Hot Tubbin' For Justice

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...

Members of the Migrant Workers Centre at their AGM last weekend. A few weeks ago my friend Susanna contacted me to see if I could bring greetings on behalf of CUPE BC at the Migrant Workers Centre (MWC) AGM. Formerly the West Coast Domestic Workers' Association, I knew this group was heavily involved in legal assistance and advocacy for temporary foreign workers (TFWs), admittedly a file I don't really know much about but I was intrigued by the invitation. Once everything went through the proper channels, I was in and looking forward to hearing more about their work and how our organizations could work together.  So, I showed up and brought greetings. I talked about the natural alignment of values between the work our union does and the work they do. T he labour movement isn't just about organized labour, it's about all workers. CUPE BC delegates passed a resolution at our convention earlier this year that called on the union to advocate for TFWs and to build re...