Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

CUPE is joining hundreds of other organizations and individuals to urge Canada’s Prime Minister to immediately and publicly condemn President, General Pervez Musharraf for his recent dictatorial actions.

• Sign the petition: End emergency rule in Pakistan.

CUPE National President Paul Moist urged Stephen Harper in a letter to “take the action necessary to ensure that the people of Pakistan, and the thousands of Pakistani-Canadians who are watching in fear, can have hope that their loved ones will be safe.”

CUPE agrees with the International the Trade Union Confederation’s call for the immediate restoration of the rule of law, Pakistan’s constitution and the fundamental democratic rights of its people. CUPE also supports the petition condemning Musharraf for the house arrest of Pakistan’s Human Rights Commissioner, Asma Jahangir who has asked the US “to stop all support” to Musharraf’s regime to avoid “a worse form of civil strife.”

“Canada,” says Moist, should heed this advice as well.”

Your negotiating team is back at the table with CRA after a first productive week. On our first day back, there was movement by the employer’s team on a number of our demands. The ACS-SP joint sub-committee met again on Monday and their work is proceeding well. Your team continues to be encouraged by the pace of bargaining.

On Saturday, your team provided an update on bargaining to the UTE Local President’s conference being held in Ottawa. We offer a heartfelt thank you to our Local Presidents and other participants at the conference for their demonstrations of support.

Keep reading our bargaining bulletins.

via Vancouver & District Labour Council

CUPE Locals 15, 391, and 1004: Our sisters and brothers on the picket lines need our support!

Bring your union placards or get one from the VDLC and let them know that we are behind them and stand with them. Help is needed 24 hours a day at City Hall, Vancouver Public Library Main Branch (Georgia), and the Works Yards (National, Evans, and Manitoba). Your presence at all picket sites would be appreciated - all community centres, parks, and public library locations. Click for a list of CUPE picket sites (pdf).

Please visit www.fairnessforcivicworkers.ca for updates and information and contacts for specific information.

Here are a few photos of PSAC staff and members taken over the last couple of weeks … click the thumbnails for a larger view.

Cheers to PSAC/CEIU local 20901 for organizing their members and other co-workers at Library Square to take part in a lunch time solidarity action for their neighbours, the CUPE Local 391 Library Workers who have been on strike for five weeks. PSAC/CEIU local 20901 also made a donation to the CUPE local, and CUPE members on the line expressed their sincere appreciation for the effort and support.

Click for more …

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United Steelworkers in the lumber and forestry sector as well CUPE members from Locals 1005 and 15 (Vancouver) and Local 389 (North Vancouver) are currently on strike, and CUPE Local 391 (Vancouver Public Library) has issued strike notice. Major Issues include wages, classification adjustments, pay equity, job security, and whistle blower protection. Although job actions are not expected to directly impact PSAC worksites, there may be situations where PSAC members encounter a picket line.

If you encounter a picket line:

• the BC Federation of Labour has a strict picket line policy that obliges all union members in BC to honour picket lines.
• the PSAC has a picket line policy (No.21) that also urges members to honour picket lines.
• if you encounter a picket line, speak to the strikers and/or picket captains and ask for direction from them.
• contact your union representative for direction and contact the Regional Office of the PSAC.
• call your supervisor to let him/her know that there is a picket line
• if you choose to cross the picket line, ask for a management escort across the line
• if it seems unsafe, do not attempt to cross the line, let your supervisor know that you feel your safety is in jeopardy.
• bolster picket lines before/after work and during breaks
• it would be appreciated if you would provide coffee, snacks and moral support to striking workers
• unfortunately, most PSAC members do not have picket line protection in their collective agreements, or in legislation, and therefore are obliged to report to work.

Please contact the Vancouver RO if you have any questions, and check back here for updates.

• More info: CUPE BC
• More info: CUPE Local 15
• More info: BC Coast forestry strike.

via Vancouver & District Labour Council

Dear Brothers, Sisters and Friends:

CUPE’s 12,000 Lower Mainland civic workers need your support. They are facing demands for unprecedented concessions and slow or stalled negotiations everywhere. Almost all Lower Mainland CUPE civic collective agreements expired on December 31, 2006. They feel that they are being forced into job action in order to get a fair contract.

Civic workers make our communities work, providing vital public services that we all rely upon. To avert job action, Lower Mainland civic workers launched a public campaign this week called “FAIRNESS for civic workers” that DEPENDS ON YOU taking action now to put pressure on your local municipal politicians to:

• REMOVE all proposed concessions from the table.
• RETURN to the bargaining table with the intent to make progress.
• RESPECT civic workers and vital services they provide by negotiating fair contracts.

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