From bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net Fri Mar 10 12:00:08 2006 From: bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net (bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net) Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2006 12:00:08 -0800 Subject: [BC_Labour_E-NEWS] ISSUE #43 March 10, 2006, News from the B.C. Federation of Labour Message-ID: <1EFB83EC494285438D10B2CCC1206376313651@bcfednt.bcfed.local> ISSUE #43 March 10, 2006, News from the B.C. Federation of Labour Tune in to CBC TV this Sunday and Monday evening for "Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story." Think today's battle to save public health care is an enormous challenge? Take a couple of evenings to learn about the person who introduced Medicare to Canada. Take this opportunity to learn more about our "Greatest Canadian." To watch the trailer for "Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story" visit: http://www.tommydouglas.tv/ FAST FACT After abandoning the national childcare plan, BC stands to lose close to 33,000 childcare spaces. In this issue: Stories North Shore News Refuses To Run Union Ad On Super Valu/Extra Foods Strike B.C. Federation of Labour issues International Women's Day call to Finance Minister: restore funding to Women's Centres and invest in childcare B.C. Federation of Labour blasts Taylor for putting pine beetle funding ahead of fight for Harper's childcare commitments Surrey Wal-Mart TLE Employees Go Union! 1,400 Surrey call centre workers vote to join BCGEU Coming Events RALLY to support striking workers at Extra Foods Prairie Giant - The Tommy Douglas Story BCTF 90th Annual General Meeting Basic OH&S Course Advanced OH&S Course Publications UK Health Chief Quits as System Plunges into Financial Crisis Subscription Information top Stories North Shore News Refuses To Run Union Ad On Super Valu/Extra Foods Strike Wednesday, March 01, 2006 UFCW 1518 members and the union faced another form of censorship after the publisher of the North Shore News refused to run an ad the union wished to place in the paper. Doug Foot, the publisher of the North Shore News would only say that the refusal to run the ad was a "business decision." It will be little surprise to anyone that Westfair and the Super Valu/Extra Foods store do a substantial amount of advertising in the North Shore News. Union members have been doing a thorough job of leafleting the store's customers, and business has slowed down to a trickle since the dispute began. The store is being staffed by management, and is only open for five days of the week, for five hours each day. Union members have also been leafleting customers of the Westfair-owned Real Canadian Superstores, asking them not to shop at Superstores until a new collective agreement is settled to end the Super Valu/Extra Foods dispute. The ad addresses many misleading and inaccurate claims put out by the employer, and its content is very similar to leaflets currently being distributed by picketing union members at the Super Valu/Extra Foods store in West Vancouver's Park Royal mall. The 100 UFCW 1518 members have been on strike since January 13, after Super Valu/Extra Foods and parent company Westfair persisted in demanding concessions during negotiations for a new collective agreement. UFCW Local 247 members who work in the store's meat-deli department have been honouring the picket lines as well. Click here to see the UFCW 1518 ad North Shore News refused to publish. B.C. Federation of Labour issues International Women's Day call to Finance Minister: restore funding to Women's Centres and invest in childcare Wednesday, March 08, 2006 VANCOUVER-If the Finance Minister is committed to women's equality, International Women's Day is the perfect occasion to restore funding to BC's women's centres and commit any new federal dollars to childcare said B.C. Federation of Labour Secretary-Treasurer, Angela Schira. Schira made the call a week after Finance Minister Carole Taylor turned her back on $455 million of federal funding needed to create a provincial childcare system. Schira urged the BC Liberals to press the Stephen Harper government to maintain a national childcare plan. "There's half-a-billion dollars that the BC government is walking away from, that's almost 33,000 childcare spaces BC's working families need," added Schira. The BC Liberals have committed to building a women's history museum but refused to restore funding to BC's women's centres. "If this government continues to ignore women's voices, the only place we'll find progress for women is in a museum," Schira said. Schira criticized the Liberals for being out of touch with the realities of ordinary working women and noted that women aren't getting ahead in today's economy. Last year in BC, non-union women workers earned 29 percent less than men; the gap was only 10 percent for unionized women, double the previous year. "There's clearly a union advantage for women workers," Schira said, "but there's no doubt that the BC Liberals attack on public sector workers and the rolling back of wages were attacks on pay equity for women." B.C. Federation of Labour blasts Taylor for putting pine beetle funding ahead of fight for Harper's childcare commitments Thursday, March 02, 2006 Provincial Finance Minister Carole Taylor is letting down BC families and turning her back on $455 million of federal funding needed to create a provincial childcare system, said B.C. Federation of Labour Secretary-Treasurer Angela Schira. "Today's news reports indicate the Minister has given up on forcing Stephen Harper to deliver federal funding commitments for our kids, but has hopes of getting more money to fight the mountain pine beetle," Schira said. "Why won't she have the guts to demand the federal money for both programs?" Schira said International Women's Day on March 8th would be a good time for Taylor to recommit to the fight for a provincial childcare program. "If the BC Liberals really believe Stephen Harper will come fix the fiscal imbalance," added Schira, "they could earmark those dollars for childcare and commit today to building a public plan BC families need." "Taylor claimed her budget was focused on children," stated Schira, "but her next pronouncement walks away from nearly half-a-billion dollars that would do more than any other single initiative to help our kids and working families." Schira noted that the lost funding amounts to 32,983 childcare spaces that BC will forego and will create a crisis as more and more families look for affordable, quality childcare. "The so-called 'choice' offered by Stephen Harper is nothing of the kind," Schira said. "The Harper Tories are offering $1,200 a year but no childcare system to spend it on. Without real childcare spaces, families have no choice at all." Surrey Wal-Mart TLE Employees Go Union! Thursday, March 09, 2006 Following lengthy Labour Relations Board hearings, the ballots were finally counted and employees at a Surrey Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express shop have voted 7-2 in favour of joining the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local 1518. The vote was originally held in September of 2005, but Wal-Mart held true to its usual pattern of litigation and delay, and it took until March 3, 2006 for the LRB to work its way through Wal-Mart's challenges and authorize a count of the ballots for workers at two Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express shops in Surrey. The union won the vote 7-2 at the West Wal-Mart store on 88th street in Surrey, and lost a close vote 7-5 at the Guildford Wal-Mart. "Despite the delays forced upon these Wal-Mart workers, they are now members of our union, and we couldn't be happier about that," said Brooke Sundin, President of UFCW Local 1518. "This is a big and brave step for Wal-Mart workers to take given the barefaced hostility Wal-Mart shows to employees who are interested in joining the union. We're very much looking forward to representing our newest union members, and will be approaching the company shortly to begin negotiations for a contract." To find out more about the Wal-mart campaign click here. 1,400 Surrey call centre workers vote to join BCGEU Tuesday, February 28, 2006 More than 1,400 customer service representatives at a Surrey call centre have voted to join the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union to improve wages and working conditions. The call centre is owned by the NCO Group Inc., a Pennsylvania-based company that operates a global network of contact facilities. The Surrey site handles customer service enquiries for a host of big U.S. companies including Microsoft's X-Box, Amazon.com, and Nextel. "While the vote was close, this is a real success story," says BCGEU President George Heyman. "I'm extremely proud of NCO employees who showed great courage and determination throughout the organizing drive. For more information click here. top Events RALLY to support striking workers at Extra Foods Saturday, March 11, 2006 Information Our guest speakers will be: Jim Sinclair, President, B.C. Federation of Labour Suzanne Hodge, Secretary-Treasurer, UFCW Local 247 Please bring your banners! The Extra Foods picketers will be collecting food donations for Women's Shelters if you wish to donate. Location 1020 Park Royal South West Vancouver, BC. Notes cope 15 Prairie Giant - The Tommy Douglas Story Sunday, March 12, 2006 Information Prairie Giant , The Tommy Douglas Story - On your local CBC March 12 & 13, 2006 Link will give you dates for the airing of the television show as well as trailers. http://www.tommydouglas.tv/ Location Notes cope 15 BCTF 90th Annual General Meeting Saturday, March 11, 2006 Information The 2006 AGM will commence on Saturday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m., in the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel, and will conclude on Tuesday, March 14. Location Hyatt Regency Vancouver, BC Basic OH&S Course Tuesday, March 21, 2006 Information GOAL: The goal of this introductory Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) course is to introduce new Committee members and worker representatives to the basic principles of workplace health and safety. OH&S Committee members who have had previous OH&S education can use it as a refresher. LEARNING OUTCOMES: In this course participants will: * Learn about the OH&S Regulation and the Workers Compensation Act, workers' OH&S rights and the procedure for refusing unsafe work. * Learn the responsibilities and duties of the OH&S Committee. * Learn how to conduct effective safety inspections and incident investigations. * Have the opportunity to put theory into practice in various interactive exercises in the course. * Be updated on changes to the OH&S Regulation. REGISTRATION DETAILS: OH&S EDUCATION PROJECT (Funded by the Workers' Compensation Board) #200 - 5118 Joyce Street Vancouver, BC V5R 4H1 Telephone: 604-430-1421/Toll Free - 1-888-BCFL NOW (223-5669) Facsimile: 604-430-5917 E-Mail: fed_ohs_ed at telus.net/Website: www.bcfed.com (view courses online) Location Ramada Hotel & Suites 286 Island Highway Campbell River, BC Notes The course meets the criteria for the eight-hour annual educational leave that OH&S Committee members and worker representatives are entitled to under the Workers Compensation Act. Wages, course fees and reasonable costs of attending must be paid by the employer. COPE 15 Advanced OH&S Course Tuesday, March 14, 2006 Information GOAL: We've heard from many Joint OH&S Committee members about their successes and their difficulties. The Advanced OH&S Course has been designed to allow participants to develop the tools, resources and strategies to build on their successes and to tackle the tough OH&S issues at their workplaces. This educational opportunity will assist Committee members in the valuable work they do in protecting the health and safety of workers. The course meets the criteria for the eight-hour annual educational leave that OH&S Committee members and worker representatives are entitled to under the Workers Compensation Act. Wages, course fees and reasonable costs of attending must be paid by the employer. LEARNING OUTCOMES: In this course participants will: * Discuss barriers facing joint OH&S Committees and develop practical strategies and solutions to deal with them. * Learn about OH&S trends such as Behaviour-Based Safety programs and how they impact the work of the Committee. * Learn how to use the OH&S Regulation and the Workers Compensation Act as a resource. * Use work specific case studies to practically apply the tools, resources and strategies necessary to solve OH&S problems. Prerequisite: Participants must have taken a Basic OH&S Course not less than 6 months prior to registering in this Advanced Course. REGISTRATION DETAILS: OH&S EDUCATION PROJECT (Funded by the Workers' Compensation Board) #200 - 5118 Joyce Street Vancouver, BC V5R 4H1 Telephone: 604-430-1421/Toll Free - 1-888-BCFL NOW (223-5669) Facsimile: 604-430-5917 E-Mail: fed_ohs_ed at telus.net/Website: www.bcfed.com (view courses online) Location Firefighters' Banquet & Conference Centre 6515 Bonsor Avenue Burnaby BC (Metrotown) Notes The course meets the criteria for the eight-hour annual educational leave that OH&S Committee members and worker representatives are entitled to under the Workers Compensation Act. Wages, course fees and reasonable costs of attending must be paid by the employer. COPE 15 top Publications UK Health Chief Quits as System Plunges into Financial Crisis Tom Sandborn The Tyee.ca 3/8/2006 Only a day after Gordon Campbell celebrated the British health care delivery system as a source of model reforms for BC, the UK's top health administrator has resigned amidst claims the system he shifted toward privatization and for-profit care over the last half decade was sinking into financial crisis. Timing is everything in life and politics, and Gordon Campbell may already regret the timing of an interview he gave on Monday, March 6. Speaking to Vancouver Sun reporter Jeff Lee in London, Campbell expressed his interest in bringing British ideas back for possible application to the BC health care delivery system. He singled out for special mention the use of private-public partnerships in building and operating hospitals and in delivery of medical services. Even before yesterday's Sun was fish-wrap, the news out of the UK's National Health Service had turned ugly. A headline in today's Guardian trumpeted "NHS Chief Quits amid Worsening Cash Crisis." Read more at thetyee.ca top Subscription Information Go to Subscribe to E-News to subscribe to B.C. Citizen, the electronic newsletter of the BC Federation of Labour. Send a message to BCFED to unsubscribe or suspend your subscription while on vacation or change your password. To get helpful information, send a message to: BC_Labour_Enews-request with "Help" in the subject line. cope 15 TO CONTACT THE FEDERATION, send an email to bcfed at bcfed.com top -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: BCFedblu111.gif Type: image/gif Size: 6108 bytes Desc: BCFedblu111.gif URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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