Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Women Behaving Politically: Organizing for Change.

The Western Regional Summer Institute for Union Women offers an intensive week of learning within a supportive environment in which union women can develop their skills as workers, activists and leaders.

Sponsored by the British Columbia Federation of Labour, the Institute will be held at the University of Victoria (UVIC). The Western Regional SIUW brings together union women from BC, Washington State, Oregon and California.

Our theme, Women Behaving Politically: Organizing for Change, reflects labour’s commitment to providing women with both the skills and strategies to understand the key issues for labour and how that understanding can help us participate in the upcoming elections, and develop stronger leadership among women within our unions and political institutions. We need the world to hear more women’s voices speaking out on issues that matter to us like: pay equity, a higher minimum wage, universal childcare, health care, the economy, poverty and the right to join a union.

Read more, and download a brochure and registration form at bcfed.ca.

Mark Your Calendars and Grab a Sleeping Bag!!!!

The B.C. Federation of Labour will be hosting a Conference for Young Workers on May 30 - June 1, 2008.
This Conference is open to all young union members between the ages of 19 - 30. It will be held at Camp Jubilee which is only a short boat ride just outside of Vancouver. Join other Young Workers from across the province for workshops and seminars ranging from skills building to labour history.

Keep an eye out for the registration form that will be coming soon. If you would like further information, please contact Dayna Sykes at dsykes@bcfed.ca or 604-430-1421.

Download the poster (pdf).

Rights, Not Wrongs: The role of unions in creating a better world

A joint conference for human rights activists in the labour movement sponsored by the BC Federation of Labour and the BC Teachers’ Federation. The conference will focus on emerging human rights issues, featuring leading BC human rights specialists in First Nations, peace, anti-poverty, women’s rights, antiracism, international issues and many more.

• Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
• April 3-5 2008
• Keynote Speaker: Stephen Lewis, Friday April 4th @ 7:30PM

Organized by the BCTF Committee for Action on Social Justice and the BC Federation of Labour Human Rights Commitee. For more information, visit www.bctf.ca or www.bcfed.ca. Download the Rights not Wrongs poster (pdf).

The Vancouver District Labour Council Young Workers Committee (VDLC) is having a rally in front of Gordon Campbell’s office on Saturday February 16th at 1:00pm to promote the increase of minimum wage. Currently the minimum wage is $8.00 an hour (below the poverty level.) and there is a bogus training wage for new workers where employers are paying as little as $6.00 an hour for the 1 st 500 hours to young and immigrant workers.

Many of the other provinces have already legislated an increase to Minimum wage, BC is falling behind and we have some of the highest costs of living in all of Canada. The labour movement is calling for the abolishment of the $6 training wage and an increase to the minimum wage to $10.00 an hour.

Come out and support some of our provinces most vulnerable workers and the VDLC Young workers. Let’s make this rally a success!

• February 16th /08
• 3615 W. 4th Ave. (In Front Of Gordon Campbell’s Office.)
• 1:00pm
• 8 Bucks Sucks!

You can also show your support by signing the petition on the BC Federation of Labour website.

Upcoming courses put on by the BC Federation of Labour Health & Safety Centre. For more information, course descriptions or registration call the Fed @ 604-430-1421, 1-888-BCFL NOW or visit www.bcfed.ca. There is an $85 registration fee for most courses.

• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Cranbrook - Feb 21
• Workplace Ergonomics OHS Course Fernie - Feb 22
• Basic OHS Course Greater Vancouver - Feb 26
• Basic OHS Course Nanaimo - Feb 27
• Prevention of Violence in the Workplace OHS Course Victoria - Feb 28
• Workplace Ergonomics OHS Course Parksville - Mar 4
• Basic OHS Course Campbell River - Mar 5
• Basic OHS Course Salmon Arm - Mar 6
• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Revelstoke - Mar 7
• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Surrey - Mar 7
• Prevention of Violence in the Workplace OHS Course Greater Vancouver - Mar 11
• Workplace Toxins OHS Course Greater Vancouver - Mar 12
• Basic OHS Course Powell River - Mar 13
• Basic OHS Course Kimberley - Mar 14
• Stress in the Workplace OHS Course Victoria - Mar 25
• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Duncan - Mar 26
• Advanced OHS Course Greater Vancouver - Mar 28
• Workplace Ergonomics OHS Course Chilliwack - Mar 31
• Whole Body Vibration OHS Course Greater Vancouver - Apr 2
• Workplace Ergonomics OHS Course Greater Vancouver - Apr 3
• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Nanaimo - Apr 8
• Stress in the Workplace OHS Course Surrey - Apr 14
• Basic OHS Course Abbotsford - Apr 17
• Advanced OHS Course Victoria - Apr 21
• Basic OHS Course Courtenay - Apr 23
• Advanced OHS Course Parksville - Apr 24
• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Creston - Apr 29
• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Prince George - May 1
• Basic OHS Course Prince George - May 1
• Advanced OHS Course Prince George - May 1
• Workplace Ergonomics OHS Course Prince George - May 1
• Whole Body Vibration OHS Course Victoria - May 6
• Workplace Ergonomics OHS Course Surrey - May 9
• Stress in the Workplace OHS Course Greater Vancouver - May 12
• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Powell River - May 15
• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Chilliwack - May 20
• Prevention of Violence in the Workplace OHS Course Nanaimo - May 22
• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Greater Vancouver - Jun 4
• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Campbell River - Jun 5
• Accident/Incident Investigations OHS Course Abbotsford - Jun 9

BC’s labour movement backs up support for locked-out Sears workers with $20,000 contribution to strike fund

BC’s unions are contributing $20,000 to locked-out Sears Canada workers today, says B.C. Federation of Labour Jim Sinclair, to underline labour’s determination to help them win a fair collective agreement.

“This contribution is intended to underline our call to consumers to refrain from shopping at Sears until this company negotiates a fair collective agreement with these members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 213,” Sinclair said. “Seventy-seven (77) workers who repair appliances for Sears have been locked out since October 1st, ordered to take pay cuts and face concessions on overtime and time off.”

Sinclair and other representatives of the Federation made the contribution during a lunchtime leafleting blitz outside the Vancouver store at Robson and Howe.

Sinclair said Sears, which had profits of $150 million last year, is taking a hard line with its workers that amounts to union-busting.  “This is unacceptable in this province and our boycott indicates labour’s rejection of this approach.”

Sinclair said the $20,000, collected from Federation affiliates in the last week, will help the union support its members during the Christmas season. During the past few days, IBEW has distributed flyers about the boycott to hundreds of thousands of homes in the province.

The labour movement in BC says shoppers have a choice to make during this busy holiday season.

“They’ve told them if they want to come back to work, they have to take less money in real terms than what they had before.” He says the company also took away their right to two days off in a row, and eliminated overtime when it imposed a contract.  “It’s completely unfair, and it’s just a question of deciding if you support these workers and their families, or Sears, which made $150 million last year in Canada.”

Sinclair claims Sears has a notoriously anti-union attitude, and believes the lock-out is an effort to break this union local.
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For more information, please call Geoff Meggs 604 220-3095.

Locked out workers take boycott of Sears to holiday shoppers

Vancouver – Locked out service technicians employed by Sears Canada, will be taking their boycott of Sears straight to holiday shoppers this weekend.

The 77 workers, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 213, have been locked out since October 1, 2007, when Sears Canada imposed a collective agreement, with no negotiated wage increases, cuts to holiday time, and a longer work week with no overtime.

The workers will be joined by Jim Sinclair, President, B.C. Federation of Labour, and Rick Dowling, International Executive Council Member, Business-Manager, IBEW 213.

WHAT: SEARS CANADA BOYCOTT
WHEN: 10:30 am, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2007
WHERE: OUTSIDE METROTOWN SEARS (4750 Kingsway, Burnaby, B.C.)

For more information, please contact Jessie Uppal at 604-220-0739

I want to share with you our latest effort in the Campaign to increase BC’s minimum wage and win a long overdue pay raise for 250,000 low paid workers.

$10 NOW: BC Workers Need a Raise is a short video piece where working people talk about why our minimum wage needs to be increased. It’s just been posted on You Tube, and you can watch it now …

Please let your friends and family know about the video and share it with them.

Thanks to the thousands of people who’ve taken part in our 10 for $10 challenge in October. We generated more than 10,000 new signatures on our petition in the lead up to the November 1st anniversary of the last time B.C.’s minimum was boosted in 2001. Now 50,000 British Columbians have signed on to show their support for a $10 minimum wage.

I also want to give you my commitment that the B.C. Federation of Labour Campaign will continue until the minimum wage is increased and tens of thousands of workers are brought up to the poverty line.

Keep up the fight!

Jim Sinclair, President, B.C. Federation of Labour

UNITE HERE Local 40 members at 3 Vancouver area hotels are currently bargaining new contracts. These hotels are the Hilton Metrotown, the Holiday Inn Broadway and the Delta Vancouver Airport. UNITE HERE is committed to fighting for the same standards at these 3 hotels that workers in the downtown hotels achieved in their recent contract campaign and need our support.

Please take a moment to fill out the attached Unite HERE pledge (pdf), which reads:

I/We Publicly Endorse UNITE HERE members and their struggle for justice in the following hotels: Delta Vancouver Airport, Hilton Metrotown, Holiday Inn Vancouver Centre. I/We will not Eat, Sleep, or Meet at the Delta Vancouver Airport, Hilton Metrotown, or Holiday Inn Vancouver centre in the event of a labour dispute.

And mail or fax back to the UNITE HERE office at: UNITE HERE! Local 40,4853 Hastings Street, Burnaby BC V5C 2L1 -fax: 604-291-2676

In addition if your Component, Local, or other group is planning on holding an event at any of these hotels, we ask that you contact the hotel directly (sample letters: hilton, delta - both MS Word .doc) and let them know you support UNITE HERE members in their fight for a fair collective agreement.

For more information, visit www.local40union.com or www.hotelworkersrising.org

via BC Federation of Labour

Nov. 1, 2001. It was the last time B.C.’s minimum wage was increased.

With another year gone by without a raise for thousands of workers, it’s an anniversary that is symbolic of the growing economic divide in our province. It spotlights the policies of the Campbell government that prevent the benefits of a booming economy from being shared by all.

To make it worse, the Liberals gave themselves huge pay boosts, but say no to a higher minimum wage.

We can be proud that the labour movement is leading the way to win a $10 minimum wage that will benefit 250,000 low-paid workers and bring more economic fairness for British Columbians.

To mark the Nov. 1 anniversary, I’m urging union members like you to act immediately to help win more support for our $10 NOW campaign.

Please click on this link to sign our $10 NOW petition. Then forward it to family and friends who you know support our efforts. Ask them to sign up before Nov. 1.

If you’re one of the thousands of trade unionists who’ve already signed the petition, then send this link http://www.bcfed.ca/petition/minimum_wage to your family and friends and encourage them to sign.

On Oct. 31, we will be lobbying politicians in Victoria for a higher minimum wage. And we’ll be presenting to the Legislature copies of all the petitions that have been signed so far.

Thanks for your help. I’m confident that if we keep up the pressure, we’ll win on this important issue for working people.

Jim Sinclair
President

via BCFed

In conjunction with the PSAC Leadership Training Conference taking place this week in downtown Vancouver, come and take part in the next petitioning event for the B.C. Federation of Labour’s $10 NOW campaign Sat. Oct. 20th.

• Saturday, Oct. 20, 9:45 am to 12 noon
• meet at the Port of the World room, Renaissance Hotel, 1133 W. Hastings, Vancouver then;
• disperse to solicit signatures in downtown Vancouver

It’s an important event because the BC Fed is trying to get as many petition signatures as possible before Nov. 1 - the sixth anniversary of the last time B.C.’s minimum wage was increased. The event is being organized in conjunction with our leadership training conference and is designed to link PSAC leaders with activists who’ve been part of the minimum wage campaign and share skills.

The PSAC will host a lunch for all volunteers back at the Renaissance Hotel, and the BCFed will have a premium for all those who take part. If you’re interested please contact Stephen Howard at the B.C. Federation of Labour, 604-430-1421 or cell 604-220-2965.

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

The B.C. Federation of Labour is pleased to announce that the BC Fed Health & Safety Centre is continuing the Occupational Health & Safety and Labour Education Program into the 2007/2008 school year.

For the past four years, the Centre has been training young workers from various affiliates to facilitate high school sessions across the province.

In 2003, the B.C. Federation of Labour and the BC Teachers’ Federation introduced this Program to prepare young workers to talk to the students in the high schools about their rights in the workplace. Since then, over 30,000 high school students have participated in the workshops, and over 40 young union members have been trained to deliver these workshops. The success of the Program is due to the commitment and passion of these young facilitators.

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$10 minimum wage critical as BC’s economic boom bypasses provinces’ working families and key region

BC’s current economic boom is bypassing working families, according to a Labour Day analysis prepared by the B.C. Federation of Labour, forcing them to work longer hours just to stand still while corporate profits rise and CEOs take home massive pay increases.

• Sign the minimum wage petition @ bcfed.com
• Download a copy of the report (pdf)

“A $10 minimum wage would help nearly 250,000 working people who are at or below the poverty line,” says B.C. Federation of Labour President, Jim Sinclair. “Despite positive economic news, most British Columbians are not seeing their incomes improve and some regions are actually experiencing declining employment. BC has a very high level of people living in poverty. To them, this is not the ‘best place on earth’ as provincial propaganda suggests.”

The Federation issued a review of the provincial economy to support its call for a $10 minimum wage - which has been frozen by the Campbell Liberals at $8 per hour since 2001. The increase would bring 246,000 British Columbians up to the poverty line with particular benefits for women and younger workers, who make up a large share of BC’s low-paid workforce.

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Daughter of former federal cabinet minister James Sinclair joins public service union, BC Fed to urge federal government to drop sale of historic Sinclair Centre named after her father

Vancouver – Janet Sinclair, the daughter of former federal Liberal government cabinet minister James Sinclair, has joined the union for public service workers and the BC Federation of Labour in urging the Conservative government to drop plans to sell the historic Sinclair Centre that is named after her father.

• Send an email to your MP: Stop The Sale!

The federal government has requested bids for nine buildings across Canada, including the Sinclair Centre, located at 757 West Hastings Street, and is expected to announce its decision today to sell them and lease them back, says Kay Sinclair, Public Service Alliance of Canada BC Vice President.

“We are urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to not sell the Sinclair Centre or the other buildings and keep these public assets that benefits all taxpayers, Sinclair said. “Why would the government want to be a renter when it’s already an owner?”

(more…)

via BC Federation of Labour

The WCB has introduced new regulations this year aimed at improving safety for late night retail workers working alone. The regulations include a risk assessment for workers working alone who are at risk of violence, and prepayment of gas. There will also be requirements for employers to ensure the safety of workers by separating workers from customers with a barrier such as a locked door, and to have two people on during the late night hours.

• Email the WCB and tell them you support tougher laws to protect late night retail workers.

WCB will be holding public hearings in June 2007 to review these regulations. For more information visit the BC Federation of Labour.

“Farmworkers are Canada’s forgotten workers. They work in the fields and harvest the crops that feed us. They work in slave-like conditions for 12-14 hours a day and are paid piece rate. They travel in overcrowded buses to the fields or live in converted chicken coops. Many suffer chronic health problems because of exposure to pesticides during every working day.” - CFU spokesman Charan Gill, June, 1994

When farmworkers in British Columbia’s fertile Fraser Valley started organizing in the 1970s, the main issues were low pay, poor housing, unsafe working conditions, exclusion from labour and safety legislation, lack of childcare and racial discrimination. Those are still the major issues today for the 28,000 workers in the fields.

• Related: New regulations important step to protect farmworkers from employer abuse, says Sinclair, but they remain second-class citizens
• Related:BC farmworkers deserve protection not exploitation

Just outside Vancouver, considered one of the world’s “most livable” cities, farmworkers, mostly immigrants from Punjab, India, and most of those women, work long hours in the open fields harvesting the food we eat. They work in the third most hazardous industry in the province, behind logging and mining. The mortality rate is seven times higher than in the manufacturing sector.

Read (lots) more at www.vcn.bc.ca/cfu/

Dear PSAC Members:

Please join the campaign to raise the minimum wage! The lowest paid workers in BC need our support.

I’m asking you to support the campaign to boost the minimum wage in BC to at least $10 an hour and to eliminate the $6 ”training rate” for new workers (AKA another subsidy for big business.).

The Campbell government has frozen the minimum wage at $8 since November 2001. The labour movement says five years without a raise is too long. Minimum-waged workers in BC cannot live on their wages. We’re calling for an immediate increase to at least $10, closely followed by regular future increases that are tied to cost of living increases.

A minimum wage of at least $10 would benefit 115,000 workers who earn the minimum, plus another 135,000 workers who make less than $10 per hour.

Please click on the following link to go to the B.C. Federation of Labour campaign site and join thousands of people by signing the $10 NOW petition.

Please forward this link to friends and family who also support the call to raise the minimum wage. Thank you.

In solidarity, Kay Sinclair, Regional Executive Vice-President, BC

The BC Summer Institute for Union Women offers an intensive week of learning within a supportive environment in which union women can develop their skills as workers, activists and leaders.

Sponsored by the British Columbia Federation of Labour, the Institute will be held at the University of Victoria (UVIC), Wednesday July 4, 2007 through Sunday July 8, 2007

Our theme, Strong Women Taking Action, reflects labour’s commitment to providing women with both the skills and strategies to take on the challenges we face in today’s world. We need the world to hear more women’s voices speaking out on issues that matter to women, issues like: pay equity, a higher minimum wage, universal childcare, health care, and violence against women.

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Come out and help with this $10 minimum wage campaign event and see a Giants hockey game.

• Where and when: Pacific Coliseum, Friday, April 27th at 6 p.m.

The B.C. Fed Young Workers Committee are going to distribute the $10 NOW Campaign material and gather signatures on a peition at the Pacific Coliseum. Unions are being asked to help out with this important campaign.  People will be meeting at the main entrance to the Pacific Coliseum starting at 6 p.m. before the Giants game at 7:30.

Anyone who helps with the petition blitz will be given a ticket to the Giants playoff game against the Prince George Cougars (popcorn not included.)

Here are some photos taken at recent PSAC events in Vancouver and Victoria … click the thumbnails for larger versions.

On April 4^th PSAC, affiliated Union, and Victoria Labour Council members attended an event coordinated by the BC Fed to bring attention to Dr. Keith Martin’s (MP for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca) voting record on Bill C-257. Dr. Martin had originally voted in favor of the Bill only to amend his position at final reading. Jim Sinclair, President of the BC Federation of Labour, Jennifer Burgis, NDP Candidate for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca and Kay Sinclair all spoke of the need for Anti-Scab Legislation and how disappointing it was that Dr. Martin amended his position at the last minute.

Dr. Martin also addressed the crowd of angry constituents with a excuse that Essential Services designation somehow played an important role in his change of position. This was really frustrating for the unionized workers present as it has been made abundantly clear that essential services designations would not be affected by this anti-scab legislation.

Over 140 delegates, guests and observers attended the PSAC’s 2nd Pride Conference which was held in Vancouver on March 30-April 1, 2007, and chaired by Kay Sinclair and Ed Cashman, REVP for Ontario. Participants attended workshops and regional caucuses, debated resoultions, and elected two LGTB members to the PSAC Equal Opportunities Committee. At left, members of the BC caucus. Visit the national website for a report and some more photos.

Members from the Nanaimo area took a Grievance Handling and Understanding / Interpreting the Collective Agreement course, March 31 - April 1. The GH/UICA course, which was facilitated by PSAC Regional Rep. Dave Jackson, gives members the skills and knowledge to effectively solve problems in the workplace and explores key provisions in our various Collective Agreements.