Dear Sisters and Brothers,
 
I am sending this message regarding our labour council's mobilizing for the federal election. This is a critical election and a historical moment for the future of our country.  Labour Council is organizing actively for MP Irene Mathyssen's re-election campaign; as you know she is a long time union sister and a formidable force for labour in London. 
 
The Labour Council will be hosting a reception for Irene and other area NDP candidates following our general meeting next Wednesday at 700pm April 13 in the Tolpuddle Common Room.  Also we have three union canvass events planned:
 
April 16  1100am -- 100pm
 
April  22 1100am -- 100pm
 
April 30  1100am -- 100pm
 
We will meet at those start times at the campaign office 1682 Dundas St. East at Loverage St.  Join in the fun!
 
You can also contribute to the campaign at other times.  Your "boots and bucks" are welcome anytime! Please drop by the office at your convenience to get involved in Irene's exciting and energetic campaign or call 519-451-0099.  I promise you will enjoy the experience--it's a terrific group of organizers and volunteers there! And you might be lucky enough to see Irene--she is a whirlwind across the riding right now.
 
Solidarity,
Patti Dalton
Dear Sisters and Brothers, 

as you know we are fast approaching a federal election in Canada.  The record of the Harper government and its multiple assaults on the democratic process is unprecedented in our history.  They have also engaged in significant undermining of labour, social and environmental rights and have done all of this with a minority government–one which acts deliberately and strategically to further entrench its extreme right wing agenda and at the same time has acted to conceal or with hold vital information from the public and from Parliament.  No doubt emboldened by the attacks on labour and social rights by Republican extremists in the United States, the Harper Government continues to demonstrate their contempt for the democratic process.  The consequences will be dire if they attain government again.

 

The London and District Labour Council political action committee is launching an online expose called The Harper Hit List which is designed to be a participatory and ongoing record of the federal government’s “hits” against democracy, labour , social and environmental rights in Canada.  The list is intended to be a reader friendly and accessible resource for social media.  We invite you to submit items for inclusion in this list; please provide the source, date and writer and condense the information as much as possible.  We do post many articles but this list is meant to be a quick reference.

 

We know that many unions have excellent research and critiques which would be ideal for the Harper “Hit List”.  So please contribute to our online list and assist us in getting the message out by promoting it with your members, friends, family and your broader community.  Canadians need to know the extent of the Harper Government’s shameful record and we all need to work to ensure that they are removed from power through the next election.  

 

Labour Council Forum at CLC Convention

Dear Sisters and Brothers,
 
I welcome all of you who are attending the CLC convention to come to the Labour Council Forum which promises to be a good venue for hearing about some very exciting and successful examples of unions mobilizing across Canada.
 
It has been my privilege to be part of the national planning group for this forum and I will be co-facilitating the third session with Sister Joey Hartman.  This will be a session in which you as frontline labour activists will have an opportunity to discuss and to present your ideas about the direction for our movement and to develop the critical next stage of our overall fightback strategies.  Within the context of global assaults on unions and labour rights, we need to address how we can connect our local actions with national actions and frame a larger collective fightback.  One concrete suggestion I have made is to have an ongoing venue for national communication across labour councils so that we can be more effective in co-ordinating our efforts.  This is just one idea for building more collective capacity.  We invite your ideas and participation. 
 
Please read the CLC materials here for further details.
 
Solidarity,
Patti Dalton
April 15, 2011

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz hosts a forum today at the AFL-CIO on the new book, Exiting from the Crisis, which examines ways to establish a more just and sustainable global economy.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) admitted—reluctantly—yesterday that his attacks on workers’ rights under the guise of balancing the budget don’t save the state money and that he didn’t campaign on the issue of repealing collective bargaining rights. Click here and here. He appeared at a House hearing that was supposed to be a Republican love fest, but several Democratic members didn’t let him get away with spewing baloney.
Got comments? Post them at blog.aflcio.org.
 Stiglitz Hosts Launch of Book on Just and Sustainable Global Economy
 Walker Says Koch Offer of California Trip Didn’t Register
 Cummings: Attacks on Workers ‘Shameful’
 Shumlin: Just Admit You’re After Collective Bargaining
 Vt. Gov. Defends Workers’ Rights at Stacked Hearing
 Join a ‘Tax Day Make Them Pay’ Event April 18
 Taxes Go Down for the Wealthy, Income Gap Worsens
 Manufacturing Decline Puts Nation’s Security at Risk
 Maine Taxpayers Will Pay for Gov.’s Mural Move
 Green Labor Journal Highlights Seattle Training Program
Read more important news of the day on the issues working families care about.
http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=yRdSb%2Bz4hhcxwvugKWRD%2BLpcdzj2RDBZ

Union leaders hold mock 'retirement party' for Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo

Picture
The cake that is in honor of the retiring Essex County Executive. In the the nearly two weeks since it was discovered that Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. was receiving a pension as he was campaigning for reform of the state's pension system and for a third term, union leaders have hammered away at the executive's action, calling them hypocritical at best and unethical at worse. They have called on him to resign, but tonight they held a "retirement" party for him, with attendees getting a a complimentary "double-dip" of ice cream outside the South Orange Village Hall before the Freeholders meeting South Orange. (William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)

Harper's G8-Gate: Demand the truth -- overwhelmi​ng response!

Dear friends across Canada,

This week, a leaked report alleged that the Harper Government illegally handed 50 million taxpayer dollars to a single Conservative riding – and then covered it up as G8 summit spending. With Canadians heading to the polls in mere weeks, we need to know the truth about Harper. Sign the petition to call for the release of the report:

This week, a leaked report alleged that the Harper Government illegally handed 50 million taxpayer dollars to a single Conservative riding – and then covered it up as G8 summit spending. With Canadians heading to the polls in mere weeks, we need to know the truth about Harper and his loose-fisted ministers.

Parliamentary experts say that no law bars the Auditor General from immediately releasing this report to the public. In fact, it would serve our bruised democracy to reveal the facts about G8 spending before Canadians are asked to choose the next government. In the interest of accountability, Canadians need to know if Harper illegally doled out public money to his supporters before we cast our votes.

Let's raise a massive public call to the AG and all 5 parties to agree immediately to release this report. If enough us join, our outcry will compel the AG to protect democracy by revealing the truth before the vote. Sign the petition below - we'll deliver it when we hit 75,000 signatures:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/canada_save_democracy/?vl

This is the first time in Canadian history that an AG draft report has been leaked. Members of Parliament knew that the alleged illegal conduct documented in this report was outrageous - they had no choice but to violate the tradition of confidentiality surrounding draft AG reports.

Since the scandal broke, the AG has been “sent” to Nunavut. But she cannot escape a public outcry – nor an official request from all political leaders demanding that the truth be revealed before election day.

A fair and informed vote depends on exposing the truth about Harper and his G8 spending to the Canadian public. Let’s send a flood of messages to the leaders of all five major political parties calling on them to file an official – and immediate – request with the Auditor General for the release of the G8 spending report. Then we'll bring our call directly to the AG:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/canada_save_democracy/?vl

The Harper Government fell because it was the first in Canadian history to be found in contempt of Parliament for refusing to tell the truth about public spending. This election is in large part about accountability, and if there is yet another massive misappropriation of taxpayer money, we have a right to know. Let’s fight for the chance to make an informed choice at the polls.

With hope,
Emma, Ricken, Janet and the rest of the Avaaz. team

SOURCES

Sheila slams Tory G8 spending(Montreal Gazette)
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Sheila+slams+Tory+spending/4599222/story.html

G8 spending: Did taxpayers get their money’s worth? (The Toronto Star)
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/973788--g8-spending-did-taxpayers-get-their-money-s-worth?bn=1

Will auditor’s G8 report postpone Speaker Peter Milliken’s retirement? (The Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/will-auditors-g8-report-postpone-speaker-peter-millikens-retirement/article1980442//