Up Next: Young Workers Renewing Our Union Legacy! November 3, 4 2012 – Richmond, BC Conference Report
Organizing Up Next
We began planning this conference six months in advance. We had a great Organizing Committee made up of four young members, Daphne Ho (UNE 20088), Erica Yang (CEIU 20949), Eric Bouffard (UNDE 21016) and Elizabeth Oliphant (UEW 20076) and Monica Urrutia as the PSAC staff resource.
The Organizing Committee helped craft the agenda, especially in suggesting and choosing the speakers and workshops, according to what young members wanted to see in the region. We also encouraged young workers to fi ll out a pre-conference survey to provide their direct input into the conference.
The Conference
From November 3-4, 2012 young workers from BC gathered together in Richmond at the fi rst ever PSAC-BC Young Workers Conference! Under the theme, “Up Next: Young Workers Renewing Our Union Legacy!” they sought to achieve the following objectives:
- To provide a unique opportunity to meet and network with other PSAC young workers;
- To learn about what it means to be part of a union and the labour movement;
- To discuss issues they find important through interactive workshops; and
- To build the PSAC young worker movement and renew our Union legacy.
We had 22 participants (including one observer from a sister union, the BC Government and Services Employees Union-BCGEU) made up of 15 women and 7 men; 5 racialized members, 4 Aboriginal members and 1 GLBT member. These members spanned 9 Components (AGR, CEIU, CIU, UEW, UNDE,UNE, UPCE, USGE, UTE) and came from across British Columbia. All participants who applied and were available attended.
Saturday began with an opening address from Conference Chair, Daphne Ho and Aboriginal Elder Gerry Oleman from the Seton Lake Band in the Stl’atl’imc Nation.
REVP Bob Jackson also provided an opening address and spoke on the need for young worker energies in the union to continue our much-needed campaigns during these challenging times under a Harper Conservative government. “This is a time where you [young workers] can make a difference! We need strong, mobilized activists.”
This followed with a World Cafe icebreaker exercise. Issues were chosen based on the survey feedback prior to the conference and input from the organizing committee. Issues they tackled included ageism, collective bargaining, pensions, student programs (such as FSWEP, Co-ops and Interns), and work force adjustment.
Each topic included two questions: Why are you concerned about this issue?; and What should we do about this issue?
The results from this discussion will be incorporated into the young worker action plan for 2013.
Stephen Von Sychowski, BC Federation of Labour Young Worker Committee Chair spoke on what it means to be in a union and the labour movement. He highlighted some of the major campaigns the young worker movement in BC has taken on, particularly the ones that resulted in victories such as the creation of “Grant’s Law”, a law addressing safety for those normally working alone; and the almost decade-long demand to increase the minimum wage, which was at $8 in 2001 and now is at $10.25!
Jason Mann, a Director at the BC Fed, gave an interactive session on using social media to help activate our members and support our campaigns. He debunked some prevalent myths about who is and who isn’t actually using social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Jason also shared some tips on using social media to supplement, not replace, face-to-face organizing.
Jim Sinclair, President of the BC Federation of Labour, provided a brief greeting to the group, including an anecdote on the issue of health and safety for young workers, as he recently met a young woman who describes herself as among the “walking dead”. This worker has lung cancer from working for an employer who blatantly ignored WorkSafe BC orders to cease the unsafe working conditions that exposed her to asbestos. Regulations and enforcement need to be strengthened at WorkSafe BC.
Jim re-committed himself to supporting young worker issues, such as this one, in the future.
Saturday afternoon continued with a choice of workshops:
- “Mobilizing our Members” or “Your Workplace, Your Rights.” Mobilizing Our Members – Young workers learned what can be done within the Local to encourage members to stand up to the employer, to protect our work and to support each other. The workshop aimed to have participants learn strategies that have worked for other campaigns and to gain ideas and enthusiasm to go back to the workplace and continue the fi ght against cuts and privatization.
- Your Workplace, Your Rights – This was a newly created workshop that was meant to share tidbits on different rights that protect unionized workers in the workplace. We provided the basics on health and safety, human rights, harassment in the workplace, and more. The workshop also shared what opportunities are available in the Union to deepen understanding and involvement on the issues most important to young workers in their workplaces.
On Sunday morning Joey Hartman, VDLC President, was an excellent resource in walking us through 200 years of labour history in Canada in 45 minutes or less. Her presentation included visual glimpses into the past and how it connects to the relevancy of labour struggles of today.
Monica Urrutia, past PSAC member and current staff person, was asked by the Organizing Committee to speak on her role in the more than ten year history of the PSAC-BC Young Worker movement. While this may have been the first BC conference, BC was the first region to have a Regional Council Young Worker Coordinator (created in 2002), and the fi rst to have young worker courses in PSAC (in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2010).
Another choice of workshops followed: “How to Get You Involved in Your Union”, or “Building Young Worker Committees in the PSAC”.
How to Get You Involved in Your Union – Another newly created workshop, this one aimed to encourage members to get involved in the union. While trying not to duplicate the contents of the Talking Union Basics course, this workshop provided an overview of the PSAC and explained the number of different roles that can be filled in the Union to engage in action. Participants were asked to reflect on the resource people within the union that they can approach with issues, to consider the different level of commitment each role would take, and to brainstorm ways that they can contribute.
Building Young Worker Committees – The young workers movement is an important part of the social movement for change, and this is just as true within the Union and the PSAC. Given the recent changes to the PSAC Constitution in May 2012, this workshop was created and timely to help
young workers learn to reach out and network with other young workers, to help build a core that can be counted on, and move towards forming a young worker committee in the PSAC. It also discussed how to strengthen that committee by developing relevant programs and actions to take on!
We ended the day with a review of the working structure of the young worker movement in BC and roles people could begin to fill. The region’s eventual aim is to have a young worker committee in every district of BC that is viable and sustainable, but at minimum to have a “coordinator” (e.g. communication contact) for each BC district to help outreach and communicate with young workers on an on going basis. Currently we have two committees on the cusp of formal recognition (Vancouver Island, and BC Mainland).
In closing, Aboriginal Elder, Gerry Oleman, brought participants into a closing circle. Participants were asked to link elbows and join in a traditional chant intended to symbolize their unity and to remind them to share what they had learned. The participants thought very highly of Elder Oleman as he had a great way of connecting what was accomplished over the two days to his comments.
So what’s up next?
Participants appreciated taking part in the conference and were eager to take what they learned and apply it in their respective districts. Upcoming plans for 2013 include holding young worker organized events in districts with high concentrations of young workers, conducting a train the trainer’s session to help build the young worker movement, and updating our outreach tools to be used along the way.