Anti-racism, Equal Opportunities & Global Justice

December 6 – National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

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On December 6, 1989 at École Polytechnique (a post secondary school in Montreal) a shooter went on a rampage.  After separating women from men, the shooter killed fourteen women and injured ten others.

Since then, December 6th has been named “White Ribbon Day” as a day to remember those women, and all others who experience violence.

white ribbonWhile massacres like the one in 1989 are thankfully rare, the statistics around Canadian violence against women are shocking:

  • Half of all women in Canada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence after the age of 16.
  • On average, every six days a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner.
  • On any given day in Canada, more than 3,300 women (along with their 3,000 children) are forced to sleep in an emergency shelter to escape domestic violence. Every night, about 200 women are turned away because the shelters are full.
  • Each year, over 40,000 arrests result from domestic violence—that’s about 12% of all violent crime in Canada. Since only 22% of all incidents are reported to the police, the real number is much higher.

Learn more here.

December 6th event in Calgary

December 6th event in Edmonton

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International Day of Persons with Disabilities

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Dec 3 Disability picDecember 3rd is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.  This is a United Nations sanctioned day that aims to help promote an understanding of people living with a disability and to encourage support for their dignity, rights and well-being.

 As a Union, CUPE aims to break down barriers to the disabled wherever possible. We work with employers to make reasonable accommodations for disabled workers, develop policies that create employment opportunities for the disabled, and educate our members and the public about the value to our communities disabled persons can add.

 The Alberta Premier’s Council on the status of persons with disabilities is hosting events across the province.
 Click here to find out what’s happening in your community.

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Climate change plan will be good for Alberta

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EDMONTON – CUPE Alberta’s President is adding her name to the list of people endorsing the province’s plan to address climate change.

Marle Roberts says the plan announced in November and endorsed by oil patch CEOs and environmentalists will help combat climate change and open new economic opportunities for Alberta.

“This plan will change the world view of our oil sands, and the view of Alberta,” said Roberts. “It will develop greener energy sources while at the same time, open up new markets for our oil and gas products.”

CUPE Alberta represents 35,000 public sector employees in the province.  Roberts says that while her union only represents a small number of energy workers – like all Albertans – CUPE members rely upon the industry.

“When the price of oil is high, Albertans have done well, and when oil is low, our economy suffers,” said Roberts. “This plan is first real attempt in a generation to diversify our economy and get us off the roller coaster dependence on oil prices.”

“Climate change is real, it is manmade, and we have to address it.  This plan does so while tackling our economic problems at the same time.  It deserves our support.”

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WIN House and CUPE ratify two-year agreement

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For immediate release September 30, 2015

EDMONTON – Edmonton Women’s Shelter Ltd. and CUPE Local 3341 are pleased to announce the ratification of a new agreement that provides employees of an Alberta women’s shelter with their first pension plan.

The deal covers some 45 workers at all three facilities operated by Edmonton Women’s Shelter Ltd., also known as WIN House. The employees include crisis intervention workers, outreach workers, housekeepers, child support staff and administrative staff.

“A pension plan gives our employees further job security,” says Tess Gordey, Executive Director of WIN House. “We understand gender-equity issues women face in the workforce and have always strived to seek and secure monetary resources necessary for promoting equity in our sector. Success in this direction assists us in recruitment and retention of skilled workers and brings stability to our workplace. Ultimately, women and children fleeing family violence will benefit through increased expertise, best practices and leadership. It’s a win-win for WIN.”

The pension plan –a Multi-Sector Pension Plan (MSPP) – is a unique plan that CUPE and the Service Employees International Union innovated nearly 15 years ago to address the lack of retirement benefits in largely female-dominated workplaces.

It has taken CUPE Local 3341 nine years to champion the merits of a multi-sector plan pension for the shelter employees it represents.

Pension plans are rare in the non-profit sector and this is especially true for sheltering organizations,” says Marle Roberts, President CUPE Alberta. “The multi-sector pension plan makes this possible, creating an all around victory. Pensions allow people to retire with dignity. These are typically under-paid workers who do the job out of a calling to help others because they care,” said Roberts. “CUPE has and will continue to advocate for retirement security for “all” by continuing to negotiate workplace pensions and supporting expansion of the CPP.”

For more information, please contact Paula Arab at 403-889-9128

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CUPE Alberta’s pre-budget submissions

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Greetings Sisters and Brothers,

I am pleased to share with you CUPE Alberta’s pre-budget submissions for the historic 2015 provincial budget, the first to be brought down by the new NDP government.

In the few short months that Premier Rachel Notley and the NDP have been in power, they have already brought forward substantial and progressive legislation. We commend them for moving so quickly to enact real change that brings more fairness in Alberta’s highly regressive taxation system, increases the minimum wage and reduces user fees for public services. We applaud these and other swift changes that show the NDP government understands and values the importance of dignity in all workplaces.

Still, there is much more to be done during these difficult economic times. CUPE Alberta’s position is that the government can deal with its deficit while still having room to increase investment in quality public services. Specifically, our budget recommendations include:

  • Implementing major initiatives from the NDP platform, including a greater public investment in child care and increasing supports to the Family and Community Support Services. This is also a good time to call a commission to look at how to phase-out coal-generated electricity while investing more in green energy. CUPE specifically recommends the commission include the principle of Just Transition, to make sure workers and communities dependent on these legacy industries are treated properly.
  • Create jobs by investing in government services, infrastructure, child care and public education.
  • Adopt buy-local policies for procurement around infrastructure development and maintenance, and adopt an Alberta First policy for purchase of government supplies and food.
  • Invest in infrastructure renewal across towns and cities in the province suffering from years of deferred maintenance under previous governments.
  • Renew the province’s rural broadband strategy, audit the current Public-Private Partnership infrastructure programs and engage in a comprehensive review of tax expenditures and loopholes.

Please read our full submissions and recommendations below.

https://alberta.cupe.ca/files/2015/09/CUPE-Alberta-Pre-Budget-Submission-2015.pdf

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26 Fort McMurray airport workers lose jobs to privatization, temporary foreign workers

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Twenty-six Fort McMurray airport custodial staff learned today that they are being fired, their jobs out-sourced to a company that recruits and hires temporary foreign workers.

“We’re in shock,” CUPE Local 1505 President Les Collins said. “Temporary foreign workers aren’t supposed to displace hard-working Canadians who want to keep their jobs.”

According to the Bill’s General Cleaning website, custodial staff will be paid only $14.50/hour, the equivalent of $30,160 per year before deductions. The Province of Alberta says the average cost of living in Fort McMurray is $65,000.

“Offering to pay workers considerably less than half of the cost of living is unconscionable,” Collins said. “This is simple exploitation.”

Bill’s General Cleaning has a sister company, which shares an office address and phone number, called Bill’s Recruiting. They specialize in recruiting and placement of temporary foreign workers (TFWs).

CUPE Alberta President Marle Roberts is calling on the federal Minister of Labour to demand an investigation into the use of TFWs in this case.

“We want to know why long-term employees are being put out of work, and TFWs being brought in,” Roberts said. “How does this support the Canadian economy?”

“Our workers went through intensive security screening in order to work at an airport,” Collins said. “Safety is a major concern. How can we be sure of the backgrounds of people who have been in Canada only a few days?”

CUPE members and supporters intend to picket the airport and to contact municipal, provincial, and federal politicians to reverse the privatization plan.

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Contact: David Loan

o) 780-791-3411

c) 613-301-7468

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