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News - March 2009 Previous Month Following Month
The headlines for current month's news items are listed immediately below. Click on the headline of your choice to see the entire text of the article. Help us end Conservative ‘filibuster’ derailing work of Parliamentary investigation into listeriosis outbreaks! CSPS members urged to take full advantage of upcoming Anti-Harassment Workshops Social Justice Fund Committee approves first projects for funding Local 2 activist named Nova Scotia labour’s ‘Woman of the Year’ Saskatoon’s Local 22 Members put their ‘stamp’ on mail-out to ‘lick’ Bill C-10 Our Social Justice Fund logo contest is being extended
Help us end Conservative ‘filibuster’ derailing work of Parliamentary investigation into listeriosis outbreaks! (Posted March 27, 2009) We need your help to stop the latest attempt by the Harper government to avoid public and Parliamentary scrutiny of their policies and activities. Conservative Members of Parliament are colluding to effectively shut down the work of the House of Commons sub-committee investigating the listeriosis crisis. The Tories hijacked the first meeting, on March 26, through the use of the ‘filibuster’, effectively talking out the clock and leaving no time in the two-hour meeting for serious Committee work. If this continues the Parliamentary investigation will be completely worthless. As our members know all too well, much more than political gamesmanship is at stake. We strongly urge you to log on the Food Safety First Web site and send a message to the Prime Minister and to your MP demanding that this filibustering tactic be stopped so that the sub-committee can start its investigation.
CSPS members urged to take full advantage of upcoming Anti-Harassment Workshops (Posted March 23, 2009) Harassment is a true workplace cancer, assaulting the worth of individuals and poisoning entire job sites. That’s why the Agriculture Union is pleased that our members employed by the Canada School of Public Service this spring will have the opportunity to attend one of a series of cross-county Anti-Harassment Workshops. These one-day workshops will be held in the following locations on the date indicated: • March 24 in Ottawa (English) The Anti-Harassment Workshops have been developed by the Joint Learning Program – a unique joint creation of our bargaining agent, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and the Treasury Board. JLP provides joint union-management learning opportunities in areas where both parties have significant roles and responsibilities, and for which the employer does not already have a legal obligation to provide training. The Agriculture Union fundamentally believes that every member has the right to live and work without having to experience harassment in any way, shape or form. We urge our CSPS members across Canada to register for a workshop by e-mailing Sandra Labelle indicating the session and language of preference.
Social Justice Fund Committee approves first projects for funding (Posted March 18, 2009) Scarcely two months since the official launch of our Social Justice Fund (SJF), the Committee charged with vetting funding requests has given the green light to three projects put forward by Agriculture Union members. The SJF Committee met in mid-February to consider the first funding applications. It plans to meet three times a year, with the remaining meetings in 2009 set for June and November. The projects approved last month will support community development in Mozambique, provide schooling in remote areas of India and foster improved agriculture practices in Kenya. Details of these projects can be seen on our web site by clicking HERE. The current SJF Committee members, drawn from our National Executive and National Council, are:
As previously noted, only Agriculture Union members are eligible to submit funding requests to our Social Justice Fund for Canadian and overseas projects. The SJF Committee strongly encourages any interested members to put forward an application for its consideration.
Local 2 activist named Nova Scotia labour’s ‘Woman of the Year’ (Posted March 12, 2009)
Saskatoon’s Local 22 Members put their ‘stamp’ on mail-out to ‘lick’ Bill C-10 (Posted March 4, 2009) Local 22 members in Saskatoon have put their own ‘stamp’ on a campaign to ‘lick’ federal legislation attacking both free collective bargaining and hard-won pay equity payouts. Our bargaining agent, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, has mounted a campaign in opposition to Bill C-10, the innocent-sounding Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on January 27, 2009 and related fiscal measures. The Harper government tabled the legislation in the House of Commons on January 27. Among its many vices, the Act legislates wage rates for federal public sector workers and sets out a new federal pay equity regime that ignores the recommendations of the 2004 Pay Equity Task Force. The PSAC is convinced that these and other measures in Bill C-10 violate a 2007 Supreme Court of Canada decision that found free collective bargaining to be encompassed and protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Last month, our members answered the call of the PSAC’s Saskatoon and Prince Albert Area Councils for help in drafting and mailing roughly 2,000 flyers laying out the dangers of C-10 to all members in Northern Saskatchewan. .
The top photo above shows Eleyna Beynon, Local 22 President and Alternate Regional Vice President hard at work on a folding machine. Angie Chudy, Saskatchewan representative on our union’s Human Rights Committee, can be seen at the right of the adjacent photo. Finally, the photo directly above shows Local 22 members Nicole Wurm, Rosemary Neufeld and Susan Putz (first, second and fourth from the left). By the way, no tongues were injured in this highly-successful mail-out thanks to the use of self-sealing envelopes! On a more serious note, our Local 22 members are to be congratulated for their ongoing work with the PSAC Area Councils and on this effort in particular.
Let your creativity flow: Our Social Justice Fund logo contest is being extended (Posted March 3, 2009) The idea was great. The timing was less than ideal. Late last year, we launched a membership contest to help the Agriculture Union come up with a logo for our newly-launched Social Justice Fund (SJF). However, in hindsight, launching the contest in the busy pre-holidays period was not the best tactical decision! So, the National Executive has decided to extend the SJF Logo Contest until April 17, 2009. And, to ensure the widest-possible participation, we've designed a special contest poster that is being sent to all our Locals for workplace distribution. A small image of the poster can be seen below. Copies can be downloaded by clicking on the PDF file format logo to its right.
You don't have to be an artist. You do, however, need to be creative, because we're looking for a clear and attractive SJF logo that reflects our commitment to building social and economic justice in Canada and around the globe. Here are the basic criteria for the new logo: Every entrant, including those who may have already submitted a design, will receive a prize. If your design is selected as the winning entry, you'll win $250 and an Agriculture Union jacket. Plus having a lasting tribute to your artistry! Designs should be mailed or e-mailed to Deborah Forsythe, our First National Executive Vice-President, to arrive at the National Office no later than 4 p.m. Ottawa time, Friday, April 17, 2009. The winning logo will become the property of Agriculture Union. So, let's get out that pen and paper (or, design software). And good luck!
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