Rebuilding Collective Power and Re-Imagining Resistance

The London and District Labour Council Invites you to our Action Assembly:

Rebuilding Collective Power and Re-imagining Resistance

OPSEU Regional Hall

1092 Dearness Dr., London, ON

Saturday, March 30th, 9:30am to 4:30pm

 

As the Austerity Agenda adopted by governments in Canada and Ontario continues to devastate the social and labour gains won over decades by unions and social justice organizations and activists, it is critical that we educate and mobilize to build collective power and to form effective strategies to challenge the Austerity onslaught.  It is clear that we will be facing further historic and escalating attacks on unions which threaten many of the foundational rights of unions.  

 

Sisters and Brothers, we must fight back.

 

The London and District Labour Council and the London Common Front invite you to participate in our March 30 Assembly, which will focus on the global context of Austerity and the provincial and local dimensions of Austerity with two internationally known keynote speakers. The Assembly will also have a range of workshops that will focus on current social and labour struggles and provide forums for developing strategies to educate more broadly; to fight back and to build our collective power and grassroots movements.


Please register early to ensure access-- spaces are limited. Send contact information and workshop choices to Stewart Wise gmwiseone@gmail.com 

Please send your name and contact information; three workshop choices in order of preference and any diet needs or other considerations.  A donation of $20 is appreciated to help cover costs.

Agenda

Registration:  9:30am-10:00 am

Welcome and Introductions:  10:00am

Key Note Speakers:  10:15am-11:15am

David McNally a well known activist and professor of Political Science at York University; his work includes analysis of the global Austerity agenda and activist resistance.  Some of his books are Another World is Possible: Globalization and Anti-Capitalism and Global Slump: The Economics and Politics of Crisis and Resistance.

Dimitri Lascaris was named by Canadian Lawyer Magazine as one of the 25 most influential lawyers in Canada and has been quoted frequently in national and international media.  He will address effects of the Austerity agenda on Greece, and his analysis includes that a prime objective of Austerity measures is to destroy unions.

Questions and Discussion of Strategies: 11:15am to 12:00pm

Lunch: 12:00pm to 1:00pm

Workshops:  First session  1:00pm-2:00pm

                      Break 2:00pm-2:15pm

                      Second session  2:15pm-3:15pm

Workshop Choices:

1.  The Attack on Unions/Workers: This workshop will feature materials to educate members and the community about the threats to unions proposed by the Harper and Hudak Conservatives.  There will be discussion of strategies for getting the information out broadly and engaging workers and community in the Workers Rights Campaign
          
2.  Education Fight Back: Local education activists and the Canadian Federation of Students will provide information on the most recent attacks on post-secondary education and the Hudak plan to undermine accessible public education. Participants will be engaged in a discussion of strategies for fight back.      
    
3.  Your Rights at Risk:  The Canadian Civil Liberties Association will address the civil, legal and protest rights challenges of the Austerity agenda with references to Bill 115, the current threats to unions and the human rights violations at the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto. They will engage participants in discussion of ways to defend our democratic rights.

4.  Workers Action Centre: This workshop will provide information and discussion of the range of work done by the Workers Action Centre to support all workers, to counteract labour rights violations that are increasing in workplaces and to address their campaign to raise the minimum wage

5.  Migrant Workers: This workshop will engage participants in discussion of the current exploitation of migrant workers in Canada; how that relates to the overall attack on workers by the Harper government; and the development of solidarity strategies and actions.

6.  Direct Action: This workshop will address the principles and techniques of direct action; and provide opportunities for discussion of a range of strategies and examples of effective actions.       
    
Plenary Session with reports from workshops:  3:30pm-4:30pm