February is Black History month, a time to commemorate the history,
achievements and contributions made by Black Canadians.
Often, the stories of Black Canadians are not told. As a result, by
celebrating Black History month we deepen our understanding of our
shared history and strengthen our commitment to equality. Please take
the time to visit www.blackhistorycanada.ca learn more about the
accomplishments of Black Canadians.
We have made many strides in the labour movement and in our society to
fight discrimination. Yet there is still a great deal of work to be done
to eliminate the barriers created by racism.
The PSAC Toronto Racially Visible Committee will be exploring the
barriers faced by people of colour in politics by co-sponsoring an event
on February 28th, 2013 title “Where is our Obama?”
The event will be held in the PSAC Toronto Regional office (90 Eglinton
Avenue East, Suite 608 - boardroom) at 6 pm, in partnership with the
Workers of Colour Caucus - OPSEU, Latin American Trade Unionists
Coalition - LATUC, Asian Canadian Labour Alliance - ACLA, Coalition of
Black Trade Unionists - CBTU, and the Ontario federation of Labour -
OFL.
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
seeking feedback on the Ontario Region Education Program
Greetings Sisters and Brothers,
This year, our Advanced Program consists of five Geographic Based Advanced Courses. One Advanced Course will be offered within each Regional Office service area.
Our Advanced Program is an opportunity for members to gain specialized knowledge and skills, network and build solidarity with other PSAC members within your RO servicing area. You will return to your workplaces and locals energized to work on behalf of the membership.
COURSE OPTIONS
We want to hear from you on the courses that you would like offered. Please fill out the online survey below before March 1, 2013.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PSACOntarioGeoBaseCourses
Taking into consideration your feedback and past course offerings the Ontario Regional Council Education Committee will finalize the Geographic Based course choices. The call out for applicants will start circulating soon thereafter. We look forward to your participation in our Ontario Region Education Program.
In Solidarity,
Sharon DeSousa
Regional Executive Vice President - Ontario
This year, our Advanced Program consists of five Geographic Based Advanced Courses. One Advanced Course will be offered within each Regional Office service area.
Our Advanced Program is an opportunity for members to gain specialized knowledge and skills, network and build solidarity with other PSAC members within your RO servicing area. You will return to your workplaces and locals energized to work on behalf of the membership.
COURSE OPTIONS
We want to hear from you on the courses that you would like offered. Please fill out the online survey below before March 1, 2013.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PSACOntarioGeoBaseCourses
Taking into consideration your feedback and past course offerings the Ontario Regional Council Education Committee will finalize the Geographic Based course choices. The call out for applicants will start circulating soon thereafter. We look forward to your participation in our Ontario Region Education Program.
In Solidarity,
Sharon DeSousa
Regional Executive Vice President - Ontario
Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Rally for Rights and Democracy on January 26, 2013
Greetings Sisters and Brothers,
Please join thousands of union members, community groups and activists as they descend on the Liberal Leadership Convention this Saturday in Toronto.
The Liberals have attacked unions, cut funding for social programs, and slashed services while maintaining corporate tax cuts.
PSAC members will be taking part in this rally to demand that the next Ontario premier reverse this direction by demanding good jobs, stronger public services and respecting workers rights.
Join the Rally for Rights and Democracy on January 26, 2013 at Allan Gardens in Toronto to take our message directly to the Ontario Liberal Leadership Convention.
When: Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Where: Rally at Allan Gardens in Toronto (Jarvis & Carleton), followed by a march to the Ontario Liberal Convention at Maple Leaf Gardens
Website: www.ofl.ca/index.php/campaigns/DemocraticRights
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/489963847693178
Twitter Hashtag: #J26Rally
District Labour Councils across Ontario will be sending buses for this rally. Please contact your nearest Labour Council to reserve your spot.
In Solidarity,
Sharon DeSousa
PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President, Ontario
Please join thousands of union members, community groups and activists as they descend on the Liberal Leadership Convention this Saturday in Toronto.
The Liberals have attacked unions, cut funding for social programs, and slashed services while maintaining corporate tax cuts.
PSAC members will be taking part in this rally to demand that the next Ontario premier reverse this direction by demanding good jobs, stronger public services and respecting workers rights.
Join the Rally for Rights and Democracy on January 26, 2013 at Allan Gardens in Toronto to take our message directly to the Ontario Liberal Leadership Convention.
When: Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Where: Rally at Allan Gardens in Toronto (Jarvis & Carleton), followed by a march to the Ontario Liberal Convention at Maple Leaf Gardens
Website: www.ofl.ca/index.php/campaigns/DemocraticRights
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/489963847693178
Twitter Hashtag: #J26Rally
District Labour Councils across Ontario will be sending buses for this rally. Please contact your nearest Labour Council to reserve your spot.
In Solidarity,
Sharon DeSousa
PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President, Ontario
Monday, 21 January 2013
PSAC ONTARIO - REFLECTIONS OF 2012
Bill 115—Taking Away Workers Rights
Although many PSAC members fall under federal legislation when it comes to their workplaces, our members in Ontario have been vocal in opposing the provincial Liberal government’s Bill 115.
Bill 115, deceitfully titled “Putting Students First Act”, takes away education workers and support staff’s right to strike, along with their ability to meaningfully bargain with their school boards employers.
McGuinty abruptly resigned on October 15th and prorogued the legislature; stopping debate and the finance committee hearings into the cancelled gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga.
If this prorogation had not happened, there was a Bill in the works that would have expanded Bill 115 to all of the half a million public sector workers in Ontario.
Legislation such as Bill 115 undermines our democratic rights to collective bargaining and sets a dangerous precedent of anti-worker laws in this province.
Protecting our Canadian Heritage
PSAC Ontario and UCTE launched a campaign over the summer to raise awareness about the negative effects of the $29.2 million in cuts to Parks Canada. A large portion of the funding cuts are to the historic canals in Ontario, which include the Rideau Canal and the Trent-Severn Waterway. The Rideau Canal for example will lose $2 million annually, despite being designated a National Historic Site of Canada and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On October 18th, at the lock station of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa; Sharon DeSousa, REVP – Ontario, Christine Collins, UCTE National President, Megan Leslie, NDP MP Environment Critic and Anne Minh Thu Quach, NDP MP Deputy Environment Critic, held a press conference to denounce the cuts. Both MPs were presented with a petition to reverse the cuts to Parks Canada with nearly 8,000 signatures from local resi-dents and businesses.
PSAC Ontario Fall School
The 2012 Ontario Region Fall School successfully brought together more than 80 activists from across Ontario for an intensive, in-residence Union training. Courses included; Local Officers Training, Duty to Accommodate, Anti-Harassment and Workers Health & Safety.
Supporting our Communities
This year, both the London Area Council and the Kingston Area Council ran food drives, collecting food items from members to donate to local food banks.
This is some of the work our Area Councils and Human Rights Committees undertake to help our communities during these difficult times. With more and more people turning to food banks, every donation is important.
Local Impacts
Budget cuts at the Department of National Defence have led to sweeping job loses across Canada. At the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden, 120 contract cleaners represented by PSAC lost their jobs in December. This represented 60% of the clean-ing staff on the Base and left the 80 remaining PSAC members to cover all the work.
PSAC has been vocal on how cuts to the public sector will also lead to job loses in the private sector. In this case, the Local, made up of mostly women, were told they would be out of a job right after the holiday season. UNDE and PSAC Ontario held a press conference on November 28th, to discuss the impacts of these job loses for the entire community.
Raise the Rates Campaign
As a form of coalition building and as a community unionism initiative, PSAC Ontario joined CUPE Ontario and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) in a Raise the Rates Campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to raise the rates for social assistance in the province of Ontario. The Campaign highlights the negative impacts of austerity on poor and working people.
With poverty levels growing to unprecedented levels here in Ontario and our social systems being degraded, we all have a responsibility to ensure the most vulnerable in our society can live in dignity. As union members, we are proud in the achievements we’ve made in our workplaces; yet our members are also active in helping to improve the quality of life for all people in Ontario.
Labour Day
PSAC members participated in Labour Day activities across the province, including Scarborough’s first Labour Day parade. This year, PSAC Ontario Council decided on 3 slogans for PSAC Labour Day T-shirts. The three slogans were: "Unions: Prosperity for All, not Profits for Few," "Public Services are Your Services," and "Workers: the Real Job Creators".
These PSAC Labour Day T-shirts were distributed to members across the Region who took part in their local Labour Day events.
Although many PSAC members fall under federal legislation when it comes to their workplaces, our members in Ontario have been vocal in opposing the provincial Liberal government’s Bill 115.
Bill 115, deceitfully titled “Putting Students First Act”, takes away education workers and support staff’s right to strike, along with their ability to meaningfully bargain with their school boards employers.
McGuinty abruptly resigned on October 15th and prorogued the legislature; stopping debate and the finance committee hearings into the cancelled gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga.
If this prorogation had not happened, there was a Bill in the works that would have expanded Bill 115 to all of the half a million public sector workers in Ontario.
Legislation such as Bill 115 undermines our democratic rights to collective bargaining and sets a dangerous precedent of anti-worker laws in this province.
Protecting our Canadian Heritage
PSAC Ontario and UCTE launched a campaign over the summer to raise awareness about the negative effects of the $29.2 million in cuts to Parks Canada. A large portion of the funding cuts are to the historic canals in Ontario, which include the Rideau Canal and the Trent-Severn Waterway. The Rideau Canal for example will lose $2 million annually, despite being designated a National Historic Site of Canada and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On October 18th, at the lock station of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa; Sharon DeSousa, REVP – Ontario, Christine Collins, UCTE National President, Megan Leslie, NDP MP Environment Critic and Anne Minh Thu Quach, NDP MP Deputy Environment Critic, held a press conference to denounce the cuts. Both MPs were presented with a petition to reverse the cuts to Parks Canada with nearly 8,000 signatures from local resi-dents and businesses.
PSAC Ontario Fall School
The 2012 Ontario Region Fall School successfully brought together more than 80 activists from across Ontario for an intensive, in-residence Union training. Courses included; Local Officers Training, Duty to Accommodate, Anti-Harassment and Workers Health & Safety.
Supporting our Communities
This year, both the London Area Council and the Kingston Area Council ran food drives, collecting food items from members to donate to local food banks.
This is some of the work our Area Councils and Human Rights Committees undertake to help our communities during these difficult times. With more and more people turning to food banks, every donation is important.
Local Impacts
Budget cuts at the Department of National Defence have led to sweeping job loses across Canada. At the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden, 120 contract cleaners represented by PSAC lost their jobs in December. This represented 60% of the clean-ing staff on the Base and left the 80 remaining PSAC members to cover all the work.
PSAC has been vocal on how cuts to the public sector will also lead to job loses in the private sector. In this case, the Local, made up of mostly women, were told they would be out of a job right after the holiday season. UNDE and PSAC Ontario held a press conference on November 28th, to discuss the impacts of these job loses for the entire community.
Raise the Rates Campaign
As a form of coalition building and as a community unionism initiative, PSAC Ontario joined CUPE Ontario and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) in a Raise the Rates Campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to raise the rates for social assistance in the province of Ontario. The Campaign highlights the negative impacts of austerity on poor and working people.
With poverty levels growing to unprecedented levels here in Ontario and our social systems being degraded, we all have a responsibility to ensure the most vulnerable in our society can live in dignity. As union members, we are proud in the achievements we’ve made in our workplaces; yet our members are also active in helping to improve the quality of life for all people in Ontario.
Labour Day
PSAC members participated in Labour Day activities across the province, including Scarborough’s first Labour Day parade. This year, PSAC Ontario Council decided on 3 slogans for PSAC Labour Day T-shirts. The three slogans were: "Unions: Prosperity for All, not Profits for Few," "Public Services are Your Services," and "Workers: the Real Job Creators".
These PSAC Labour Day T-shirts were distributed to members across the Region who took part in their local Labour Day events.
Friday, 18 January 2013
National Political Action Conference
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) is hosting a National Political Action
Conference in Toronto on March 22-24, 2013 at the Sheraton Centre Hotel.
This will be the largest conference the CLC has ever organized and the
first National Political Action Conference.
The CLC’s objective is to attract a large and diverse group of the labour
movement’s political activists and the next generation of campaigners,
organizers, and leaders to this conference.
The goal is to have the conference serve as the launching pad for a focused
campaign to elevate and advance labour’s issues, as well as building the next
generation of successful union campaigns.
Information on the Conference, as well as how to register can be found on
the CLC site here: http://www.canadianlabour.ca/news-room/events/political-action-conference
The Conference will be one of the largest organized and registration will
be filling up fast.
Thursday, 17 January 2013
sexual harassment- harcèlement sexuel
The PSAC has been invited to appear before the Standing Committee on the
Status of Women, to talk about seuxal harassment in the federal public service.
Andrée Côté, theWomen's and Human Rights Officer is preparing a brief, and is wondering if anyone has any information on
any complaints that have been lodged by our PS members?
If so, could you please
send her a note so we can talk? The brief must be done by next Monday (!!), and she is appearing on January 29, so she would appreciate a quick response, if you
do have any information.
L'AFPC doit comparaître le 29 janvier prochain devant le Comité permanent
de la Condition féminine au sujet du harcèlement sexuel dans la Fonction
publique fédérale.
Andrée Côté, Agente au Programme des femmes et aux droits de la personne prépare un mémoire, et se demande si quelqu'un a des informations sur les plaintes qui ont été déposées par nos membres PS?
Si oui, pourriez-vous s'il vous plaît envoyez lui une note afin que nous puissions parler? Le mémoire doit être fait d'ici lundi prochain (!), Et elle apparaît sur Janvier 29, de sorte qu'elle apprécierait une réponse rapide, si vous ne dispose d'aucune information.
Si oui, pourriez-vous s'il vous plaît envoyez lui une note afin que nous puissions parler? Le mémoire doit être fait d'ici lundi prochain (!), Et elle apparaît sur Janvier 29, de sorte qu'elle apprécierait une réponse rapide, si vous ne dispose d'aucune information.
en toute solidarité,
in solidarity
Andrée Côté
Women's and Human Rights Officer
Public Service Alliance of Canada
Agente au Programme des femmes et aux droits de la personne
Alliance de la Fonction publique du Canada
233 Gilmour St., Ottawa (On) K2P 0P1
Tél.: (613) 560-4328 Fax: 236-9402
email: cotea@psac-afpc.com
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