Local 40 Headlines... Next Local 40 Membership Meeting The next Local 40 membership meeting will take place on Sunday, September 27, 2009. The meeting will take place at the Hilton Metrotown in Burnaby.
Members elect delegates for International Convention April 16, 2009 - UNITE HERE Local 40 members have elected the delegates and alternates who will represent the membership at this year's International Convention that takes place in Chicago in late June, 2009. Initially 26 delegates and 9 alternates were nominated. Then 3 delegates dropped off the ballot leaving 23 delegates and 9 alternates nominated. UNITE HERE Local 40 is entitled to 23 delegates to the International Convention. The number of delegates must not exceed 23, therefore the 23 delegate nominees were elected by acclamation and the 9 alternates were elected by acclamation. The list of delegates and alternates is as follows: Convention Delegates: Christina Bencze, Cara Flight Kitchen, Richmond How-Ching Chan, Blue Horizon, Vancouver Ram Deo, Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver Richard Dietl, Cara Flight Kitchen, Richmond Lorrie Dyer, Vice President, Local 40 Shelly Ervin, Secretary-Treasurer, Local 40 Rolando Gonzalez, Cara Flight Kitchen, Richmond Gulzar Kaur Grewal, Coast Plaza Hotel, Vancouver Lucila (Louie) Gueverra, Organizer, Local 40 Yoseph Haile, Westin Bayshore, Vancouver Tracy Jewer, Quality Resort Bayside, Parksville Chuong Cam John Khuu, Renaissance Hotel, Vancouver Chin Inh Lynam, Harrison Hot Springs, Harrison Abelardo (Abe) Marte, Westin Bayshore, Vancouver Brad McLean, GM Place, Vancouver Mei Mei Miao, Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver Sergio Moyer, Hilton Metrotown, Vancouver Jim Pearson, President, Local 40 Ferdinand (Ding) Ramos, Hyatt Hotel, Vancouver Vivian Rondic, Coast Capri, Kelowna Martin Shaffer, Coast Hotel, Prince George Ravinder KaurThandi, Richmond Inn, Richmond Lynette Willoughby, Harrison Hot Springs, Harrison Alternate Delegates: Vicky Bolan, Harrison Hot Springs, Harrison Sara Craig, Harbour Towers, Victoria Razeena Deo, Hyatt Hotel, Vancouver Evelyn Greaves, Holiday Inn Downtown, Vancouver Daniel Joncas, Coast Plaza Hotel, Vancouver Lisa McGillvary-Larson, Coast Bastion, Nanaimo Dianne Melville, Richmond Inn, Richmond Edna Natino, Holiday Inn – Vancouver Centre Teresa South, Laurel Point Inn, Victoria If you have any questions about the nominees, please speak to a member of the election committee. You can phone the election committee at 604-473-4814 UNITE HERE Local 40 Election Committee Members: Catherine Giesbrecht, Renaissance Hon Kong, Cara Flight Kitchen Roger Gibson, Westin Bayshore Wendy Figg, Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel Beth Marshall, Hyatt Regency Hotel
Stunning job losses mean EI must be improved - Georgetti says situation is urgent Feb 6, 2009, OTTAWA - The Canadian Labour Congress has responded to news that Canada lost 129,000 jobs in January with a renewed call for the federal government to make urgently-needed improvements to the Employment Insurance program. "This is stunning," says Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. "It's an economic tsunami for Canadian workers and there's more to come. We have now lost 213,000 good full-time jobs in the past three months and the unemployment rate is at 7.2 percent." Georgetti says many laid-off workers and their families will be left out in the cold because governments have changed the rules for EI, making it harder to qualify and chopping the benefits for those who do. "The effects of the government's economic stimulus package won't kick in for months but workers who are innocent victims of this recession need help right now," says Georgetti. He says that workers and their unions are going to keep the pressure on the government to improve the EI program. "People have paid their premiums believing that they would receive their insurance when they find themselves unemployed. Rainy day funds are supposed to be there for rainy days." Analysis of Senior Economist, Sylvain Schetagne Unprecedented deterioration of the labour market is confirmed. Canada lost 129,000 jobs in January 2009, a deterioration well beyond anything seen in the past three decades. About a quarter of a million full and part-time jobs (234,000) have been lost in the past three months. Canada is now back to levels of employment experienced 15 months ago, in October 2007. The unemployment rate increased by 0.6% in January to 7.2%, up sharply from 6.6% in December. The unemployment rate is back to where it was about five years ago. It would have been even higher if 29,000 workers had not left the labour market last month. Most of the jobs lost were full-time (114,000), but many part-time jobs (15,100) were lost in January as well. The biggest job loss occurred in Ontario (71,000), British Columbia (35,000) and Quebec (26,000). Jobs were lost in both the public and private sectors. The majority of sectors experienced a decline in their level of employment in January, with a significant decrease concentrated in manufacturing (100,900). Canada now has 1,310,100 unemployed, an increase of 100,000 newly- unemployed people in January alone. The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.2 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada's national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca
Conservative minister Diane Finley insults the unemployed Feb 2009, OTTAWA - The President of the Canadian Labour Congress says Human Resources Minister Diane Finley has insulted Canada's 1.2 million unemployed workers. Asked why the Conservatives refused to raise benefits and make it easier to qualify for EI, Finley was quoted in newspapers as saying, "We do not want to make it lucrative for them to stay home and get paid for it." "Thousands more are losing their jobs every day," says Ken Georgetti. "Working people had nothing to do with the short-sighted business decisions that caused the economic crisis, yet Ms. Finley is attempting to blame the victims." "Diane Finley and the rest of the Conservative government need to spend a month living on EI benefits and see just how difficult it is for today's unemployed to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads", Georgetti adds. A gigantic surplus of over $54 billion has built up in the Employment Insurance fund because of deep cuts in benefits and eligibility rules during the last fifteen years. That money, which was supposed to be a rainy day fund for the workers who paid into it, was used for all manner of expenditures including corporate tax reductions. Now the chickens have come home to roost. In 2006-07, only four in ten unemployed workers, and even fewer women, qualified for benefits. In 1996, the maximum weekly benefit was $604 in today's dollars. Today's maximum is only $447, and the average benefit is just $335 per week. That's $1,340 per month. Georgetti says, "We intend to keep the pressure on the government to make EI work for people who have faithfully paid premiums believing that they would receive the insurance they paid for when they find themselves unemployed."
Benefits provider ARM Management now on-line February 9, 2008 - Many members of Local 40 receive their negotiated Health Care & Pension Benefit packages through ARM Management. The company has recently launched their new website that features details of the benefits provided to Local 40 members at their various workplaces. To find out details of your benefit package, click here. To download your claim forms, please visit the company's website at www.armmanagement.ca.
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