Reflections After the 2019 CUPE National Convention

"Solidarity of the working class is the greatest force for change in history." 
Sara Nelson, CUPE National Convention 2019

The 2019 CUPE National Convention took place in Montreal, October 6-11th. This convention marked 10 years since I attended my first union event and as the BC Caucus Whip, I was really excited for the ensuing week.

I am so proud to be from BC. I tried to coordinate the floor differently this time by using an app that would enable communication to get to delegates in a more consistent and timely manner. Our executive board came together, we huddled, chatted and cheered each other on. Everyone stepped up when I needed help and I thought we did a great job repping our region. 

Here are some of my thoughts on various parts of convention.

Post-Secondary Sector Meeting

This year, the post-secondary sector meeting focused on the rise of hate on our campuses. We were fortunate to have Kimalee Phillip, one of our Human Rights reps, speak to us in her capacity as a member and advocate for the Migrant Rights Network. At UBC, the rise of the alt-right, MRAs and hate on campus has been facilitated under the guise of the "Free Speech Club." We were reminded that these groups are not concerned with "free speech" - that they are actively recruiting young people to join their cause. It's scary and it's our responsibility to speak up against the messaging that continues to foment hate in our society. 

Migrant workers bear the brunt of a lot of hate in our communities. Over the past year or so, I have been lucky to spend time with folks from the Migrant Workers Centre and other like minded organizations, going to bat for farm workers, domestic workers and other migrant workers who are in need of assistance. I wrote about my experience at the Migrant Workers Conference last year where I learned a lot about the advocacy being done to protect temporary foreign workers. 

Back to the session - we talked about combatting these groups fomenting hate, standing in solidarity with migrant workers' organizations, working with anti-racism groups while protecting academic and intellectual freedom. It was an important discussion to have and those 2 hours flew by. 

Mad props to Janice and Michelle for putting this session together. It's always amazing to see strong women lead a session like this. 

Resolutions

• 130 - Migrant Workers
• I spoke to this resolution in support of the National Rainbow Committee's report. As the largest union in Canada, it is our responsibility to stand in solidarity with all workers. Migrant workers are important people in our communities and we must do what we can to build alliances. We also cannot let our guards down when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable. CBSA raids of work sites is a reality for many and we must protect undocumented workers. When border agents come to our work sites it is abhorrent that they are asking about the immigration status of workers and we cannot capitulate to these draconian and inhumane practices. I was glad that this resolution hit the floor and passed unanimously.

• 151 - Library Awareness Campaign
• Another resolution I had to speak to. For 6 years, I have had the honour of representing CUPE BC as the chair of both the CUPE BC and CUPE National Library Workers' Committees. As someone who is simply a fan of the library sector, I have done my best to advocate and raise the profile of the sector in our union and in the labour movement. I am incredibly proud of the work we've been able to do - from becoming active participants in the BCLA conference, to co-sponsoring the BC Summer Reading Club program, to pushing CUPE BC to focus on the library sector during provincial budget consultations, working on a submission to government regarding library workers' role in poverty reduction, being invited to speak on a panel at the Union of BC Municipalities convention. Our members deliver such important and amazing services in their communities all over the province, my heart beams with pride and admiration.

• 53 - Sexual Violence in the Union
• At the women's caucus this was the priority resolution coming to the floor from the National Women's Committee. CUPE is not immune to the #metoo movement. We all know of or have had our own experiences at union events. There is no process that is safe for survivors to come forward. Women who've had the courage to speak up have had their political careers affected and their stories questioned. This resolution would try to address those concerns and the support for the resolution in the room was resounding. My friend, Sheryl Burns co-chairs the Women's committee and the caucus and I have to say, I am in awe of her advocacy and sheer determination and persistence to make the union safe for women. You could feel the sisterhood in the room - inclusive of all women. When the resolution hit the floor it passed.

Diversity Seats

Oh boy, here we go again. I knew going in that it was going to be tough. CUPE Quebec had voted on a resolution at their division convention to oppose the equity seats and since convention was in their province it would be hard to make any headway on this issue. It was also clear that CUPE New Brunswick was staunchly against making this change. No surprise since their leadership seems quite conservative.

It is challenging to look at the CUPE National Executive Board and see the face of our membership reflected in our leadership. It is not a knock on the folks who are elected to the board, they are good people, but when companies like Goldcorp have a more progressive governance structure, I think we have to ask ourselves how we can do better. 

I default to my experience at senior leadership tables at CUPE BC and at the BC Federation of Labour. That often, I am bringing up issues and points that come from a  generational perspective that is not shared by my colleagues around those tables. It's not because of ageism, it's because of my lived experience. At the BC Fed's OHS Committee table it's the first time in a long time, that the labour movement has centred women's health and safety at that table and not just shouldered by the women's committee. It's not because the brothers around the table don't care, but they don't have the lived experience to think about the work with that lens. I think of the times at BC Fed's Executive Council meetings where the equity reps bring a depth of understanding and insight that the rest of us simply don't have and we make better decisions because of that insight.

The YES side organized their asses off. They strategized, and worked hard to convince delegates to add 3 more seats to the NEB. I was really impressed by their tenacity and energy. The debate on the floor was far more respectful and way less nasty than the debate in 2017. But when you looked at the con speakers, they were all white, and mostly men - the ones who hold power in the union. I don't think there is malice behind the con side of the debate but a lack of understanding of what privilege is. There is a need for anti-oppression training. We also have to ensure that there are safe spaces to have difficult conversations without labelling each other.  

We have a long way to go CUPE but I am confident that we can get there and live up the values of equity and inclusion that we espouse.

Elections

I was really proud of my friends Debra Merrier and Shireen Clark on winning their elections. Debra as the Diversity Vice President representing Indigenous Workers and Shireen as one of the Trustees. I stepped down earlier this year because of being stretched too thin (something had to go) and I can't think of a better person to take on the role. Way to go sisters!!

We also saw Paul elected at GVP, Trevor as RVP and Barb Nederpel as RVP all representing BC. I also want to acknowledge Jonathan and Ravina for their elections as the alternate DVPs to the NEB. Congratulations to all!

The gender balance on the NEB is out of whack with the membership of the union. 16 men, 7 women and with the exception of the DVPs, everyone is white. Yikes. There is work that needs to be done in the regions to say the least. 

Guest Speakers

Sara Nelson - President, Association of Flight Attendants

• It was so great to see a women leader of an international labour group. She and her members are credited with ending the US government shutdown. She talked about the rampant sexism in the industry - from uniforms, to forced weigh-ins, it was interesting to hear how they are fighting back. While most people enjoyed her rousing union rah rah rhetoric, to me, I thought she was most powerful sharing the stories of the courage of her fallen comrades. "Aviation isn't academic, it's about life and death." She recalled the day she got the call when her friends bravely perished in the 9/11 flights to New York and DC. I have to admit I rolled a tear or two when she spoke about them. She shared an incredible story of solidarity where the union protected one of their members from an ICE detention and had her released 18 hours later. 

• Geici Maiara Brig - SINTRASEB - Brasil

• What a powerhouse! She was inspiring - talking about resistance, hope and justice for all. Living under the Bolsonaro government is no joke. It's scary stuff - trade unionists are being tossed in jail, left right and centre or worse, kidnapped or killed. We heard of the struggles for migrant workers (being prevented from crossing borders), for women (whose murder rates keep increasing), students protesting for their dream of university education, the fight for unions to keep their doors open. She implored us to build a world that prioritizes LIFE rather than money. There were security concerns for her while she was speaking and that reality check of what trade unionists around the world are facing, was sobering for the convention floor.

• Jagmeet Singh, NDP Leader
  

• It's no surprise that I am a staunch New Democrat. I have come to really admire Jagmeet Singh. He's such a charismatic man, full of empathy, extremely smart, relatable and funny. The way he infused humour into politics engaged the entire floor. His message of optimism and hope really resonate with us and I hope that we hold on to our seats in the House of Commons come October 21st. He also had the entire convention floor jumping and dancing! He ended his speech by saying "We can build the country of our dreams if we have the courage to ask for more!" YES!

National Library Workers' Committee Report

This marked the last time I would present the CUPE National Library Workers' report at convention. Being able to meet with library workers from across the country is an honour. I have learned so much from all of them. I think of the battles that we've all been through - from CUPE 2329 beating back the cruel cuts of 54 of their branches by the Newfoundland and Labradour government, to CUPE 4948 fighting off austerity measures by the Ford government in Toronto, the courage of CUPE 1169 in their fight in the opioid crisis and so much more. Spending time with Dawn Lahey from Newfoundland and Labradour and Maureen O'Reilly from Toronto was a huge honour. They are powerhouses, femtors, kick ass activists and so passionate about the library sector. As I write this, I just feel supremely lucky to have had the opportunity to serve on the committee.

Convention Badges of Achievement

We often take ourselves too seriously so to inject a bit of fun, we made turned convention bingo into a bit of a button game where our delegates could earn the "convention badges of achievement."

The rules were as follows:

Top Row - left-right:

- Shame - your speech at a mic elicits a good amount of "shame" from the floor

- Ouais - you speak en francais at the mic

- ? - Call the question at the mic

- Ovation - your speech gets an ovation from the entire convention floor

Second Row - left-right:

-Star cherry - first time speaker

- Sunset - last time speaker (your last convention)

- Rocket launch - you start quiet and you go loud

- Mic drop - you have the mic drop moment in your speech

Third row - left-right:

- Testify - your speech took convention floor to church

- Pink bird - CUPE National retweets you

- Blue bird - CUPE BC retweets you

- Orange Paul Faoro - you talk about the NDP at the mic

Fourth Row - left-right:

- Mic Cut off - you went over time in your speech

- word. - you're the last one on a resolution before the chair takes the vote

- Mic muffin - you get the button with a muffin named Mike

- Shark - challenge the chair

Bottom row:

- I got whipped at CUPE Convention hahahahahaha

- Gold star - you went to the mic

- ASL applause - you got some applause at the mic

Final Thoughts:

I was really sick most of the convention so I didn't do much other than go to the convention, fulfill my role as the caucus whip and then go back to my room at the hotel. That kind of sucked but it was as much as I could handle, especially knowing we were going straight into bargaining the following week. 

I love the opportunity to connect with friends from across the country. We are lucky if we see each other more than once every 2 years but often it feels like no time has passed. There are so many awesome activists in CUPE, who are making a difference in their communities every day. These are lifelong friendships. 

Debate on the floor is the best. It's how we learn about each other's issues. How awesome was it to celebrate the win of the Ontario K-12 workers getting a deal on the eve of the province's largest strike in a long time? Or to know that the prolonged strike at Wood Buffalo Housing in Fort MacMurray came to an end while we were on the convention floor?  I will admit I was frustrated by the debate and the vote on the floor regarding the Palestinian resolution where we are seeing the rise of the right in our union. It's troubling to see the membership buy into that Rebel media style rhetoric on the issue but again, it just means there's more work to do. One of the highlights for me was to learn more about the Portugal model in fighting the opioid crisis from frontline workers who save lives every day (thanks 1004 Tuesday!).

Hitting that 700,001 membership number was pretty rad as well. 

Our union is far from perfect and we have some serious challenges ahead of us. We need to confront the #metoo movement within the union and hold our leaders to account. We need to do some serious work on equity and inclusion at the various leadership levels in all regions of the country. We need to find a way to be a leader in fixing the disfunction of the Canadian Labour Congress. We need to find better ways to communicate the wins of CUPE locals and divisions - to celebrate our wins. We need more detailed report backs from the NEB at conventions - the summarized "reports" full of empty rhetoric is a waste of resources. 

I would like to see a record of resolutions - what happened? What was achieved? Did we lobby government? If we lobbied, when and who went? Who presented to senate and house committees on the hill? Let's celebrate that work in the context of convention's mandate.

So 10 years after my first national convention I'm still here, committed to the movement more than ever and looking forward what the next 10 years brings!

That is all.