Political Issues Dominate Executive Council Meeting
The meeting was held in Portage la Prairie
The Manitoba Federation of Labour Executive Council has a practice of holding one of its four annual meetings at a location outside of Winnipeg in order to give non-Winnipeg trade unionists and their organizations direct access to their elected leadership. The meeting held on May 31 and June 1 was held in Portage la Prairie.
At the outset of the meeting, MFL President Darlene Dziewit reported on the results of the May 22 provincial election which saw the re-election of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba to an unprecedented third consecutive majority government under the leadership of Premier Gary Doer. The election sent NDP MLAs to the legislature from both urban and rural ridings - from all regions of Manitoba - a record setting number of women MLAs - and a caucus that represents many of the elements of our cultural diversity. Sister Dziewit thanked and congratulated the many trade unionists who gave up their vacations and personal time to volunteer for the campaign and help make the NDP victory possible.
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Another politically related topic that came up for discussion was the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA). This agreement is one that delivers a greater say to business on how our economy functions (often to the detriment of workers) and has been signed by the pro-business governments of Alberta and British Columbia. These governments have undertaken an intense lobbying campaign to convince other provincial governments to sign on and sell their workers down the river.
MFL Executive Council members were supplied with analysis documents of TILMA authored by the Canadian Labour Congress and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives to assist them in educating their members and to prepare for the resistance campaign that will be necessary to turn back this threat to the future of workers and their families. The MFL Executive Council voted to endorse the CLC position on TILMA and to actively oppose its expansion.
The Executive Council also received a position paper from the Canadian Labour Congress on the inappropriate way in which some Canadian employers are using federal and provincial Temporary Foreign Worker programs to undermine unions and to drive down wages and benefits in the Canadian workforce. Executive Council members will review the paper and develop strategies that will protect workers rights and foreign workers from employer exploitation.
The Portage la Prairie Labour Council used the Executive Council meeting in Portage as an opportunity to sponsor a meet and greet to introduce members of Executive Council to local labour activists. A good time was had by all. The MFL executive thank Portage la Prairie Labour Council President Daren Van Den Bussche (left) and Council members for their hospitality and good company.
Unions affiliated to the Manitoba Federation of Labour that don't have enough members to have a seat on the MFL Executive Council are represented as a caucus with direct representation on Executive Council. Representatives from member unions of the Affiliate Caucus met with MFL President Darlene Dziewit and MFL staff on May 24 to hear an outline of MFL processes and procedures and to provide the MFL with their views on a wide ranging variety of issues.
Both the Caucus members and the MFL representatives came away from the meeting with a better understanding of the challenges and issues facing the labour movement. Similar meetings will be scheduled in the future on a regular basis. The meeting heard that the MFL will move its office from its current location on the fifth floor of the Union Centre, 275 Broadway in Winnipeg, to the third floor of the same building within the next year. The move is being made accommodate the space needs of other building tenants.
Executive Council members also reviewed a proposal put forward by IAM Representative Brian Short to greatly increase the lobbying campaign for the formulation and adoption of an effective manufacturing strategy for Manitoba in the MFL's Annual Brief to Cabinet. Affiliates will prepare input for the brief to raise these concerns and present a clear picture of the elements we feel an effective strategy should contain.