News

Manitoba Filipino Street Festival

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Once again CUPE Manitoba will be participating in the Manitoba Filipino Street Festival!

10626355_921218504559297_302897637174016928_oWe will be marching in the parade, and we’ll also have a booth on-site during the festival.

If you’re interested in coming out, please let us know by emailing: cupemb@cupe.mb.ca

We’ll be meeting at 8am to get our parade float ready, and the march starts at 9am! Feel free to join us!

The street festival takes place on Saturday, August 22nd at 9am at Northgate Shopping Centre (1399 McPhillips St.)

Thanks to Locals 2719 and 1599 for all the work they’ve put into this event!

For more information visit:
http://filipinostreetfestival.ca/

 

Better Choice: let’s start talking about the Federal election

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The country’s slow economic recovery has left 2.8 million Canadians unemployed or underemployed. Nearly three quarters of the jobs created in the past six years have been precarious (part-time, temporary or in the self-employed sector). With limited job prospects, household debt is at an all-time high.

Soon, you will get to choose how we overcome these challenges.

There is a better choice. One that gets us ready to support and care for our aging population. One that gives Canadians high-quality, secure jobs instead of short-term, temporary positions. One that provides programs that benefit everyone—instead of tax relief programs that benefit a select few.

We believe there is a better choice for you and the economy.

What will you choose?

Visit the campaign betterchoice.ca to learn more!

Winnipeg’s municipal workers support Shoal Lake #40

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WINNIPEG – The municipal workers who deliver Winnipeg’s water have joined those calling for the building of an all-weather access road to Shoal Lake #40 First Nation.

“It is unjust that the people who live in the community that sources our public water have been under a boil water advisory for 17 years and are often cut-off entirely from accessing clean water and public services” says Mike Davidson, President of CUPE Local 500. “As the workers who deliver this water to Winnipeggers, we feel that clean, public water should also be available to those who source it.”

On July 21, 2015, CUPE Manitoba officially endorsed the Shoal Lake #40 “Freedom Road” campaign by sending a letter to Chief Erwin Redsky indicating the support of Winnipeg’s municipal workers, as well as a letter to Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt urging him to act immediately to improve the living conditions of the people of Shoal Lake #40.

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CUPE MB Aboriginal Council attended National Aboriginal Day, collecting petitions calling for clean water for all Aboriginal communities.

“We applaud the City of Winnipeg and Province of Manitoba for committing to help build a road to Shoal Lake” said Kelly Moist, President of CUPE Manitoba. “Everyone seems to acknowledge the urgency of this situation, except for the federal government.”

While the federal government refuses to commit funding to help Shoal Lake #40 gain access to potable water and services via an all-weather road, Canadians from all levels of civil society are taking initiatives to support the community – from petitions, to writing letters to Members of Parliament, to fundraising.

CUPE Local 500 has been outspoken against the privatization of water and wastewater treatment, and is a staunch advocate for continued investments in public water infrastructure.

“We all benefit from the clean, potable water provided to us by Shoal Lake” said Davidson. “It is unacceptable that this community should suffer on our behalf.”

Shoal Lake Facts

Shoal Lake #40 First Nation is located at the Manitoba-Ontario border south of the Trans-Canada highway. Shoal Lake has provided Winnipeg’s drinking water since 1919 via a 153 km aqueduct.

The population of Shoal Lake #40 is 270, and the community has been under a boil water advisory for the past 17 years. The community spends approximately $100,000 per year importing bottled water, despite supplying 700,000 Winnipeggers with water from the nearby lake and reservoir.

Currently there is no all-weather road access to the community, which must travel via boat during the summer, or cross the ice in the winter to fetch basic supplies and drinking water. At least 9 community members have died taking this journey.

ShoalidarityThe cost of building the all-weather “Freedom Road” to connect the community to the Trans-Canada highway is estimated at $30 million. All levels of government have committed $1m towards a road plan. The Province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg have each committed to contribute a share of the cost towards the project, but the federal government has not committed, leaving the community at risk.

CUPE believes that water is a basic human right. There are still far too many communities across Canada under boil water advisories, and CUPE will continue to push for safe, public drinking water for all.

CUPE Local 500 represents approximately 4,200 municipal workers in Winnipeg.

Letter to Chief Erwin Redsky

Download (PDF, 342KB)

Letter to Minister Valcourt

Download (PDF, 330KB)

CUPE Manitoba applauds provincial government’s continued wage enhancement for community living workers.

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WINNIPEG – The Manitoba government announced the next phase of its 2014 commitment to continue to improve wages for workers who provide support to adults with intellectual disabilities.

“Workers who support members of the community with intellectual disabilities deserve to have fair and reasonable compensation” says Kelly Moist, President of CUPE Manitoba. “This work is integral to the well-being of our community, and we are pleased that the government has recognized the value of the work our members do”.

In July, 2014, CUPE members from Local 3085 at Community Living Selkirk held info pickets outside the office of the Minister of Family Services, Kerri Irvin-Ross, calling on the government to improve wages for direct service workers.

In August, 2014, the province committed $6 million in wage enhancements to help top-up the wages of the lowest paid workers to help move them away from poverty-level wages.

Today the provincial government announced the newest instalments of the wage enhancement fund, which will see wages for residential direct service workers increase to a starting wage of $13.00 per hour beginning July 1, 2015, and $13.75 beginning January 1, 2016. The government also announced a new $15.13 minimum starting wage for house managers effective January 1, 2016.

“We are pleased that Minister Irvin-Ross is responsive to the needs of these important workers” says Moist. “CUPE applauds the Manitoba government’s ongoing commitment to support those who work with adults living with intellectual disabilities in residential settings. We are hopeful the government will soon extend these new minimum wages to other direct service workers, such as those who work in day programs throughout the province.”

Assisted Community Living organizations are non-profit support services that provide residential care to Manitobans living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Services include 24-hour supervision, recreational supports, help with meals, medication, and integration into the community which helps Manitobans with intellectual disabilities live with dignity and respect.

CUPE Manitoba has representation on the province’s wage enhancement committee that was created to ensure workers’ voices are heard in the implementation of the wage enhancement fund and we continue to provide input to improve the reach of the fund.

CUPE Local 3085 represents approximately 100 employees at Community Living Selkirk and 120 more across the Interlake providing residential support services to Manitobans living with intellectual disabilities. CUPE Manitoba represents over 600 ACL workers province-wide.

See the full Government of Manitoba news release.

CUPE Western Municipal Conference Takes Place in Winnipeg

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Winnipeg – Municipal workers from across Western Canada are gathering in Winnipeg this week to discuss important issues facing the municipal sector.

The CUPE Western Municipal Conference is bringing CUPE municipal members from 30 Locals from across BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba together to tackle issues including privatization, contracting out, Public Private Partnerships, as well as trends facing the sector.

“Municipal workers are often the first in our communities to be threatened by privatization” says Kelly Moist, President of CUPE Manitoba. “Municipal workers face serious challenges from right-wing decision makers, and we need to work together to push back against these threats”.

The Conference is being held in Winnipeg and concludes on Friday, June 26th.

Keynote speakers include CUPE National President Paul Moist, CUPE Senior Economist Toby Sanger, CUPE Researcher Jordana Feist, and will feature presentations on topics ranging from P3s and infrastructure to the upcoming Federal Election.

Additionally, delegates are visiting the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which features a discussion on labour rights and the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.

CUPE represents approximately approximately 185,000 municipal workers in communities across Canada.

CUPE 500 Presents to Public Works Committee – Snow Plowing should be brought back in-house

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CUPE Local 500 President Mike Davidson presented a summary of the local’s Public Plowing Works report to the City of Winnipeg Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Public Works, calling for contracted-out snow clearing to be brought back in-house.winnipeg

“CUPE 500’s Snow Plowing Hotline resulted in hundreds of comments and concerns from across the city” Davidson told the committee. “The fact that so many Winnipeggers have offered their concerns and ideas on snow plowing indicates strong public interest in this core city service”.

On February 10th the committee approved a motion to conduct an in-depth review of the city’s snow clearing services, with particular focus on a cost and quality comparison between private contractors and city-run snow clearing services.

On February 23rd, CUPE Local 500 launched a snow plowing hotline and website aimed at collecting stories from Winnipeggers about their experiences with snow plowing in our city.

Below is a summary of the report. The full report will be provided to City Council at the same time as the City’s own report on cost comparisons between public and private plowing in Winnipeg.

The date of the City’s report is yet to be determined.

Download (PDF, 430KB)

 

 

Pallister seeks to privatize Manitoba’s Social Services

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Winnipeg – Progressive Conservative leader Brian Pallister’s June 9th plan to explore Social Impact Bonds as a model to fund social service agencies is cause for deep concern.

“Pallister wants to remove government’s social contract with its citizens and replace it with a private contract,” says Kelly Moist President of CUPE Manitoba. “At its core, Pallister’s plan would allow private companies to profit from poverty using the public purse.”

Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) are financing schemes where taxpayer dollars are directed to investor profits instead of public social programs.

Sometimes called “pay for success”, SIBs are the latest financing gimmick where lenders, such as banks (including Goldman Sachs), provide upfront capital to fund projects. This money is paid back by the government at a high rate of interest resulting in inflated costs to the taxpayer and lower quality services. SIBs are more accurately called “social impact borrowing” or “social impact loans.”

“There was a time when the private sector would simply make philanthropic donations as part of their corporate responsibility to the community” says Moist. “Pallister’s model will take that philanthropy and turn it into private profit.”

In 2013 the Alberta College of Social Workers expressed opposition to the Alberta Progressive Conservatives’ support for SIBs in stating that “these Bonds will lead to the commodification of social services where profits come before people”

While Pallister claims that social impact bonds would foster “private-sector innovation,” these companies will seek to invest in only the non-government agencies that would see profitable outcomes, rather than programs that seek to address long-term root causes of many of societies deep and complex issues, including poverty.

CUPE has highlighted concerns in the past about the use of Social Impact Bonds in a submission to the Federal government in 2013, these concerns about SIBs include:

  • profiting from social ills;
  • using a for-profit business model approach to providing services for those most in need;
  • carving off the more suitable areas for investment return to the exclusion of the most vulnerable or most in need;
  • risk averse nature of social impact bond financed programs;
  • unstable financing of long-term social programs with short-term funding mechanisms with no guarantee of continuation even if the service is being provided;
  • misuse and misapplied impact assessments based on poorly defined measures of efficiency;
  • displacement of stable and professionally managed publicly funded programs with short-term initiatives.

It is widely acknowledged that it is government’s responsibility to address issues of homelessness, unemployment, and poverty, and using Social Impact Bonds to augment social services is an extremely poor choice of models that forfeits government’s responsibility to its citizens.

“Manitobans look to government to fund social service agencies in an effective and targeted manner that benefits the most vulnerable in our society” says Moist. “The profit motive should never be the driver for social services.”

For more information on SIBs check out CUPE’s submission to HRSDC.

 

CUPE 2348 Opposes Cuts to Community Support Workers

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Winnipeg – Members of CUPE Local 2348, representing Community Support Workers, Community Liaison Officers, and Cross Cultural Support Workers spoke out at the June 8th Winnipeg School Division Board of Trustees meeting in support of continued resources for the community.

“Every hour counts when it comes to working with vulnerable or at-risk youth,” said Sandy Deng, CUPE 2348 Cultural Diversity Chair. “Our schools are diverse, and CUPE 2348 members believe we need adequate staffing to address that diversity.”

Earlier this month CUPE Local 2348 received word that many of these jobs will be facing a significant reduction in hours. This would reduce important contact time between the school system and vulnerable youth and their families.

By Friday June 5th the Local was informed that the cuts would no longer be in effect for the upcoming school year!

“The Aboriginal youth demographic is the fastest-growing in the Division, along with newcomer and refugee youth,” said Deng. “The needs of the student body are rapidly changing, and inter-cultural supports are key to helping address the serious challenges many of these students face – from language barriers to poverty.”

CUPE 2348 is looking for leadership from the Winnipeg School Division and Provincial Government to prioritise stable, permanent funding for Community Support Workers in our schools. Twenty Community Support Workers were in attendance at the meeting, along with Community Liaison Officers, parents of students, and community organizers.

“Community Support Workers have created invaluable relationships between students, families, and our education system,” said Michael Champagne, Street Educator and founder of Aboriginal Youth Opportunities and Meet Me at the Bell Tower. “We cannot lose the trust that has been built between our schools and our village, the community.”

“In the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report, there is no doubt that these students need ongoing, real-time community-based supports to help navigate the school system” Winnipeg Labour Council President Dave Sauer told the Board. “Governments at all levels must prioritise these students and programs”.

Members of the Board applauded delegates for their presentations, and acknowledged the value of Community Support Workers in the Division.

CUPE Local 2348 will continue to put pressure on all levels of government to restore and increase funding allotments for Community Support Workers in an effort to ensure stable, reliable funding for this important work.

CUPE Local 2348 represents over 700 members who work in social service agencies across Manitoba, including Community Support Workers, Community Liaison Officers, and Cross Cultural Support Workers at the Winnipeg School Division.

PC’s private child care plan the wrong direction

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WINNIPEG – If there is one issue that is galvanising support across Canada, it is the need for affordable and accessible public child care.

Unfortunately Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative Party is looking to take our province in a completely different direction. “Universally accessible child care is the issue of our time,” says Kelly Moist, President of CUPE Manitoba “but Brian Pallister wants to hand the reigns over to private companies.”

In a recent Winnipeg Free Press article, Conservative MLA Ian Wishart outlined the Conservatives’ plan to encourage more private child care facilities rather than working on creating a truly accessible child care system. “Manitobans know that leaving public services like child care, health care, or education in the hands of private companies would be detrimental,” says Moist “private companies would increase fees, reduce wages, and cut corners.”

Conservatives both provincially and federally are out of touch with the realities of child care. The federal conservatives plan goes nowhere near enough to impact the true costs of child care, while the provincial Conservatives want to hive off child care to the private sector. “If you connect the dots, federal child care subsidies would simply end up as profit for private child care companies,” said Moist “what we need is a federal plan to implement universally accessible child care.”

The Manitoba government has been rolling out hundreds of new day care spaces across the province, in addition to committing to universally accessible child care. Manitoba is currently the second most affordable province in Canada.

Manitoba NDP Premier Greg Selinger was quick to defend quality public child care by immediately rejecting the conservative plan.

“Why the Conservatives at all levels want to do the opposite of what Canadians and Manitobans are calling for is beyond me,” said Moist “the Conservatives are clearly moving in the wrong direction.”

For more information on CUPE’s efforts to build a high-quality and universally accessible child care plan, visit ReThink Childcare.

Visit Better Choice to learn about how child care affects all Canadians.

Check out the Manitoba NDP’s response to Pallister’s privatization plans, and check out the federal NDP’s plan for a new, better way to do child care in Canada