Hot Tubbin' For Justice

"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...

10 years ago, I entered the convention hall at the Palais de Congres in Montreal and had no idea what I was getting myself into. It was my very first CUPE National Convention. I was new to the union, a young worker, and really overwhelmed by the size of the floor and the number of chairs in the room. I'll admit, I thought the whole "brother/sister" thing was super creepy. (I did not know the history of those terms, that I have come to love). There was so much going on - it  was hard to keep track. The paramedics in BC were on strike and we all got t-shirts as a solidarity act and I thought that was pretty cool. Then we shut down the streets of Montreal and marched to city hall in support of local 301, Montreal's blue collar workers. That was FUN! I went to the Young Workers caucus and there were maybe 20 of us there - probably less. Later in the week, I was approached by someone from the Young Workers' Committee to speak on one of their resolutions. I HATED p...