Labour Day 2011 Well Attended

Hundreds of local trade unionists and activists and their families descended on Transfer Beach in Ladysmith on Labour Day 2011, on September 5th. They enjoyed free hot dogs and drinks, listened to great music from Beverly Mckeen, Martin Jones and Art Farquaharson, and cheered short speeches by Barry O'Neill and other labour leaders.

Ellen Oxman opened the picnic with a short commentary on why unions are still important. "Value is what a unionized workforce adds to an economy," said Oxman, president of the Nanaimo, Duncan and District Labour Council. “If people aren’t making enough money to live on, the economy will suffer,” she said.
“They spend the money that they earn on the products and services that they desire and that makes our economy go around.”

With the cost of living in B.C. as high as it is and two-income families having a difficult time making ends meet, Oxman said the union movement is more relevant now than it has ever been. “In the beginning of the labour movement in B.C. the focus was on safety and working conditions, but now we are trying to help those struggling to make ends meet. That could be a single-parent family or a two-parent family, they all could use some help.”

Leonard Krog, MLA for Nanaimo, and our MC for the past decade, shows

members where first aid and children's activities were, as Councilor Steve Arnett waits to greet the crowd on behalf of Ladysmith Council.

Barry O'Neill, President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, BC 

was the guest speaker at the annual Labour Day Picnic. In his speech, the  CUPE B.C. president, Barry O’Neill said public sector workers were under attack from governments that refuse to see the value in the work that they do.

Kip Wood, BCTF Executive Member, Describes Teacher Position

Kip Wood, an executive member from Nanaimo describes the position teachers are in this year bargaining with the provincial Government.

The teach-only job action by teachers is aimed at gains to improve conditions for students and teachers with three objectives.

1.    Teaching conditions that support all students (including prep time).
2.    Fair and reasonable salary and benefits.
3.    Local solutions for local issues.

A chart published in the Globe and Mail shows Calgary teacher salaries are $20,000 higher than those in Vancouver. Toronto secondary teachers make $15,000 more than Victoria teachers. These gaps exist despite Metro Vancouver, with half the province’s teachers, having the highest cost of living in Canada.

The BC Supreme Court ruled that 2002 legislation stripping teaching conditions from our collective agreement was illegal.  Despite the obligation to restore conditions, the government has set a sub-zero mandate that keeps the employer coming to the table empty-handed day after day. It is not a mandate we can accept.

Nanaimo-Cowichan MP Jean Crowder, is shown left chatting with a member of the HEU Living Wage Committee.


During her speech to the crowd, Jean thanked all those who had been sending condolences to Jack Layton's family and to her office.

"It was a privilege to work with Jack in the House of Commons these past seven years," she said. "Jack meant a great deal to me, as he did to many other Canadians, and his absence will leave a collective hole in our hearts."

 

United Way Fundraiser and now candidate for council Diane Brennan thanked the Labour Council for its work and noted that the United Way of Central and Northern Vancouver Island made a special award honouring the Nanaimo, Duncan & District Labour Council for its community contributions at the CLC Convention.



Union members Beverley McKeen and Martyn Jones provided music to entertain the crowd on the wonderfully sunny day at this year's Labour Day Picnic. Their mixture of old favourites and original songs captivated the crowd.



The Union Label booth was especially well attended this year, and almost everything donated by the Ferry Workers, CUPE, the CLC and others was given away.

And please note the thank you due to Budget Truck Rentals, who once again supplied the truck used by the Labour Council and the tents supplied by the Mid Island Co-op, and CUPE 606 that were very much appreciated.



If you look carefully you can see the bubbles being formed by the children under the supervision of Victoria Timmersman and Megan Randle.

20th Annual Labour Day Picnic - September 6, 2010

This year, as organizers for the 2010 Labour Day Picnic rolled up at Transfer Beach in Ladysmith, rolled in at 8:30 Monday morning it didn't look good for the annual Labour Day Picnic. It was pouring rain, and gusts of wind made even the Kin Hut shelter uncomfortable. Nonetheless, labour activists don't give up easily. Tarps were erected at the south-east corner of the building, the activities were moved inside, and phone calls for more tarps made. Here is Betty Smits preparing a table for food preparation.



Here Gail Jewsbury and others begin laying out buns and napkins ready for burgers and hot dogs.

Here's John Little signing off the volunteer list as the tents begin to be erected near the kIn Hut building.




Here we have Jim Sadlemyer, CAW, cooking burgers, while Patty McNamara, BCGEU fries up a mess of onions.





Leonard Krog, NDP MLA for Nanaimo, was once again the MC for the Labour Day Picnic. Always witty and gracious, Krog reminded picnicers of the many broken promises of the Campbell Liberals. and the possibility of recall this fall.














Heather Arnold, right, and Jennifer Duggan, from the Hospital Employees Union updated the crowd on a new certification and some other wins for the workers.





Nanaimo-North Cowichan MLA Doug Routley, at work as usual...



Our wonderful Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Cowichan, Jean Crowder,  outlined some of the problems faced in Ottawa. She also described some of the work being done for workers, including pension improvement and safeguards for workers.



Beverly McKeen and Martyn Jones performed some of their favourite songs from her new CD, as well as many labour favourites throughout the afternoon. They are shown here while they attended the 2009 Picnic.









CAW Bus Driver and Labour Singer extraordinaire Art Farquharson also entertained the crowd, with some of his best known songs like  "my Boss Pretends to Pay Me",  "Banks of Marble", "You Ain't Done Nothing If You Ain't Been Called A Red", and "The Family Car".












Joel and Melissa Canfield staffed the Human Rights Booth. On the right is Alderman Tom Duncan (Duncan) checking the material.




Not all those attending were in large sizes......There were childrens readings, face-painting and other children's activities as well.

19th  Annual Labour Day Picnic - September 7, 2009

David Rice Guest Speaker

This year, the Nanaimo, Duncan & District Labour Council held our 19th Annual Labour Day Picnic at Transfer Beach in Ladysmith. The meeting began with a greeting from Ladysmith councillor Steve Arnett. Hundreds of union members, their families and friends gathered to honour working people.

Canadian Labour Congress Regional Director David Rice as well as other local labour leaders spoke about issues affecting working people. Rice indicated the CLC fall campaign will focus on raising Canada Pension and E.I. rates.





 

Popular labour activist and entertainer Art Farquharson entertained with such favourites as "My Boss Pretends To Pay Me", "Banks of Marble", and "You Ain't Done Nothing If You Ain't Been Called A Red". You can see Art on You Tube at Bread & Circuses



MLA Leonard Krog once again was the Master of Ceremonies as everyone ate free hot dogs, listened to the entertainers and speakers, and waited for their ticket to be called by the Union Label booth.













Beverley McKeen and Martyn Jones (shown below) sang both old and new original songs to the great pleasure of the crowd. Beverley is also a CUPE 606 activist, and has just come out with her second CD, Poetic Wax. You can listen to some of her new songs here - Beverley McKeen








Not all of Labour Day is devoted to adult activities. Here Victoria Timmersman, our Children's Activities Coordinator makes sure the kids enjoy more than the free hot dogs in the park . Here,  she watches over three young visitors trying to see how many bubbles they can make.....



The Union Label Booth, expertly staffed by NDDLC President Ellen Oxman and her "volunteers" gave away lots of union "swag" in the form of jackets, hats, frisbees and more throughout the day.


Jean Crowder, MP for Nanaimo-Cowichan, brought greetings from the BC Caucus of NDP MPs to a warm round of applause.

She described the difficulties in knowing when an election is likely to be called, and said that means we need to be ready.

She also described work she is doing on EI reform and needed  improvements to the Canada Pension.











Because of the tremendous cooperation of merchants and volunteers, the Annual Labour Day Picnic has remained free for all union members and their families.

The Labour Day Picnic Chairperson, Betty Smits, noted the outstanding co-operation and donations of equipment and supplies from the following organizations:

Mid Island Co-op    Budget Car & Truck Rental    Canada Safeway    Ladysmith Parks & Rec

We also wish to thank the following unions for donations

HEU Cowichan Valley     Nanaimo Cowichan NDP       Canadian Labour Congress
HEU Orca Shores           Canadian Auto Workers        Nanaimo North Cowichan NDP
TWU Local 3                   BC Ferry & Marine Workers

Betty Smits, Labour Day Picnic Chairperson

Kids and Families Over The Years At Labour Day Picnic

1992