“We can accomplish nothing unless we are working together in solidarity.”
With a rightwing attack on good jobs, public services and labour rights, workers cannot afford to be divided. We need to come together under progressive leadership to build labour solidarity and community partnerships to fight the austerity agenda. Continue reading
Former CUPW National President Deborah Bourque is behind Irwin Nanda and the Unity Team. Here is her personal statement about Irwin’s talent for leadership:
I first met Brother Nanda on the picket lines in London during the Ontario Days of Protest. He was a young activist already skilled with the ability to mobilize workers, especially young workers and workers of colour. As a national leader in CUPW, Irwin continued to demonstrate that commitment to activism and to equity. I know he will bring that same commitment to the OFL leadership.
- Deborah Bourque, former national president, CUPW
The Oakville and District Labour Council passed a motion to endorse Sid Ryan’s re-election as OFL President). Here is his personal statement of endorsement:
The Oakville and District Labour council passed a motion to support Brother Sid Ryan in his bid for re-election as President of the OFL. I will be representing the Council at the 2011 OFL Convention. In the two short years that he has been at the OFL, Brother Ryan has accomplished many positive things for the labour movement and we look to building on this success through the election of a cohesive leadership team. If Nancy Hutchison and Irwin Nanda are committed to being a part of this cohesiveness, then the Unity team can count on our support.
Dave Millar, President of the Oakville and District Labour Council
President Lisa Hammond has announced that the Hamilton-Wentworth Elementary Teachers’ Local (ETFO) is supporting the OFL Unity Team. Representing 2,200 elementary teachers employed by the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, this local represents an important voice in the labour movement. After all, teachers know what it is like to square off against the hard-line anti-worker government of Mike Harris. With Prime Minister Harper holding a federal majority government, the need for unity in the labour movement has never been greater.
The OFL Unity Team joined CUPE Air Canada flight attendants at a pre-strike rally to call for a fair settlement and defend the right to strike. In 2004, Air Canada flight attendants accepted a 20 percent pay cut to keep the company afloat. In 2009, they negotiated a cost-neutral contract renewal. Now that the company is making a profit, flight attendants deserve a reward for their sacrifices. Instead, the Harper Government sided with the employer and stripped these workers of their right to strike.
The Unity Team joined these CUPE flight attendants in calling on Air Canada and the Government of Canada to “negotiate, not legislate!” Unfortunately, Harper thinks he works for the Parliament of Air Canada, not the Parliament of Canada.
The Unity Team will stand together with workers from every sector to build a common front to defend workers’ rights against Prime Minister Harper’s anti-union agenda.
On October 26, 2011, the Brantford and District Labour Council passed a motion at the Monthly General Meeting to endorse Sid Ryan (President), Nancy Hutchison (Secretary/Treasurer) and Irwin Nanda (Executive Vice-President) in the upcoming election of the officers to the Ontario Federation of Labour to be held at the OFL Convention in November.
Here is what 1st Vice-President Don Guest said about the motion:
We need to support this motion on two fronts. First, Sid and his team at the OFL have shown unbridled support and commitment to this Labour Council and our Brothers and Sisters at ECP in support of their strike. Second, we need to support an end to the divisions at the OFL Executive Board. The success of the labour movement depends on unity!
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 353 (I.B.E.W. LU 353) has put it’s full support behind the OFL Unity Team. In this photo, the entire executive is featured with the team of progressive candidates [featured from left to right]:
Here is what IBEW Local 353 has to say about the Unity Team:
As all workers across Ontario struggle with a faltering economy and employers who know that they can rely on the Harper majority government for support, the labour movement cannot afford to be divided.
Over the past two years, OFL President Sid Ryan has reinvigorated a progressive fighting spirit in the labour movement and mobilized incredible strike support for thousands of workers throughout the province. He has also built new and strong ties with community groups, environmentalists, ethnic and faith-based organizations and students. By spearheading two massive rallies of over 10,000 people, Sid has led the fight back against Stephen Harper’s attack on pensions and Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s attacks on good jobs and public services.
However, the challenges facing the labour movement are still great. In Ottawa, the Harper majority is steamrolling over workers’ rights and public services as well as the Unions who represent them as shown by the thinly veiled private members Bill C-317 introduced by Conservative Russ Hiebert. Harper’s unparalleled trigger-happy use of back-to-work legislation and his direct interference in collective bargaining is setting a dangerous precedent for public and private sector workers. At bargaining tables across the province, workers are facing emboldened employers who are trying to introduce two-tier wages, gut pensions and convert good jobs into part-time, temporary and precarious ones.
In I.B.E.W. LU 353 we know that workers can only push back against this “austerity agenda” if we are united. The OFL Unity Team has come forward, under Sid Ryan’s leadership, to put aside the internal divisions in the labour movement that threaten to hold back our collective work. Sid’s strong and activist leadership has raised the profile of the OFL and attracted 70,000 new members. This work must be allowed to continue, but with the support of a united team of officers who will put the interests of workers first.
Running with Sid are Nancy Hutchison (USW) for Secretary-Treasurer and Irwin Nanda (CUPW) for Executive Vice-President. Nancy’s track record as a passionate health and safety expert and advocate is unparalleled in our province and Irwin has earned a strong reputation for as an advocate for equity and a defender of public services.
I.B.E.W. LU 353 believes that the labour movement must come together to challenge the austerity agenda and defend jobs, pensions and public services for the next generation of workers. To do this, we need an activist leadership that is committed to fostering unity through collective action, building community alliances and galvanizing the public.
It is for these reasons that the I.B.E.W. LU 353 is endorsing the OFL Unity Team and urges other unions to join us in supporting Sid Ryan, Nancy Hutchison and Irwin Nanda at the November Convention of the OFL.
Fraternally yours,
Steven Martin
Business Manager/Financial Secretary
I.B.E.W. LU 353
The IBEW Local 353 Women’s Committee gives their support to the OFL Unity Team. They attest to the team’s commitment to championing women’s issues and uniting the labour movement. Here’s what their endorsement letter had to say.
At this time of social and economic turbulence it is very important that the leaders of the Labour Movement understand the issues and are ready to stand up and fight for worker’s rights and equality.
The IBEW Local 353 Women’s Committee support Sid Ryan, Nancy Hutchinson and Irwin Nanda because of their record on women’s issues such as poverty, daycare, pay-equity, education and retraining, immigration and equality. Sid has also proven knowledgeable in the area of construction apprenticeship and trades training with his work under the OFL.
More importantly Sid Ryan has a track record of being visible and outspoken when the Labour movement has needed a leader. While others try to try to push their own personal agenda Sid has worked hard keep our issues and concerns in the public eye while showing a positive front. Now more than ever we need Sid, Nancy and Irwin to be the face of the OFL and bring unity back to the labour movement.
Karen Pullen
Chair
IBEW 353 Women’s Committee
Dear Sisters & Brothers,
We, the undersigned trade union sisters declare our unhesitating support for the Ontario Federation of Labour Unity Team.
Electing the following Unity Team: Sid Ryan as President, Nancy Hutchison as Secretary-Treasurer and Irwin Nanda as Executive Vice-President, is essential to restoring unity in Canada’s largest labour federation, and to building the kind of fightback working people deserve. Here’s why:
1. A MULTI-FACETED CRISIS
Working women and men in Ontario face an unprecedented crisis. And while our solidarity, our activism, and the strength of our unions have helped us weather other crises, today we confront a toxic combination that tests our resolve and resources as never before.
A looming economic collapse could have devastating effects on the most vulnerable, and on low- and middle-income earners already under pressure; rightwing governments at national and municipal levels are determined to roll back vital social supports; the craze for cutting corporate taxes continues to sap resources needed for public well-being; foreign and Canadian corporations are laying off thousands, and forcing others out on lengthy strikes; the gap between the rich and the rest of us continues to grow; and an entire generation of young people face a future of joblessness and despair.
Increasingly, women, and in particular women of colour, are the victims of this broad crisis. Already in vulnerable jobs, threatened the most by public sector cutbacks, and still carrying more than their share of family care duties – women workers must be central to the resistance progressive people need to mount in the days ahead.
Without us, there is no fightback worthy of the name.
2. THE GOOD NEWS
The good news is that more and more Ontarians share our alarm.
From the election results of May 2nd, to the remarkable response to the death of Jack Layton, to the exciting new ‘Occupy Bay Street’ movement, more and more Canadians are showing their willingness to fight for something better.
A strong and united Ontario Federation of Labour is critical to sustaining and expanding that new spirit of fighting back. OFL President Sid Ryan has demonstrated a fearless loyalty to the cause of working people and a tireless commitment to the particular struggles of working women. Sid is a trade unionist who is proud to call himself a feminist. He has been there for us throughout his long career in our movement, fighting for issues under the umbrella of human rights, like pay equity, childcare, women’s programs and the right to have a voice at the highest levels of our organizations.
But the Federation can be an even greater fighting force under Brother Ryan’s leadership if it can get past the corrosive infighting that has hampered its efforts over the past two years. We who have signed our names below hereby appeal to those affiliates who have withheld per capita monies, and to those who are threatening to disaffiliate, to think again about what is at stake.
Ontario workers need the Federation’s voice, its muscle, and its presence on the public stage more than ever before.
And there’s more good news. Steelworker Nancy Hutchison and Postal Worker Irwin Nanda are both deeply accomplished and militant trade unionists. In partnership with Brother Ryan, they promise to get our Federation out of destructive internal wrangles, and back on the street, on the picket lines and in the legislature where it is meant to be.
3. UNITY IS ESSENTIAL
The convention in November is a critical moment for the labour movement in Ontario. None of our affiliates, none of our members, none of our families can afford our Federation to be hobbled and weakened at this point in history.
Unity is essential in the face of the crises facing us. Unity goes hand in hand with skilled and committed leadership. The team of Sid Ryan, Nancy Hutchison and Irwin Nanda will provide that kind of leadership.
It is up to the rest of us to make sure this team has a chance to do the job we need them to do. Talk to other members in your union. Encourage a strong turnout of your union’s delegates to the Federation convention.
Women trade unionists have too much at stake to let their Federation be sidelined when we need it most. We know Ontario’s labour movement won’t let that happen. We have faced crises before and we will seize every opportunity to ensure our solidarity is strengthened in the days ahead.
Please help us elect the OFL Unity Team – Sid Ryan, Nancy Hutchison and Irwin Nanda – as officers of the Ontario Federation of Labour. Ontario’s working people deserve the best.
In solidarity,
Women labour activists who support the OFL Unity Team
Janice Best, COPE Ontario Director
Teresa Colangelo, OFL Vice-President Representing Persons with Disabilities
Denise McMorris (Brown), CAW National Representative and OFL Executive Board Member
Candace Rennick, CUPE Ontario Secretary-Treasurer and OFL Executive
Board
Joanne Webb, OFL Vice-President Representing Aboriginal Peoples
[Download the endorsement letter from women labour activists]
In these times of austerity, cuts and attacks on working people, we need a united and fighting labour movement more than ever. Sid has shown a willingness to not only speak out against the attacks on workers, but most importantly, he has worked to mobilise on the streets and picket lines to beat back the corporate attacks.Everywhere I turn, I see Sid, Nancy and Irwin standing up for workers’ rights and fighting for a better Ontario.That is why I support Sid and the Unity Team.
Ritch WhymanOrganizer SEIU Local 2Justice for JanitorsMember, Teamsters Local 879
Russell Stewart, the Local 27 Vice-President of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), has added his name to the list of supporters of the OFL Unity Team. CEP Local 27 Represents Bell Canada Craft, Expertech Craft, Expertech Clerical, Nexacor Craft, Nexacor Clerical, Transervice, International Group Inc (IGI). Here is what Russell has to say.
As a Vice President of CEP Local 27, I personally endorse the OFL Unity Team. They are the strong, concise, and unified team that we need to tackle issues facing not only the unionized worker but every worker in Ontario. Their strong background in worker safety and worker rights as well as social justice issues will help shape the future of Ontario.
Russell C. Stewart
Vice-President, CEP Local 27