Lorene & Brigitte DePape at Fair Tax Summit

Spring has come in with a roar.

Bargaining is occupying about 85% of the 65,000 BCGEU membership. For direct government members, BCGEU will be conducting a strike vote (deadline May 11, 2012) and looking for the 25,000 members to provide a strong mandate for the bargaining committee. The “master” bargaining committee which covers direct government workers has been stalled by the employer and frustrated after a slap in the face which includes the surprise announcement of the privatization of the Liquor Distribution Branch warehouses. BCGEU has negotiated some protections for the workers, but it’s particularly galling when the government rejected the union’s proposal to have retail stores open on Sundays which would generate an increase in revenue. Privatizing is a very short sighted action and doesn’t benefit tax payers in the long term. Other tables such as Community Health and Community Social Services are continuing with bargaining. Updates are posted on the BCGEU bargaining website. Also, members should provide their personal home email addresses to the union to ensure they receive regular updates.

We’re not the only ones in bargaining. If you were out of the country then you may have missed the news about the solidarity actions for teachers. First up was the massive march and rally at the Legislature that took place on March 6 in Victoria. I was on the first ferry from Tsawwassen and it was packed with people going to the rally. Another rally took place the next day at the Vancouver Art Gallery. “This is what democracy looks like.” “United we stand, divided we fall.”

And other work and events don’t stop just because we’re in bargaining. I’ve walked the line with the locked out Rocky Mountaineer workers and spoke out at a rally against Bill C31 which will strip refugee and immigrant rights. March also marked a month of events to recognize the importance of the work being done by Community Social Services workers with the annual walk taking place on March 31 in Victoria.

During the week of International Women’s Day I was on a whirlwind tour of speaking in Williams Lake, celebrating with Judy Rebick at the Vancouver & District Labour Council dinner, Kicking Up My Heels in Surrey, sharing chocolate with the Fraser Valley Labour Council, equality breakfast with West Coast Leaf and then chatting with folks at the BC Federation of Labour and VDLC event at W2 Woodward’s.

March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and one day to reflect, and also to remember that it takes more than one day to end racism. A community march and rally took place in Vancouver. Aboriginal events were also taking place that week. I was so pleased to learn from a First Nations elder and make my own drum which I took and used at the 8,000 Sacred Drums event. I also took my drum to UBC for a symposium on UBC’s actions during 1942 when Japanese Canadian students were forced to leave UBC. I’ve been working with the Japanese Canadian community including Mary Kitagawa the Japanese Canadian elder who headed up this campaign. I am very happy that my alma mater UBC will be honouring the students with honorary degrees. Some of the surviving students will be attending convocation in May. It’s never too late to do what’s right.

My hand made drum

BCGEU is also working on a campaign to recognize the importance of community health care for seniors. I was pleased to attend the Ombudsperson’s report on seniors community forum with some of the BCGEU activists who work in health care. The community forum allowed for some good discussion about what needs to be done and the BCGEU activists and I shared what action BCGEU is taking and the vital work of community health workers.

At another event I was able to meet with Bill McKibben who inspired me in Copenhagen at the Klima Forum the people’s response to the COP15 Climate Change Conference. We had a good dialogue at a strategy session in the morning then he spoke at the no tankers rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery at noon and gave a keynote speech at the CCPA dinner.

At the end of March, BCGEU along with other NUPGE components participated in the Fair Tax Summit in Ottawa. The summit brought together a wide range of organizations (faith, seniors, environment, poverty, students, labour, academia) and individuals. One message was clear, a fair taxation system is needed to bring in revenue for quality public services and supporting the real needs of Canadians. The summit provided a good opportunity for a dialogue about taxes and brainstorming ideas for networking and sharing information about what people and organizations are doing across Canada. I also got to meet Brigitte DePape, the former parliamentary page who spoke up for Canada, and a great example to dispel the image of apathetic young people.

There is hope.

Well behaved women seldom make history

21st Annual Womens Memorial March in DTES

30,132 tweets

Yes, time flies. No that’s not the count just for 2012, but it almost feels like it. We’re nearing the end of February and it’s been a blur of winter school, marches & rallies, meetings, speaking at events and now bargaining. Except the other work continues even as we are in bargaining.

I was pleased to meet up with BCGEU and other activists at the Sunday trade fairs at the 2012 Canadian Labour Congress  (CLC) Winter School five weeks of classes at Harrison Hot Springs. And despite the snow and ice (and with a special thank you to our highways members) I made it up to the first week of winter school to speak to the BCGEU Leadership class and the new Diversity Leadership class. I am always inspired to hear the ideas and sometimes challenging questions of the activists. I applaud their enthusiasm and passion. We will need it to continue to build the labour movement. I also attended the BC Federation of Labour Ranking Officers session in the third week as well to do some strategy sessions with the leaders from the other unions.

Another regular event is addressing and thanking our BCGEU government workers who volunteer for the Provincial Employees Community Services Fund. Their incredible efforts raised a total of $1,876,104.18 for 2011. What is also great is that the money raised stays in the communities to benefit the local charitable organizations.

February also included a number of community events. I spoke at the Solidarity with Leonard Peltier march and rally. Peltier was extradicted from Canada based on false evidence and has spent 36 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Former BCGEU vice president Tom Kozar was a member of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee and spoke about the injustice when he supported resolutions at the CLC , BCFed, NUPGE and BCGEU conventions throughout the years. I felt that Brother Kozar was with me when I addressed the crowd.

I was also honoured to be asked to speak at a private ceremony at Crab Park for the missing and murdered women in the Downtown Eastside. I shared a message of solidarity with the families and the Aboriginal elders and said we would continue to add our voices to theirs for a call for justice for the women and their families. It was a very moving ceremony. After the ceremony we joined up with hundreds of people at the Carnegie Centre in Vancouver for the 21st Annual Women’s Memorial March. The march takes place throughout the Downtown Eastside with the powerful sound of singing and drums.

Community events, local meetings with members, working on human rights, environmental law, labour council, and board meetings. All the work to build and strengthen our connections with our members and communities. It’s a packed schedule so I don’t always have the time to post on this blog, but you can be sure I am sharing information using a variety of methods including social media such as twitter or facebook .  Connect with me online or in person.

Year of the Dragon 2012

2012 is year of the dragon. The dragon is considered a symbol of good fortune in Asian cultures.

Although Japanese and Chinese share the same 12 animal zodiac, they celebrate New Year’s on different days. The Japanese celebrate New Year’s Day on January 1st according to the Gregorian calendar. The Chinese celebrate according to a lunisolar calendar so the day varies year to year, but it usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. For 2012, the lunar new year will be on January 23rd.

I’m a fourth generation British Columbian. My family came from Japan in the 1800′s and 1906 and is spread out across BC. During the Xmas holidays, we put up the Xmas tree and have turkey, cranberries, stuffing and all the trimmings just like any other family, but for New Year’s Day we have Japanese food. It’s a family tradition.

However you celebrate the holidays I think it’s wonderful to embrace the diversity of cultures. What’s really important is that it’s about caring.

Wishing you a year filled with love, hope, optimism, and working for a more equitable, safe, healthy, inclusive society for all.

Happy New Year!

2011 Xmas Deer

In the middle of the night, two days before Xmas, a grinch cut the ties to our deer in the yard and made off with it. The deer has been a regular presence in our yard and on our street for years and we’re quite attached to it.

I figured it was lost for good and hoped whoever had took it would actually appreciate it and not trash it. Others in my family were not so hopeful.

My family decided that perhaps it was an inebriated person who stole our deer and they would not want to carry it for long. A search of the neighbourhood ensued and sure enough our deer was found stuffed in some shrubs in someone’s yard.

Our deer returned home just in time for Xmas. The order was restored in our neighbourhood and there was a sense of hope that anything is possible in this world.

I hope you and your loved ones had peaceful and happy holidays.

The forum had been put together quickly by a dynamic young activist Harsha Walia and I was honoured to be asked to participate and speak on the labour perspective. The panel included Seth Klein (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives), Lorene Oikawa (BC Government & Service Employees’ Union), Glen Coulthard (UBC First Nations Studies & Political Science), Harjap Grewal (Council of Canadians), Jean Swanson (Carnegie Community Action Project in the Downtown Eastside), and Richard Porteous (Occupy Vancouver).

I must admit I was a bit concerned that not very many people would show up on a Friday night with so many competing interests. The auditorium at the Vancouver Public Library was packed and as more people arrived they were standing at the back and some sitting on the floor on either side of the crowd.

Harsha gave a great introduction and recognized that we are on unceded Coast Salish territory.

Seth started off by asking that we dedicate the night to two great activists who recently died: Ben Swankey and Bob Rosen. Seth then gave the economic case for dealing with inequality and provided facts and analysis. He shared that inequality may be greater in the US, but that it’s growing faster in Canada. Glen spoke about the need for supporting Aboriginal self determination. Harjap spoke about the negative impact of trade deals. Jean spoke about the case for housing and shared some of the descriptions of the homes available to the 1% richest contrasted with the housing that is sometimes available to the poorest in the Downtown Eastside. Richard shared his experience of being involved in Occupy Vancouver and how it has empowered him.

I spoke about the growing gap between the haves and have nots and how the richest 1% of Canadians pay a lower tax rate than the poorest 10% and how we’re being pummelled by a deficit message when really it’s about a revenue problem since there isn’t tax fairness.

I shared information about the work of BCGEU – NUPGE to get out the message about public services and tax fairness through the All Together Now campaign as well as one possible solution, a Robin Hood Tax. It’s a proposal for a tax as low as 0.05% on trades in stocks, bonds, currencies, derivatives and other financial products. The tax wouldn’t affect ordinary consumers and it could generate billions globally to fight poverty, fund health care and mitigate climate change. The tag line is “small change for the banks. A big change for the rest of us.”

This idea for a tax is not new and has been promoted for awhile and is supported by the president of France. The Robin Hood Tax was also promoted as part of the rallies and marches that took place on October 29, 2011 in Vancouver and at other Occupy locations. It’s all about a people’s solution for fair taxation.

I spoke about the work of union members particularly BCGEU members in their communities and the value of quality public services as the great equalizer. I urged the audience not to buy into the pandering that seek to divide us. We must continue to have conversations and seek opportunities to work together. We have a commonality that is greater than any differences: We want healthy, safe, inclusive communities for all.

Fair taxes fund our public services

People had an opportunity for questions and comments, and then were invited to stay for break out sessions to allow for deeper conversations. Again I was inspired and awed at the majority who stayed and wanted to share, discuss and plan for how we can continue to move forward.

I sat in on one group and heard a person with a disability who was so inspired by the first Occupy Vancouver gathering that he made a sign for his wheelchair which he swore he wouldn’t do. He spoke about the fear of many persons with disabilities and his role as an advocate. I shared my hope that we continue to support and speak up for those who are marginalized and for those equity members (Aboriginal, lgbt, People with Disabilities and People of Colour) who are fearful or unable to voice their concerns.

I am also grateful for the help from those who were live tweeting the event. I had accidentally forgotten my phone at the office so was suffering from social media withdrawal. I asked for assistance since I wasn’t able to live tweet and people responded. It’s not a surprise because as I told the crowd, it was social media that first brought to our attention many of the world events such as Wisconsin and the Occupy movement and social media is keeping us informed even as the corporate media is now joining in.

So who is the 99% – I think we already knew. We want to stop the growing gap and stop the inequality. We must not forget the message. And the movement is the message.

Mike Old, Lorene Oikawa, Dr. Vincent Mosco on MDD 2011 panel

Know the media. Be the media. Change the media.

Media Democracy Day 2011 in Vancouver took place November 11-13. The first MDD took place in 2001 in Vancouver and Toronto – and I may have been in attendance. Ten years later and I had the honour of participating in a panel with Dr. Vincent Mosco and Mike Old with Irene Lanzinger as the moderator.

Our panel was called Resistance and Renewal: Unions and Public Opinion in a “Crisis Economy.” Dr. Mosco spoke about how the good work of unions is not reported on in mainstream media. Mike spoke about the challenges to organize for unions. And I spoke about getting our (labour’s and BCGEU‘s) message out in creative ways such as using social media*, using film (Canadian Labour International Film Festival) and developing campaigns such as the All Together Now campaign for public services and tax fairness.

The room at the Vancouver Public Library was packed and people had to be turned away. I asked who were union members and discovered most were not and also it was a predominately younger crowd. I was pleased to have this opportunity to speak to a new, diverse audience. They asked some great questions and were very interested in the work of unions.

Judy Rebick was a keynote speaker for this year’s Media Democracy Day and I had the good fortune of hearing her speak at the events and also afterwards at a Rabble media event hosted by David Chudnovsky and Ruth Herman. I was absorbed in both her and David’s amazing stories of some of the events and activism they have been involved in.

A bonus was having Raffi who is well known for his children’s songs to sing to us. One of his songs was about “embracing an economy in service of humanity” and  ”measuring equality as a true measure of prosperity.” I tweeted that he was singing adult songs, but perhaps I was wrong: It’s a message we should be sharing with our children otherwise we may be still fighting to get our messages out on the 20th anniversary of Media Democracy Day.

*Interesting to note that I was live tweeting from MDD and all the live tweets were being projected on a wall in the main hall. You can see it in the photo for this post on my home page and in the Media Democracy Day 2011 album in Photos.

We are the 99%

From babies to seniors, people gathered by the thousands at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Saturday, October 15, 2011. The fountain side of the art gallery was packed with people and overflowing on to the sidewalks. Signs proclaimed “People before Profits” and pointed out the unfairness of corporations receiving huge tax cuts while the majority face income inequity and attacks on public services.

The over 4,000 listened to some speakers and then took to the streets of Vancouver in a peaceful march with music and chants.

Social media provided live streaming, tweets and facebook postings. And alternative media provided some great coverage.  Mainstream media was also present and provided some coverage of Occupy Vancouver as well as other Occupy gatherings across Canada and around the world.

I was proud to be part of a BCGEU contingent attending Occupy Vancouver. This grassroots movement is speaking out and saying that the huge gap between the haves and have nots is not acceptable. It’s a message close to the heart of the labour movement. We seek to lift people up not push people down. Occupy is bringing a diverse group of people together and labour is there to add our voices to speak out for a better world for all. 

“What we desire for ourselves, we wish for all.”

Lorene chatting with BCGEU Area 02 CCC Chair Stu Seifert

Thanks to the BCGEU Area 02 Cross Component Committee for organizing a wonderful opening event for members, activists and community to check out the new BCGEU area office in Nanaimo.

I enjoyed chatting with everyone and I really appreciated the displays which included some great photos and BCGEU campaign buttons. I understand the CCC stayed late at the office the night before the opening to get everything ready.

The office is a wonderful new addition to the BCGEU area offices around the province and a great resource for our members in Nanaimo and Vancouver Island North.

Display at the BCGEU Nanaimo Area Office Opening

My grandfather Kenichi Doi

The crack of the bat hitting the ball and cheers from the people in the stands at Oppenheimer Park. You can almost imagine what it would have been like in Japantown on September 18, 1941 cheering on the Asahi baseball team.

Seventy years later on the same day in 2011, we’re back in the park for an Asahi tribute game. The game takes place after the unveiling of a plaque to honour the achievements of the Asahi from 1914 to 1941.

The Asahi baseball team wouldn’t know it would be their last game on that day. The government deemed all Canadians of Japanese ancestry as enemy aliens and would physically remove over 23,000 children, women and men from the west coast and incarcerate them in camps. They lost their homes, businesses, property, vehicles, belongings and their rights, but they never lost their determination.

I stand in Oppenheimer Park clutching a photo of my grandfather who was a pitcher for the Asahi. I feel he is here, listening to the officials speak about the plaque to honour the Asahi baseball team and Grace Eiko Thomson speaking about the history of the Asahi and Japanese Canadians. She notes the recent articles about the Asahi in the Vancouver Sun and the Vancouver Courier.

I can hear my grandfather pointing out that he was born in Canada and how he wrote to the prime minister at the time and told him he would not leave Canada. This was in response to government officials who told him he should go back to Japan. He asked them how could he “go back” to a country he had never set foot in. Canada was his country.

After the unveiling of the plaque and the performance of Chibi Taiko, I speak with the two remaining Asahi baseball players.  There is one other, but he is 100 years old and lives in Toronto and couldn’t be here today.

And then I sit in the stands cheering on the Asahi team assembled for this tribute game. I flash back to when I was a child and my grandfather is teaching me to hold the ball and how to throw.

When the game is done, we go back to the fieldhouse for a treat of hot dogs and popcorn. We sit and talk and remember our elders who worked hard, played hard, and endured so much so we could have better lives.

We must never forget, and we must share our history and our stories.

BCGEU at Robson Square, Vancouver for Labour Day 2011

Another year, another Labour Day. While some may consider this day just the last day of summer, many were taking in Labour Day festivities across BC. In the Fraser Valley, the second annual Labour Day picnic in Abbotsford brought out a large number of families who took advantage of the sunny day, food and lots of entertainment. On Vancouver Island, two events were held in north island and one in Victoria. And in Vancouver, a Labour Day festival took place at Robson Square as well as the BC Federation of Labour had a booth at the PNE this weekend.

Wherever the event, the message was one of celebration and the need to continue the fight.  There is important work being done by unions and our members in communities across BC. However, many of our members are hampered in their ability to do their job because of the lack of respect, fair wages, resources & budgets. Now there is a growing attack on workers, their pensions and their wages and benefits.

So while we celebrate today, let us remember those who came before us to win many of the gains we take for granted today and then in their honour, let’s work together to stop the attack on workers and build a better world for all workers.

“When the union’s inspiration through the workers’ blood shall run,
There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun;
Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one,
But the union makes us strong.
Solidarity forever,
Solidarity forever,
Solidarity forever,
For the union makes us strong.”

Happy Labour Day!

BC Federation of Labour Jack Layton button for Labour Day 2011

BC Federation of Labour at the PNE 2011

BCGEU table at Labour Day 2011 Vancouver

BCGEU scarf Labour Day 2011

Jordan likes the BCGEU scarf.

Tucker wearing the BCGEU scarf