WE ARE WISCONSIN documentary to be shown at the McLaughlin Auditorium of

Oshawa Public Libraries sponsored by CUPE Local 960 and Local 129

There will be THREE raffles for a $100.00 Mastercard Gift Card!

 
RSVP  to [email protected] 


“This film will be the record people will refer to a hundred years from now when they study this era of greed,” said Oscar and Emmy- winner filmmaker Michael Moore. The film Moore references is WE ARE WISCONSIN. WE AREWISCONSIN, directed by Wisconsin native Amie Williams, follows the day to day unfolding of the public outcry against Governor Walker’s bill, and lets ordinary people on the ground tell the story. The film does not rely on pundits, experts, labor leaders and media, but instead presents the Wisconsin story through the powerful voice of ordinary citizens. WE ARE WISCONSIN is an inspiring testament to the power of citizen activism and our movement. 

3-11-13 is second-year anniversary of the passage of Wisconsin Act 10, Governor Scott Walker's anti-worker legislation. If this can happen in Wisconsinand Michigan, Ontario is surely next. We have to make sure this does not happen. Our jobs in Ontario are under attack. First they came for the teachers, then the LCBO workers. . . who is next? We must all work together to fight the austerity agenda.

 
If you cannot make it on Monday night but still would like to borrow the movie (and be entered in the raffle for borrowing the movie) please email [email protected] 



Film and National Day of Recommitment website: 
 https://streamingmoviesright.com/us/movie/we-are-wisconsin/
​

 

Monday, May 6th at 6:30 PM

McLaughlin Auditorium

There will be popcorn and pizza

 

Visit www.cupe960.org for updates and more information.

 

If you’d like more information to your home email address, please let me know.

 

In Solidarity,

Tiffany Balducci

Vice President CUPE Local 960

The City of Oshawa is just a little bit cleaner after the hard work of CUPE Local 960 members. Today many bags of garbage were picked up around the McLaughlin Branch of Oshawa Public Libraries by hardworking CUPE Local 960 members! As a special thank-you, management allowed those pitching in and cleaning up to wear jeans which is a huge deal because we have a fairly strict dress code and rarely get jeans days! 


CUPE is taking strong steps and calling for action on the environmental crisis by adopting its first national environmental policy. The policy – entitled Working Harmoniously on the Earth – was adopted in March 2013 at CUPE’s National Executive Board. The policy was developed following the passage of Resolution #94 at the 2011 CUPE National Convention in Vancouver. The new policy helps set a clear course of action for CUPE on environmental issues.

This policy shows that we can all be stewards of the earth. As a first step, CUPE locals are strongly encouraged to read and discuss the policy. The policy informs what actions you can take in your workplace to make it greener and less harmful to the environment. Earth Day is right around the corner. This new policy helps set the tone for strong environmental action on Earth Day and every day.

It's clear that our members are on board with this policy and agree that every day is Earth Day!

Thank you so much to the Social Committee for organizing this great event and to the efforts of everyone involved! 

 

Spring is here and the City of Oshawa is calling on volunteers to help clean-up Oshawa’s local parks and green spaces. Community Clean-up Week, formerly known as PITCH-IN Week, takes place April 21-27. 

All groups are invited -- large or small -- to help clean up local parks, green spaces, trails and schoolyards. The Social Committee has registered an Oshawa Public Libraries/CUPE Local 960 Group and as such we will receive free waste bags and gloves. Upon completion of the clean-up, our registered groups will receive a Certificate of Recognition to acknowledge our contribution to the community. 

Our designated Clean Up day is Monday, April 22nd for the two hours over lunch time (12 – 2).  We are asking staff to signup for 10 or 20 minutes to take part in our tag-team approach during the two hour period to clean up part of Memorial Park. All those who sign up also get to wear jeans on Monday as a special Thank You!  There is a sign up file in the shared drive Shared/General/SocialCommittee/Earth Day . Please sign up by end of day Thursday so we know how many bags and gloves we need for Monday.

 

Members of the Social Committee will be on-site for the two hour period, so you will never be alone! Commit as much time as you are willing during your lunch hour to help make a difference for our environment.

 

If you have any questions, please contact Laura McEwan, Val Day or Tiffany Balducci.

 

The next Equal Pay Day is Tuesday, April 9, 2013. This date symbolizes how far into 2013 women must work to earn what men earned in 2012.

Ontario’s gender pay gap according to Statistics Canada 2010 and the Ontario Pay Equity Commission ‘s figures is  28%  (based on all male and female average annual earnings (including part time workers).  The gap is much higher for women of colour, women with disabilities or Aboriginal women. The US, Europe, Australia & other countries have “government proclaimed” Why don’t we?

Wear Red - On Equal Pay Day wear red to mark how far women are in the “red” when it comes to their pay.

Ask Premier Wynne to officially declare an Annual Equal Pay Day starting with April 9, 2013. Like President Obama’s Equal Pay Day proclamation such a day will “recognize the full value of women’s skills and their significant contribution to the labour force, acknowledge the injustice of wage discrimination and join efforts to achieve equal pay.” The goal is that Equal Pay day will be earlier each year if addressed.

Talk to your friends, family and community about the ongoing issue of the wage gap for women.  On Twitter?  Use the #EqualPayDay hashtag.

April 9, 2013 marks Equal Pay Day, the day when women and men around the province will recognize the wage gap between working women and men, and offer remedies to address pay inequity.  The pay gap in Ontario according to Statistics Canada 2010 and the Ontario Pay Equity Commission figures was 28%. The Stats Can figure is based on all Ontario male and female average annual earnings (including part time workers). The pay gap can be measured in different ways, based on full time full year annual earnings as of 2010 Ontario pay gap is about 24%. Such gaps are amongst the highest in the world.

The rights of women to equal pay for work of equal value and equal treatment in pay and employment opportunities are internationally recognized human rights standards, which Canada has ratified, and bind Ontario.

Women represent 48% of Ontario’s paid labour force. With more families relying on women’s paychecks for their livelihood, the politicians and employers must address the pay gap for the sake of Ontario families and their financial stability.  The purpose of the day will be as Obama declaed in his proclamation for US Equal Pay Day to “recognize the full value of women’s skills and their significant contribution to the labour force, acknowledge the injustice of wage discrimination and join efforts to achieve equal pay.”

Here are four ways to close the pay gap:

First, employers, as required by the Pay Equity Act and Human Rights Code must examine and correct their pay practices which pay women’s work less than comparable men’s work. Employers should have plans to close any pay gaps and then make sure those pay gaps don’t re-open and changed circumstances are accounted for.

Second, we need to re-instate employment equity laws to make sure jobs, training, supports and promotion opportunities are available to women along with affordable and accessible and affordable childcare.

Third, women must stand up for equal pay and for themselves.  Employers who won’t ensure their women workers receive fair pay and opportunities should be exposed.  Union representation is one of the quickest ways to close the gap in workplaces.  Women in unions earn 35% more than women in non-union workplaces.

A fourth way to close the pay gap is through laws and policies that recognize the value and worth of all women no matter the sector.  Many sectors of the economy are female predominant particularly those providing public services – eg. community and home care services, libraries and childcare.  Women in these jobs face pay discrimination because their sector is underpaid compared to other male-dominated sectors.  Government funding of these sectors must properly value the women workers providing these important public services.

Pay equity is a growing national movement. Women and men around the country recognize the importance of measures to close the pay gap.  Pay inequity penalizes families, especially during hard times of economic hardship so we must address it when trying to boost the economy.  At the rate we are gong, the wage gap will not close for another 50 years. Women and their families cannot afford to wait that long!

 

Hi everyone! Tiffany, CUPE Local 960 Vice President here reporting back from the Library Workers' Conference AND OMECC. What a busy week! We were lucky enough to have our entire executive there and let me tell you - our to-do list is now EXTREMELY long!  We live tweeted the entire event and were very prominent with social media. Check out all the OMECC tweets here:

Tuesday and Wednesday were the days of the Library Workers Conference and we learned so much from Local 4948, Toronto Public Libraries. They have an excellent 'Love a Librarian' campaign and really taught us that the public sector, even beloved library workers, are never safe. We have to stand up for our job security. We heard reports from libraries all over Ontario and some of us are in very similar positions. Our contract is up for renegotiation in 2014 and we've gotten lots of ideas and input from other locals on improving our language!

4948 President, Maureen O'Reilly, also shared an amazing article that she wrote called 'Melvil's Girls: Still Struggling to Survive' that can be read in the CLA Feliciter magazine. Why are library workers still struggling to stand up for themselves? Read the fascinating article and find out more.

We also learned how to lobby municipal candidates and officials and keep track of their voting styles so we know who is in support of us.  We're also working on a mission statement and strategic plan, which we learned how to do at LWC and OMECC.

We took many courses at OMECC as well as listened to local reports and learned how to build coalitions. We have some exciting changes coming to CUPE LOCAL 960. We took courses on Labour History and by learning from our past we can look to the future. Some key things we noted:

Vote as if your job depends on it.  At OMECC they showed the provocative film, 'We Are Wisconsin' directed by Amie Williams.  After the movie, one of the key regular people interviewed was Brian Austin, a Wisconsin police officer. He had wisdom to share with us after going through what happened in Wisconsin. To read a great review of the movie,visit here. 

Build coalitions. Every partner in the community is someone who supports our jobs and what we do for a living. We will be seeing how we can work with local businesses, community partners, and more. We also want to do more for the community in many ways. 

Think outside the box. Our local is already pretty good at doing this but we can always improve! What suggestions do you have?

During the month of April become a “workplace champion” by contributing $2.00 to the Canadian Cancer Society and wearing your daffodil pin throughout the month. All daffodil pin proceeds go to the Canadian Cancer Society to fund research to find cures for cancers, and for helping to improve the lives of Canadians who are living with cancer.

We will be accepting the donations on Friday, April 12th, and invite all those who contribute to wear their denim civvies (AKA jeans) that day.  To contribute your $2.00 and receive your daffodil pin, please submit to any of the following Social Committee/helping members:

Val Day for Circulation

Laura McEwan for Children’s and Reference

Megan Hardy for 3rd floor McLaughlin staff

Tiffany Baldacci for Northview

Sarah Waddell for Legends

Nicole Adams for Jess Hann

Remember, you don’t have to wear denim to participate.  Any of the people listed above will be handing out daffodil pins to all who wish to contribute to this cause that has touched so many of us.

For more information about the Canadian Cancer Society, and how your donations help, please visit here.

CUPE Local 960 sent the four executive to Niagara Falls for The Library Workers Conference and OMECC (Ontario Municipal Employees). We're very excited to share what we learn with you and will be live tweeting the event! Thank you @cupelocal960 for sending us so we can learn and grow! Solidarity!