"As long as rostering stays on the table, we'd be looking at the longest transit strike in Halifax's history...The public are the people behind metro transit, all they have to do is call their councillors, call their mayor, and say get us back to work, get back to the table."
- Ken Wilson, President, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 508

 

The Halifax Media Co-op (http://halifax.mediacoop.ca) is organizing "The State of Our Unions: Tales from the Trenches of Labour in Nova Scotia," a free panel event and public discussion on Wednesday, February 22nd from 6:30pm - 9:00pm at Just Us! Café, 5896 Spring Garden Road in Halifax.

Panelists include:

 

• From Halifax: Ken Wilson, President of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 508 (http://www.atu508.ca) speaking on the ongoing struggle with their employer.

 

• From Sydney: Suzanne MacNeil, Recording Secretary of the Cape Breton District Labour Council and member of the Canadian Freelancers Union (CEP Local 2040 - http://www.cfunion.ca), speaking on young workers in the labour movement.

• From Port Hawkesbury: Archie MacLachlan, 1st Vice President, and Steve MacDougall, Recording Secretary of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Local 972 (http://www.cep972.ca), speaking about the current situation for NewPage pulp mill workers in the Port Hawkesbury area.

• From Halifax: Donna Mendes, 1st Vice President Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) Nova Local (http://cupwnovalocal.blogspot.com) speaking on the current situation for Halifax postal workers.

• From Halifax: Silver Donald Cameron, Treasurer of the Writer's Union (http://www.writersunion.ca), and member of the Canadian Freelancers Union (CEP Local 2040 - http://www.cfunion.ca), speaking on the Halifax Chronicle Herald newspaper's freelance dispute, and the wide-ranging corporate attempt to appropriate intellectual property rights from creators.

 

• From Halifax: Judy Haiven, President of the Saint Mary's University Faculty Union (SMUFU - http://www.smufu.org), which represents 250 fulltime faculty members, and Associate Professor in the Management Department at Saint Mary's University, speaking on part-time, casual and poorly paid work in universities.

 

We plan this to be the first in a series of public discussions about issues that are not being talked about enough by the wider public and in mainstream media. Please come out Wednesday, and spread the word!

 

Recent labour coverage by the Halifax Media Co-op:

 

Interview with Suzanne MacNeil, Recording Secretary of the Cape Breton District Labour Council, and member of the Canadian Freelancers Union

 

Interview with Donna Mendes, 1st Vice President, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) Nova Local:

 

Interview with Ken Wilson, President, ATU Local 508:
"The Wheels on the Bus..."
http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/audio/wheels-bus/9894

 

Interview with Silver Donald Cameron, treasurer of the Writer's Union:
"The Great Equalizer"
http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/great-equalizer/9916

 

Interview with Ken Wilson, President of ATU Local 508:
"Hold Up? There's No Hold Up"
http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/audio/hold-theres-no-hold/9967

Report on the Carpenter's Union actions against a new airport hotel being constructed with out-of-province, non-union labour:
"Carpenter's Union and Allies Picket Airport Hotel Construction Site"