[LabComm] PRESS RELEASE July 23, 2003 City hall censors free speech, says CUPE

[Harprit Khaira]

Hi All:

Attached please find the above noted press release.

Attention CUPE BC Lori, please post to the web site. Thanks

In solidarity,

Darlene Nicholson, Opeiu 491



I
City hall censors free speech, says CUPE

Prince George – City outside workers here are wondering if city hall is
censoring free speech to avoid criticism of its policies and priorities.

City hall has accused outside staff of failing to obtain a variance before
strategically placing signs on public boulevards. The signs are critical of
city hall’s failure to maintain infrastructure like streetlights, sidewalks
and road paving.

The city has demanded  that CUPE Local 399 remove the signs within 72 hours.
They have threatened the local with a fine of up to $5,000 if it doesn’t
comply.

“What is city hall afraid of?” asked CUPE 399 president Kevin McConnachie.
The workers are also asking city council and senior management to give the
real reasons for the demand.

“While we have now applied for the variance, we don’t expect that city hall
will approve the request,” McConnachie said. “They just don’t seem to like
the idea of their workers publicly asking them the same questions that the
public asks us.”

“City bylaws seem to be inconsistently applied,” he added. One organization
was given seven days to remove its signage and threatened with a much
smaller fine than the CUPE workers. The B.C. Rail campaign, which Local 399
workers endorse, may not have even been required to have a variance.

“It’s time people were made aware that senior staff and elected officials
make the decisions about the quality of services, not workers,”  said
McConnachie. “We want those jobs done, but we take our orders and follow
priorities set by our superiors.“

Whether Local 399 is forced to remove its signs or not, it will continue its
campaign to ensure that people are informed. “The city may succeed at
censoring our signs on public property, McConnachie said,  “But soon they’ll
begin to see signs on their constituent’s lawns and find messages in other
places.”

                                                            -30-

Contact:  Kevin McConnachie, CUPE 399 president, (cell) 250-961-1196.

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