Conference
5. By-Law’s Committee update
6. Labour Day Picnic

PLEASE RSVP TO: Rosemary at the Regional Office  no later than noon on June 7, 2010 at ph: 250-953-1050 or e0mail: mackenr@psac.com

Snacks will be served.

Please try to arrive prior to the start of the meeting as the doors to the building are locked by 5:30 p.m.

Building a People’s Economy – Creating Alternatives for Economic and Environmental Change!

The current state of the economy and the economic crisis has raised many questions for PSAC members and other workers in Canada and around the world. Unemployment is rising, public service pensions are on the chopping block and the new federal budget is resulting in critical changes and cutbacks in our members’ jobs and the gutting of much needed public and social services. This is all taking place at a time when our environment is at risk and Canada’s lack of action in addressing climate change at Copenhagen and in the global arena in general is coming under question.

While this is a challenging time for all of us, it is also a unique opportunity to build new alternatives and ask some key questions.

Join us and help build a People’s Economy and create alternatives for economic and environmental change!

What is the Union School?

Union Education at its best! The Union School is open to all members and brings you the most cutting edge analysis in the region regarding current trends and issues facing our members and workers in general while providing you with on the ground, comprehensive education on issues like Health and Safety, Becoming a Steward and much much more.

It’s a unique and incredible opportunity for you to gain more specialized knowledge and skills while networking with other members from across the BC Region so that you can return to your workplaces and locals energized and ready to empower other members!

The school is one of our most popular events, with limited seating. Seats fill up very fast so be sure to register right away!

Click for more information, course descriptions, and online registration.

Election of Interim Executive

Tuesday, June 8th 2010
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
YWCA 535 Hornby St.
Vancouver, B.C.
(MacMillan Bloedel room)

Lunch and refreshments to be provided.

Contact Information for conference dial in:

1-866-797-9098 followed by the number 16 25 704 (followed by the pound sign)#.

Please note: While members may participate via conference call from various locations, voting stations will be located at the Hornby location, the Kamloops and Kelowna offices only.

Business:
Election of Interim Executive

As was conveyed to those members present at the AGM in March this interim executive would work with the National President to rebuild the structure of local 20031 and present our recommendations for membership approval at the 2010 AGM in November.

The main areas of focus are to be:

• To prepare a financial report for 2010 and a budget for 2011 for adoption
• To present officer reports for adoption
• To review and recommend possible and /or necessary changes to local by-laws
• To establish a communication and meeting structure that would be more responsive to the current needs of the membership.

In solidarity,

Tony Tilley
President
National Health Union

With the assistance of PSAC Regional Representative Garry Fraser, members in ridings throughout the Lower Mainland have been meeting with their MPs over the last couple of months to discuss the Public Service Pension Plan, retirement security, and the impact of the budget on jobs and services to the public. Here is a brief report on what some of the MPs had to say.

• Don Davies, Vancouver Kingsway, is very supportive of Public Service Pension Plan and improvements to the CPP and the OAP and committed to bring the issue up with the NDP caucus.
• Bill Siksay, Burnaby-Douglas, is also very supportive, and Will support any action to stop the government from changing the plan. He also supports improvements to CPP and OAP and committed to bring the issue up with his caucus.
• John Cummins, Delta-Richmond East, suprised PSAC members by stating that the employer should not be “changing a pension plan in the middle of the game. The pension plan is a condition of employment and employees invest accordingly for retirement”. John was somewhat supportive of improvements to the CPP and will bring the issue to the Conservative caucus.
• Ed Fast, Abbotsford, laughed at the petition. This is not the kind of support PSAC members would like to see, but were expecting.
• Chuck Strahl, Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon, holds similar views as John Cummins and is supportive to the extent that the terms and conditions of the plan should not be changed. He noted that all the major unions had been involved in consultation in regards to the budget and were assured that the pension was not on the table. He stated he will bring our concerns to Stockwell Day, head of the Treasury Board, and is supportive of improvements to the CPP and OAP.
• Mark Warawa, Langley, was reluctant to sit down and have a discussion but did so. He stated that constituents should send him a letter detailing their concerns and he would take it the minister responsible and get back to them. We informed him that Veterans Affairs are scheduled to close the Surrey Office – veterans in the area will now either have to drive into Vancouver or do their business over the phone – and he seemed concerned with this as his father was a veteran.
• Peter Julian, Burnaby-New Westminster, said his party is very supportive of improvements to CPP and OAP and have been working to that end. He noted that there are too many corporate tax breaks in Canada and if the corporations paid their fair share we could much better care for Canadians. PSAC members also spoke to him about the budget and its impact on services and programs. A member from the parole office in New Westminister noted she is seeing the evidence of cuts now, and gave as an example the declining frequency of monitoring parolees for substance abuse. Peter was interested in our Workplace Watch campaign and asked to be kept up to date on it’s progress.

Are you interested in joining a group of PSAC members and meeting with your MP? Contact Patrick Bragg in the Vancouver Regional office. Our lobbying and Workplace Watch campaigns are ongoing – stay tuned for more reports.

Retirement Security: Let’s make it work for everyone!

Fixing Our Pension Crisis: A Panel Discussion
with Sylvain Schetagne, Canadian Labour Congress, Senior Economist,
and Dr. Michael Prince, Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy

• When: Wednesday, May 19, 2010
• Where: BCGEU Building, 2994 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC
• Time: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Admission is free and members of the public are welcome.

Organized by the Canadian Labour Congress, Victoria Labour Council. For information, please contact: Victoria Labour Council: 250-384-8331 Email: vlcbc@telus.net. Download a poster here (.pdf)

Here are a few photos from recent PSAC BC events …

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