Hot Tubbin' For Justice

"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 a...

Last year I attended my first Labor Notes conference in Chicago and felt like I found my people in the labour movement. An organization that centres grassroots organizing, class analyses, equity and inclusion and worker power is for me and something that is missing in Canada.  I wrote at length about my experience there: Day One - Labor Notes Conference Stories from the West Virginia Teachers' Strike Day Two - Labor Notes Conference Day Three - Labor Notes Conference When I saw that Labor Notes was having a Troublemakers School (TMS) in Portland over my birthday weekend, I knew I had to go! So I roped my pal Trish into coming with me and we roadtripped down to Portland for some coffee, donuts and organizing training. There's no other way I would want to spend my birthday than with 400 other union activists.  We drove across Portland to the Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute. We entered the union hall, registered and grabbed seats. I met a ...

I look forward to International Women's Day every year. There's always a ton of programming and this year did not disappoint! IWD 2019 was one for the ages! In fact it was a week full of celebration of women in so many ways. Everywhere I went all week it was IWD - I saw 2 theatre shows (Come From Away and The Good Bride), attended an author reading at VPL which was a tribute to libraries (and will have its own blog post soon), participated in the annual CUPE Metro IWD community event in Richmond, went to the Westcoast LEAF Equality Breakfast where I met Dr. Willie Parker (!), celebrated the launch of Canada's first indigenous woman-owned airline (Iskwew Air), and the 4th annual Women in Entertainment Celebration and Fundraiser for the DTES Women's Centre put on by the entertainment unions (IATSE 891, UBCP-ACTRA, Teamsters 155, DGC and ICG 669). Westcoast LEAF Equality Breakfast - Dr. Willie Parker (Keynote) When I saw that Dr. Willie Parker was going to be th...

with Sarah and Shelley at the Memorial March As I continue on this incredibly unpredictable path in the labour movement, looking back on 2018 gives me some time to reflect on the past year. It was also the year of a lot of "firsts" without my dad, which is still weird. Last year, I committed to write more about the things I attend, mostly for me so I can look back and remember what happened over the course of the year. So without further ado - here was my 2018! January With members of the first AUCE 1 bargaining committee Italian Film Festival  - I saw 6 films at the IFF. It was a great way to connect me to my dad as I was getting used to life without him. I was pleasantly surprised how good the movies were. I will be attending this year's festival starting this weekend - I have 6 tickets booked this time as well. Forza Italia! City on Edge Exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver - this was an exhibit about the history of protest in the city of Vancouver. The...