Hot Tubbin' For Justice

"So..Um...What is it that you do again?"  I spend a lot of time explaining to people what it is I do for the union, so here's a rundown of my activities. I am a proud member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees - local 2950. I am an administrative assistant in the library at the University of British Columbia - that's my day job. Do I get paid extra for my union work? Nope, but I am happy to do it and am committed to make things better for our members. At this point in my life I have the time to go to evening labour council meetings, to attend conventions, to be a shop steward, to sit on both the executive and contract committees, the University Health and Safety Committee... So here's a little bit of a breakdown of what I do for 2950 and for CUPE: Shop Steward As a steward I've had to read the collective agreement numerous times to understand what the responsibilities of the employer and the workers are. I attend grievance meetings, usually with ...

Bums. Whores. Druggies. Losers. Gross. Stinky. Disgusting. Lazy. Sad. Not my problem. All words that I admit I've thought and said about the people of the Downtown Eastside. The DTES is Canada's poorest neighbourhood.  Growing up in the Lower Mainland we're all told to avoid the DTES because it's rough. Drugs, violence, mental illness, prostitution - it's all there and right out in the open. Just because you ignore it doesn't mean it will go away and in fact, the problem just keeps getting worse and worse. The government is making major cuts to social services and health care leaving our poorest and most vulnerable with nowhere to go but the street. The mainstream media paints the residents of the DTES as lazy people who just want to sponge off the system.  At the corner of Hastings and Gore sits the   First United Church ;  an organization and building that has been there for 125 years.  Last year our department made the decision that we wanted to do som...

Who knew that that having a short conversation with a colleague at the circulation desk would change my life forever? That I would find an organization who valued my skills and would offer unlimited opportunities to grow personally and professionally. A place where what I had to say mattered. A place that made me feel like I mattered. I am nothing but encouraged and inspired by my sisters and brothers on our local's executive and mentored by the president and that's ignited a passion for social justice that's been dormant since my days as a university student.  That conversation at the circ desk lead to becoming part of my local's health and safety committee, becoming a shop steward, being a delegate to numerous labour conventions, joining the local's executive board, becoming a labour instructor, an activist in the labour council, a member of the bargaining committee - all which has happened over the past 3 years.  The point of this blog is to document the vari...