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| Back to The Mixer | The Mixer, December, 2007 by Shelly Ervin,
UNITE HERE Local 40 Secretary-Treasurer | I am pleased to report our union is on a sound financial footing. Our current healthy financial position has come about as a result of careful management and cautious oversight, as well as dedicated teamwork by our member representatives on your union’s Executive Board. Working together with Local 40’s President/Administrator Jim Pearson, I believe we have achieved a secure financial foundation that will help support our union in reaching our future goals. Our International Union has been a leader in providing ongoing education and training for elected union officers who are responsible for managing their Local Union’s finances. Seminars are held on an annual basis and I have been fortunate to have participated in a number of union financial management programs since assuming office in 2003. As always, there is a vast pool of professionals at our UNITE HERE headquarters that are only a call away to assist in dealing with more specific matters, and our current financial strength is due, in part, to their being available when we needed them to provide details on any financial issues. I am very thankful to our auditors for reviewing our finances and also assisting us in identifying areas where we can improve. One of the reasons we were able to get a waiver on the mandatory dues increase in October 2007, as reported in the last issue of The Mixer, was because we could prove the Local union’s finances were in sound financial shape and do not anticipate any unforeseen financial hardship in the near future. We have had many unique financial challenges this year, in particular the costs of fighting the raid on our membership at GM Place in Vancouver by the BC Government & Service Employees Union as well as our increased activism during this year’s bargaining for new contracts with the downtown Vancouver corporate hotels and Cara at the Flight Kitchen in Richmond. With the assistance of our International Union during this time it has allowed us to successfully weather this storm of financial activity, and I am happy to state that we have actually come out on the brighter side of the struggle. It was great to recently visit with our members on Vancouver Island and in Powell River as I continue with Union Representative responsibilities in these areas. With the help of Lorrie Dyer, who is the Area Steward for the Northern Island region, and Tom Corless, who is the Area Steward for the South Island, we have been meeting on a regular basis to discuss concerns and ensure our membership is being serviced and matters are being dealt with. With the closure last year of the Victoria union office, we have proven we have been able to provide cost-effective union representation to our members on the Island. I thank Sister Dyer and Brother Corless, both members of our Executive Board, for stepping forward in this capacity. When we are successful in growing our union membership levels on the Island, we will look at the option of re-opening an office at that time. | 
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| Jim Pearson, Local 40 President & Sean Mahoney, Organizer | Shelly Ervin, Local 40 Secretary Treasurer | Karen Cerniuk, Kamloops District Labour Council | Tom Snyder, Director of Political Action, UNITE HERE | Jack Layton, Federal NDP Leader | Ken Georgetti, President Canadian Labour Congress | Joseph Lee, Local 40 members & Katherine Shea, UNITE HERE Organizer | This year’s BC Federation of Labour Convention saw a number of Local 40 members in attendance at the bi-annual Policy Convention. In an effort to cut back on costs, our Union’s Executive Board passed a motion at the October, 2007, Membership Meeting, to encourage members working in the local Vancouver area to attend the proceedings rather than have the full Executive Board participate. This year’s convention featured Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton who, in a key policy speech delivered to delegates, spoke about the party’s strategy to create green-collar jobs in Canada, in response to the “New Energy Economy”. Layton’s plan brings together communities, grassroots organizations and labour unionsand builds on their skills and creativity to create jobs that will help the environment The convention also featured guest speaker, Brother Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian labour Congress and past president of the BC Federation of Labour. In Ottawa, Georgetti has been leading the fight on behalf of Canadian workers to secure new legal protections for workers wages and pension contributions when their employers declare bankruptcy. Bill C-12 aims to provide these protections and I am pleased to report after a hard fought three year campaign led by the CLC, we have just received notice that the Bill was approved by the Senate and has now received Royal Assent, making it law. One of the three workshops held at the Convention featured UNITE HERE Political Action Director Tom Snyder. He was part of a panel presentation that also featured Karen Cerniuk, president of the Kamloops & District Labour Council and focused on the benefits of political action in union campaigns. Brother Snyder has been instrumental in managing many successful union campaigns throughout the United States and described some of the successful techniques and strategies used to effect beneficial political change in a number of US cities where UNITE HERE members work. Sister Cerniuk spoke of the recent successful local campaign in Kamloops that brought public attention to the BC Federation of Labour’s campaign to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour – visit the link from Local 40’s website at www.local40union.com for more information on how you can support this campaign. In closing, I would like to encourage all of our members to support our union brothers and sisters working for IBEW Local 213, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Their members who work as Service Technicians for Sears are currently locked out over contract negotiations and the labour movement is supporting a boycott of buying Sears merchandise during this dispute. I would like to wish you and your families a very Happy Holiday Season and a healthy and prosperous New Year. I look forward to working with you all in 2008! And please remember, don’t drink and drive. |
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