From bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net Wed Jul 13 12:06:40 2005 From: bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net (bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net) Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2005 12:06:40 -0700 Subject: [BC_Labour_E-NEWS] July 13, 2005 Message-ID: <1EFB83EC494285438D10B2CCC120637614CF27@bcfednt.bcfed.local> BC LABOUR E-NEWS July 13, 2005 To read this newsletter on our site, please go to: < http://www.bcfed.com/news/Enews/Enews.htm > To subscribe or unsubscribe, follow the instructions at the end of this message. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. Messages to this mailbox are processed automatically, and are not read by a person. If you would like to contact us, send messages to: < mailto:bcfed at bcfed.com > Help spread the word - forward this e-mail to your friends. CONTENTS URGENT ACTION ALERTS 1. HEU-Sodexho 2. TWU-Telus +++|+++ 1. HEU-SODEXHO Send an urgent email to the Paris-based executives of Sodexho Alliance The Hospital Employees' Union is bargaining with Paris-based multinational Sodexho for a first collective agreement covering 1,100 workers who clean hospitals and feed patients in British Columbia, Canada. In this recently privatized sector of health care, wages have been cut nearly in half. As a result, a Sodexho hospital job is a passport to poverty for a workforce that is predominately female. Sodexho workers want a fair contract and a decent wage. But the message from Sodexho at the bargaining table is clear: Let them eat cake. Send top executives at Sodexho in Paris, France a message that B.C. health care workers deserve more than just crumbs. Send an email at: < http://www.labourstart.org/sodexho > Get more information about this campaign: < http://www.heu.org > +++|+++ 2. TWU-TELUS Union resists as Telus promotes race to the bottom Back in the 1960s and '70s, the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) fought knock down, drag out battles with the British Columbia Telephone Company to get strong contracting out protection included in its collective agreement. Fast forward to the year 2000. The phone companies in British Columbia and Alberta merge and the TWU wins the vote to represent the workers in both provinces. Telus, the successor company, embarks on a program to undermine the union and its strong collective agreement. The company insists on writing a new contract from scratch. The union resists. Telus has begun to up the ante. It recently embarked on a graduated series of lockout measures. In addition, the company has announced it will no longer collect union dues. Because management holds most of the cards in the modern, highly automated world of telecommunications, the TWU is trying to avoid a destructive confrontation. It is asking Canada's federal labour minister to impose binding arbitration. The union would appreciate your help in communicating the need for binding arbitration to the minister. Send a message to Telus: < http://www.labourstart.org/telus > Get more information about this campaign: < http://www.anotherwrongnumber.com > +++|+++ SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Subscribe or unsubscribe: To subscribe to BC Labour E-News, visit < http://www.bcfed.com/sub.htm > If you ever want to unsubscribe or change your options (eg., change your password, suspend E-news while you are on vacation, etc.), visit your personal subscription page at: To get helpful information, send a message to < BC_Labour_Enews- request at bcfed.net > and type "help" in the subject line without the quotation marks. -30- From bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net Fri Jul 15 15:57:26 2005 From: bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net (bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net) Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2005 15:57:26 -0700 Subject: [BC_Labour_E-NEWS] July 16 - Correction Message-ID: <1EFB83EC494285438D10B2CCC120637614CFDE@bcfednt.bcfed.local> Yesterday's version of E-News pointed to an incorrect URL on the B.C. Federation of Labour's website. The correct link for the online version of E-News is: COPE 15