Labor Notes Comes to Town: Vancouver Trouble Makers School!
"Where I come from we are not called troublemakers or shit disturbers, we are human rights defenders. When we stir some shit it's for the working class!" Chris Sorio, Migrante BC
So in April 2018 I went to Chicago and attended the Labor Notes Conference for the first time and it changed my life. It was the first time I had gone to a conference so big, so unapologetically socialist, so full of a class analysis, focusing on organizing, on movement building, on workers' power! To put the "movement" back in the labour movement! It was not about which position you held in the union, it was about the collective working together to fight against the right and the boss and workers to take ownership of their unions. I wrote extensively about it on this blog - here, here, here and the session with the West Virginia Teachers got their own post.
It was at that conference I met a ton of awesome activists from BC. The Vancouver crew met at the Canada caucus and it was clear that we wanted to replicate our experience at home, to explore the possibility of bringing Labor Notes to BC. This is one of the rare events where union staffers and rank and file members get to participate in a conference together. In CUPE anyway, there is always a divide between members and staff and the opportunity to put us all together as one collective was such an exciting prospect. For the next 18 months we went to each other's homes to plan and strategize. We met Bianca and Barbara from Labor Notes and skyped with them to hold the first Secrets of a Successful Organizer training and then the first Trouble Makers School for Vancouver. The solidarity formed throughout this process is hard to explain. I am so impressed by everyone's passion for re-invigorating our labour movement. The folks on the planning committee are truly committed to inclusion, social justice and organizing. I learned so much from each of them it was an amazing experience just to be on the planning committee let alone the actual sessions...we'll get to those later.
So after almost 18 months, the Vancouver Trouble Makers School came together on October 26, 2019 to the tune of around 200 participants!! People came from all over the west coast. We had many BC unions represented, including some unions not affiliated with the CLC, folks from UFCW in Seattle, and teachers unions from Los Angeles (we had about 5 from the union who represents the teacher at charter schools) and Washington State.
After Bianca from Labor Notes, introduced the day and Labor Notes, I was up on deck. It was a great honour to to open the conference and give the land acknowledgement. When I was thinking about what I was going to say, I thought back about an early experience I had as an eager young worker. At the Parksville CUPE weeklong, I remember being really a new and excited young worker. The President of CUPE BC at the time was there to give greetings and we got to ask questions! So I asked the age old question about member apathy (I didn't know any better). When I look back on the answer I got back was, it was dismissive and sexist. So what advice did he give me? He told me to make spaghetti dinners. And that was it. Did he say that because my last name is Italian? Because I was a woman? Ugh. It was very disheartening. I turned that disappointment into a passion for a better answer and it took almost 10 years later where I found the answer the 2018 Labor Notes conference.
The Vancouver Trouble Makers school had a great line up of sessions and plenaries. Here's the list:
- Beating Apathy
- Assembling Your Dream Team
- Turning an Issue into a Campaign
- Race and Labour
-‘Fight the Boss, Build the Union'- a panel on new organizing
- Reforming Your Union
- Labour History
- Labour and Climate Justice
- Decolonize Your Workplace
Hector was followed by my friend Jody Polukoshko from the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers' Association (VESTA) and member of the BCTF provincial bargaining committee. She talked to us how the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and UTLA's social justice bargaining are an inspiration in their current round. She talked to us about how the colonial systems in school district offices, education (curriculum and the schools themselves) and our unions need to change. To honour the TRCs calls to action by decolonizing education and that this is top of mind as the BCTF bargain this round.
I chose the session on Precarious Work and Undocumented Organizing. The panel was awesome. It starred Chris Sorio (Migrante BC), Erie Maestro (CUPE 391 member and Migrante BC), Alexandra Hhenaoc (CUPE 1004 member and Fuerza Migrante), Byron Cruz (Sanctuary Health and CUPE 15 member) moderated by Sarah St. John (awesome organizer and researcher and general badass). I missed Chris' first part of the session - I sat down as he was talking about the terms "trouble makers" and "shit disturbers." I'll never forget what he said:
"Where I come from we are not called troublemakers or shit disturbers, we are human rights defenders. When we stir some shit it's for the working class!"
Then he encouraged us to go beyond the trade unions to include all workers in the struggle. YES!
Our friend Erie Maestro was up next. She is a librarian in Vancouver and an ardent advocate for migrant workers. She talked about how Migrante BC is a member led and volunteer run organization and they are constantly going to where the workers are - basketball and volleyball courts, and the annual Pinoy parade for example. Migrante BC won an award from the City of Vancouver earlier this year and were instrumental in getting the City to recognize December 16th as International Migrants Day. She really stressed the importance of working together - unions and migrant workers. She spent some time telling us about the Vancouver Public Library's "Access without Fear Policy" where people can come and use library services without having to disclose their immigration status.
Alexandra Hhenaoc (recent PhD) works for CoDev and is with Fuerza Migrante, an organization dedicated to migrant workers' dignity and liberation - to assist migrant workers on any issues they have whether it is with employers, government bureaucracy, healthcare - anything really. They help farm workers become aware that they are not alone, that they are part of a greater struggle. They organize Spanish speakers so workers can speak up for each other and themselves. The work they do is not campaign focused but focused on direct work with migrant workers. She was honest and direct. Farm workers are difficult to organize because of the physical isolation of working and living on a farm and the language barriers hinders their participation in the labour movement. When it comes to farm workers, I am reminded of some wisdom my pal Kass imparted last year - that we should always centre the worker in the story of our food.
Byron Cruz from Sanctuary Health talked to us about their work. Their organization came about to help undocumented workers navigate the healthcare system - they saw that social workers were obligated to call CBSA and there was a need to protect these folks from other countries. He talked to us about the work Sanctuary Health has done with BC Children and Women's Hospital to ensure that pregnant women can access healthcare and deliver babies at no cost. He implored us to support calls for a "sanctuary province." We've passed resolutions at CUPE BC convention that support sanctuary cities and schools so it's only fitting we support a sanctuary province.
I left really inspired and really proud that these amazing people gave up some of their Saturday to be part of the TMS. And almost all of them are CUPE members!
The second session I picked was "Fight the Boss and Build the Union!" a panel of new organizing moderated by Sylvia. Quick note, Sylvia is an excellent moderator - her skill at asking great questions and context setting is rare in this city, so full of insight and heart. Ok, onto the panel. We covered a lot - their specific organizing successes, why they got involved in the organizing drives, how they overcame the fear, how organizing affected and transformed relationships between people at work and any advice they had for those organizing new workplaces.
Mridula Morgan and Danielle Dionne - HSA - Canadian Mental Health Association. At CMHA (as a workplace), it was brewing to a place of deep unrest and it was time to organize a union. Staff were starting to talk about discrimination, workload, and disrespect they were feeling at work. People were leaving, they were going off because they were exhausted and it was time to form a union. They went with the HSA and were lucky to have Nadia assigned to them (Nadia is my friend and an amazing activist). It took them 12 months and multiple conversations, meetings and cups of coffee to get people ready for a certification vote. The more they connected with each other the safer they felt in signing union cards.
Oh and their employer challenged their application at the Labour Relations Board - members had to testify against employer side lawyers who grilled them about their jobs. But guess what? The members voted 100% in favour of a union. BOOYA!
Crystal Hill from CUPE 4070, the new WestJet flight attendant local told the story of how they succeeded in some of the largest private sector organizing in Canada in a long time. WestJet actively condemned unions for 2 decades and the workers there convinced themselves they didn't need one. If you said the "U" word, you were reported to management and terminated. The pilots eventually organized and things changed. The working conditions, scheduling and compensation were all things that needed improving and it was clear they weren't going to change without a union. Because of the fear around organizing, they had to get creative. They turned to social media which would turn out to be integral to their organizing drive. The discontent turned to mobilization and a catalyst for workers to sign cards. After a lot of hard work, she said that one of the proudest days of her life was when they became certified.
MJ from SEIU 2 (Justice for Janitors) talked to us about how the union fought off a contract flip while working at BC Hydro. The workers were told earlier this year that the contractor would be changing and that the expectation was that this company was not going to honour the current collective agreement and benefits. They called their union right away. There were many facets to their success in fighting off the contract flip. They made sure that they were connected and united at all BC Hydro worksites, they took to the media, there was a widely shared video created by the BC Federation of Labour that was popular on social media, petitions and lobby meetings with the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Energy. After all that BC Hydro rethought their position and kept the current contract.
The closing plenary was focused on great stories of fight backs.
First up was Crystal Hill from CUPE 4070 who talked about the successful organizing drive at WestJet. Beth Miller from CUPE 1816 came to tell us the story of their 67 day lock out and strike at Pacific Blue Cross and the subsequent turfing of the PBC Board of Directors. Gwenda Alexander and Precy Miguel from the HEU spoke to us about contract flipping and the impact it had on hospital workers for years to come and their successful bis to organize and reorganize their worksites, every time a new contractor came on the scene. Bianca from Labor Notes came back and led us in one final cheer - WHEN WE FIGHT, WE WIN!!!
After the closing plenary folks went down to the Unite Here 40 picket line.
I don't think we could have asked for a better day. We rounded up as many CUPE members we could find for one final group photo. Solidarity forever!
Byron Cruz from Sanctuary Health talked to us about their work. Their organization came about to help undocumented workers navigate the healthcare system - they saw that social workers were obligated to call CBSA and there was a need to protect these folks from other countries. He talked to us about the work Sanctuary Health has done with BC Children and Women's Hospital to ensure that pregnant women can access healthcare and deliver babies at no cost. He implored us to support calls for a "sanctuary province." We've passed resolutions at CUPE BC convention that support sanctuary cities and schools so it's only fitting we support a sanctuary province.
I left really inspired and really proud that these amazing people gave up some of their Saturday to be part of the TMS. And almost all of them are CUPE members!
The second session I picked was "Fight the Boss and Build the Union!" a panel of new organizing moderated by Sylvia. Quick note, Sylvia is an excellent moderator - her skill at asking great questions and context setting is rare in this city, so full of insight and heart. Ok, onto the panel. We covered a lot - their specific organizing successes, why they got involved in the organizing drives, how they overcame the fear, how organizing affected and transformed relationships between people at work and any advice they had for those organizing new workplaces. Mridula Morgan and Danielle Dionne - HSA - Canadian Mental Health Association. At CMHA (as a workplace), it was brewing to a place of deep unrest and it was time to organize a union. Staff were starting to talk about discrimination, workload, and disrespect they were feeling at work. People were leaving, they were going off because they were exhausted and it was time to form a union. They went with the HSA and were lucky to have Nadia assigned to them (Nadia is my friend and an amazing activist). It took them 12 months and multiple conversations, meetings and cups of coffee to get people ready for a certification vote. The more they connected with each other the safer they felt in signing union cards.
Oh and their employer challenged their application at the Labour Relations Board - members had to testify against employer side lawyers who grilled them about their jobs. But guess what? The members voted 100% in favour of a union. BOOYA!
Crystal Hill from CUPE 4070, the new WestJet flight attendant local told the story of how they succeeded in some of the largest private sector organizing in Canada in a long time. WestJet actively condemned unions for 2 decades and the workers there convinced themselves they didn't need one. If you said the "U" word, you were reported to management and terminated. The pilots eventually organized and things changed. The working conditions, scheduling and compensation were all things that needed improving and it was clear they weren't going to change without a union. Because of the fear around organizing, they had to get creative. They turned to social media which would turn out to be integral to their organizing drive. The discontent turned to mobilization and a catalyst for workers to sign cards. After a lot of hard work, she said that one of the proudest days of her life was when they became certified.
MJ from SEIU 2 (Justice for Janitors) talked to us about how the union fought off a contract flip while working at BC Hydro. The workers were told earlier this year that the contractor would be changing and that the expectation was that this company was not going to honour the current collective agreement and benefits. They called their union right away. There were many facets to their success in fighting off the contract flip. They made sure that they were connected and united at all BC Hydro worksites, they took to the media, there was a widely shared video created by the BC Federation of Labour that was popular on social media, petitions and lobby meetings with the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Energy. After all that BC Hydro rethought their position and kept the current contract.
The closing plenary was focused on great stories of fight backs.
First up was Crystal Hill from CUPE 4070 who talked about the successful organizing drive at WestJet. Beth Miller from CUPE 1816 came to tell us the story of their 67 day lock out and strike at Pacific Blue Cross and the subsequent turfing of the PBC Board of Directors. Gwenda Alexander and Precy Miguel from the HEU spoke to us about contract flipping and the impact it had on hospital workers for years to come and their successful bis to organize and reorganize their worksites, every time a new contractor came on the scene. Bianca from Labor Notes came back and led us in one final cheer - WHEN WE FIGHT, WE WIN!!!After the closing plenary folks went down to the Unite Here 40 picket line.
I don't think we could have asked for a better day. We rounded up as many CUPE members we could find for one final group photo. Solidarity forever!
Comments
Post a Comment