Gallery pictures courtesy of Tony Sprackett.
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Brothers and Sisters:

I write this letter to invite you to attend the April 28th, 2012 “Day of Mourning – Compensate the Injured Worker Not the Employer” event co-sponsored by the Victoria Labour Council and CUPE Local 50.

Over the last few years, we’ve noticed a significant departure from the original meaning of this important date.  It seems that our Day of Mourning has become an occasion for politicians, opportunists and corporate executives to expound on their own safety virtues while ignoring the causes that often lead to tragedies and the continuous denial of disability entitlements to injured workers.

We believe that we need to take back our Day of Mourning by creating our own labour and community based event, without the official participation of public or private corporations or employers.

We want to include all working people in this event, both the organized and the unorganized. Poor safety practices hurt everyone, and are not limited only to those  in the organized labour movement.

We also feel it is important to highlight the relentless corporate and government agenda that denies compensation to injured workers, while at the same time returning millions of dollars to employers.

Finally, we want to use this date to renew our commitment to fight for a safe work place, and for an end to the causes that lead to accidents. We believe we need to take back our compensation system.

We hope that you’ll be able to attend our community and labour gathering on Saturday, April 28th, 2012 starting at 9 a.m. in Victoria at Centennial Square.

In Solidarity,

Michael Eso, President,

Victoria Labour Council

City of Victoria

Dear Mayor Fortin and Council:

I am writing on behalf of the 25,000 affiliated union members of the Victoria Labour Council to strongly oppose a policy change which would see expanded naming rights for public facilities.

At a recent meeting of our council, this issue was brought forward for discussion. After discussion and debate, the Victoria Labour Council voted unanimously to oppose an expansion of naming rights on publicly owned facilities in the city.

The Victoria Labour Council believes strongly that there are plenty of other opportunities for the corporate sector to put their names in front of the public without slapping a corporate logo on a facility which taxpayers are paying for. We need look no further that the “Save-on Foods” arena. The original arena was intended to stand as a memorial to those who gave their lives for us for in the second world war. Is the money that is achieved from these types of initiatives really worth turning our back on our collective heritage and public assets?

We believe that there are plenty of opportunities for the city to generate revenues from selling advertising without the city needing to resort to selling naming rights to the facilities themselves.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely.

Michael Eso
President, Victoria Labour Council

Please don’t forget to attend the general meeting on Wednesday the Twenty First.

Letter to the Editor Re: Recorded-voting motion rejected by school board…Feb 15, 2012

When will our local elected representatives understand that recorded votes are an important cornerstone on our democracy and are vital in making these institutions more transparent and accountable to the public?

Newly elected   Board trustees Diane McNally and Deborah Nohr should be congratulated for pushing to ensure board minutes reflect the voting records of individual trustees. The  trustees who voted against this suggestion should be ashamed of themselves. What are they trying to hide from voters? Other local governments who do not currently record votes should pay attention to this debate.

Working families lead extraordinarily busy lives. All too often, it is next to impossible for an interested voter to be able to attend meetings in person. Steps should be taken to provide more access to these deliberations. At the very least, timely information should be available electronically, and this should include voting records of those we elect.

In the case of the Victoria School Board, the records they publish on their website on school board minutes are two months out of date when I checked today. The last posted minutes of the board meeting are from last year – December 5^th to be exact. The Victoria School Board deserves a failing grade on public transparency in my books!

Michael Eso
President,
Victoria Labour Council