[BC_Labour_E-NEWS] B.C. Federation of Labour E-News March 23, 2007

Fri Mar 23 17:17:38 PDT 2007

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B.C. Federation of Labour E-News March 23, 2007

March 23, 2007

Stories

Check out bcfed.ca--the new website of the B.C. Federation of Labour
<http://www.bcfed.ca/> 

Whether you're an existing union member wanting to learn more about the
B.C. Fed, or a worker wanting to join a union and find out more about
your rights, this site has been designed to help find information more
easily. 

We've also added several new features. Use the RSS feature to stay on
top of news releases and postings from the B.C. Fed. Keep checking
"Inside the Fed," our new blog, for highlights of what we're working on
and important issues in our province. Want to know more? Click here
<http://www.bcfed.ca/>  to visit our new site. 

B.C. Federation of Labour takes campaign for $10 minimum wage to the
streets <http://www.bcfed.ca/node/814> 

Vancouver-Young workers and labour activists will brave bad weather
Saturday at Vancouver's Commercial and Broadway Skytrain station to
gather support for their Campaign to boost the provincial minimum wage
<http://www.bcfed.ca/issues/minimum_wage>  to $10 per hour. 

"When it comes to addressing the needs of our lowest paid workers, the
Campbell government and their business allies have a deplorable record,"
said B.C. Federation of Labour President, Jim Sinclair, whose
organization is gearing up the $10 NOW Campaign. Read more.
<http://www.bcfed.ca/node/814> 

Working families hear lots of talk in federal budget but see no real
action <http://www.bcfed.ca/node/794> 

Vancouver - Working families heard lots of talk that they were the
centrepiece of today's federal budget but the details show it's only
talk, with little action says B.C. Federation of Labour
Secretary-Treasurer, Angela Schira.

"No matter how much spin the Conservatives try they're simply out of
touch with the needs of working families," Schira said. Read more.
<http://www.bcfed.ca/node/794> 

B.C. Fed submits recommendations to provincial government to improve
working conditions & safety of BC farmworkers
<http://www.bcfed.ca/node/768> 

Vancouver - The B.C. Federation of Labour today submitted 29
recommendations to Labour Minister Olga Ilich to improve the working
conditions and safety of BC farmworkers, in the wake of last week's
fatal crash near Abbotsford. 

"It's time to act," said Federation President Jim Sinclair. "We know
what the problems are, now let's put real solutions in place to protect
the lives and rights of BC farmworkers." Read more.
<http://www.bcfed.ca/node/768> 

Events

IAMAW - RALLY AND MARCH to save the jobs of 700 aviation maintenance
professionals in Vancouver <http://www.bcfed.ca/node/810> 

SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2007
11:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.

VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TERMINAL

PLEASE COME OUT AND MARCH WITH US IN SOLIDARITY!

*	Save the jobs of 700 aviation maintenance professionals in
Vancouver 
*	Help us put an end to the corporate race to contract aviation
maintenance in Canada to lowest foreign bidder. To learn more click
here. <http://www.bcfed.ca/node/810>  

$10 NOW CAMPAIGN EVENT <http://www.bcfed.ca/node/811> 

The B.C. Federation of Labour is stepping up efforts to gain a
much-needed pay raise for BC's lowest paid workers by winning an
increase in the provincial minimum wage.

DATE: SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2007

TIME: 1:00 to 3:00 pm

PLACE: BROADWAY AND COMMERCIAL SKYTRAIN STATION

To learn more click here. <http://www.bcfed.ca/node/811> 

PSAC National Pride Conference <http://www.bcfed.ca/node/694> 

Start:: Friday March 30, 2007 8:00 am

End: Sunday April 1, 2007 5:00 pm

2007 PSAC National Pride Conference, which will be held March 30, 2007
to April 1, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver under the theme
"INCLUDE AND BE INCLUDED." To learn more click here.
<http://www.bcfed.ca/node/694> 

Publications

Conservative Budget all talk when it comes to working families
<http://www.bcfed.ca/node/813> 

By Jim Sinclair, President, B.C. Federation of Labour

First appeared in Business in Vancouver 

Pity poor federal finance Minister Jim Flaherty. He can't go for coffee
in his hometown of Whitby without someone demanding tax cuts.

"I hear it at the hockey arena," he told reporters. "I hear it at the
coffee shop, I hear it from people on the street: taxes in Canada are
way too high."

So the Conservatives' 2007 budget claims to turn its back on its big
business buddies - "we crack down on corporations that have avoided
paying their fair share" - to "reduce the tax burden on working
families." Read more. <http://www.bcfed.ca/node/813> 

Labour Double-Standards Blamed for Farmworkers' Deaths
<http://thetyee.ca/News/2007/03/16/Farmworkers/> 

>From thetyee.ca

Did Amarjit Kaur Bal, Sarabjit Kaur Sidhu and Sukhwinder Kaur Punia die
in vain? The results from a meeting held March 15 in downtown Vancouver
may determine the answer to that question.

Family members of farmworkers killed in the roll-over accident of an
overloaded labour contractor's van last week and leaders of the BC
labour movement met on the morning of March 15 with Minister of Labour
Olga Ilich and Minister of Agriculture Pat Bell in Vancouver. They
presented a comprehensive list of 30 proposals to remedy safety and
employment standards abuses in BC fields and greenhouses. The submission
to the ministers also calls on the government to strike down a
controversial memorandum signed by the BC Liberals and the province's
large agricultural organizations, which critics say has paved the way
for lax enforcement of safety and employment standards protections in
the industry. Read more.
<http://thetyee.ca/News/2007/03/16/Farmworkers/> 

BC farmworkers deserve protection not exploitation
<http://www.bcfed.ca/node/816> 

First published in the Vancouver Sun, March 14, 2007

The March 7 death of three female farmworkers, when the overloaded
passenger van they were travelling in crashed east of Abbotsford, left
us with a simple choice. 

We all know BC farmworkers are being exploited and their lives
threatened; the only question is whether we act to put an end to it. 

It's become a familiar news story, footage of a crumpled van, followed
by a few days of funerals and families left behind. J ust like the 2003
death of farmworker Mohinder Sunar, who suffocated under the weight of
other farmworkers in another overloaded van without seatbelts. Read
more. <http://www.bcfed.ca/node/816> 