CUPE active at AFL Convention
CALGARY–CUPE delegates from across Alberta swelled the ranks at the Alberta Federation of Labour Convention in Calgary last week. Fifty delegates participated in the four day Convention.
On opening day, April 28th, delegates participated in a National Day of Mourning ceremony and placed wreaths at a memorial at City Hall to pay respect to workers killed or injured on the job.
“Every worker should come home safely at the end of the day,” said CUPE Alberta Division president Marle Roberts. “Although the number of injuries is decreasing, the number of workplace fatalities is on the rise. The government needs to take their regulations seriously – and enforce them.”
On Friday, delegates and park users joined CUPE 37 members at a lunchtime rally in Prince’s Island Park to protest the City of Calgary’s plans to outsource parks, irrigation and south cemeteries. CUPE 37 president Kevin Galley and CUPE National president Paul Moist spoke at the rally.
“Private companies pay far less than a living wage. It pains them to pay minimum wage,” Galley told the crowd of 400. “They offer no benefits and more likely they are below standards on health and safety, not just for the workers, but for the public in general.”
Moist said that the City of Calgary should not be compromising public services. “We know there’s struggles in all sectors of the Labour Movement,” Moist said. “As trade unionists we stick together. If they take on one of us, they take on all of us.”
Friday evening delegates and the general public packed the house to learn more about CETA – a trade agreement between Canada and the European Union. Council of Canadians national chairperson Maude Barlow and CUPE National president Paul Moist shared the podium and spoke about why CETA is bad for Canada. The deal would see Canadians paying for European technology with our natural resources. For more information on CETA visit: www.cupe.ca/ceta or www.canadians.org/ceta.
For the first time ever, the Convention hosted a guest speaker via the internet, using Skype. Marshall Ganz, author of “Sometimes David Wins” was instrumental in putting together Barack Obama’s campaign. Ganz spoke about challenges facing those who assert the dignity of working people.
Wisconsin AFL CIO secretary treasurer Stephanie Bloomingdale was also a guest speaker at the Convention. “We need to be there to stand up for working people,” Bloomingdale told delegates. “We need to be there every day to stand up for justice, for our democracy, and for a better life for us and our children.”
Delegates passed constitutional resolutions that will ensure that the Alberta Federation of Labour will remain strong, and able to face the challenges ahead.