CUPE National Disaster Relief Fund – Wildfires in Northern Alberta

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May 10, 2016

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

We continue to follow the devastating impact of the wildfires ravaging Northern Alberta causing the evacuation of the Fort McMurray area and many communities.  Our staff and over two thousand CUPE members and their families in the area have been safely evacuated.  CUPE members in the Fort McMurray region work in elementary and secondary schools, municipalities, recreation programs, at the airport and in social service organizations.  We also know that many CUPE members living in the region have lost their homes and some of their workplaces.  CUPE members have been and remain on the forefront of the emergency response and evacuation teams.  We could not be prouder of our local leaders and staff who continue to provide support and coordination to CUPE and community members from evacuation centers and our CUPE offices in Alberta.

After consultation with CUPE Alberta and our staff on the ground, CUPE National has set up a CUPE National Disaster Relief Fund – Wildfires in Northern Albertawhich will go directly to the communities impacted by the fires.

We have heard from many of you asking how you can assist.  Please join us in donating generously to this Fund.  This Fund is not tax deductible and donation receipts cannot be issued.  Individual members who would like to donate and receive a tax receipt should direct their donation to established charities.

You can make your cheques payable to the CUPE National Disaster Relief Fund – Wildfires in Northern Alberta.

Please forward all donations by May 31, 2016, if possible, to:

CUPE National Disaster Relief Fund – Alberta
c/o Charles Fleury, National Secretary-Treasurer
CUPE
1375 St. Laurent Blvd.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1G 0Z7
We thank you for your generosity and support.

In solidarity,

Mark Hancock
National President

Charles Fleury
National Secretary-Treasurer

National Day of Mourning

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National Day of Mourning Statement

April 28, 2016

On this Day of Mourning, let’s make all Canadians safer.

Let’s win a comprehensive ban on asbestos.

On Thursday, April 28, the flag on Parliament Hill will fly at half-mast and people across the country will light candles, don ribbons and remember colleagues, friends and family who have been killed because of workplace-related hazards and incidents.

We can’t bring back those who have died, but we are working hard to make workplaces safer today. That’s why this April 28, Canadian unions are calling for a national ban on asbestos, a known killer that causes disease, suffering and death — all of it preventable.

It is estimated that more than 2,000 people die every year in Canada from diseases caused by exposure to asbestos, like mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. It is the number-one cause of occupational death in Canada and since 1996, asbestos-related diseases have accounted for about a third of the workplace deaths recognized by workers’ compensation boards.

Despite this, imports of items that contain asbestos, like brake pads and cement pipes, are on the rise. The lack of a formal registry of buildings known to contain asbestos also adds to the risk of needless exposure. Plans for new spending on infrastructure at all levels of government make it urgent to put a ban in place now to guarantee those projects are asbestos free.

Unions have already made a difference over the past year by reducing the hazards people face when working in confined spaces. They have fostered workplace protections for victims of domestic violence. Recognizing that not all injuries are physical, unions are also taking on the stigma of mental illness and factoring it into what makes a workplace healthy and safe.

Those unions, through organizations like the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), continue to stand up for the health and safety of everyone who works for a living. They work with employers to improve working conditions. They work with governments to improve workplace health and safety standards and pass laws to punish employers who put lives at risk for their own gain.

Twenty-five years ago, the federal government proclaimed April 28 as the National Day of Mourning for workers injured or killed on the job. This year, Canada can take a giant step forward with a ban on asbestos to make all of our workplaces, homes and public spaces safer and heathier.

Together, let’s work to make it happen.

Election Results

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Last night we held elections for the positions of Vice-Chair, Chief Shop Steward and Sergeant-at-Arms.  Therefore, we are pleased to announce that Eileen McMillan, Jan Parker and Sandra Cole were all re-elected to their previous positions.  Thank you to everyone who came out to vote.