Jackie Nettleton
Saskatoon Area Council Representative
As part of our goal to engage with the wider labour movement the Saskatoon Area Council has continued to take part in events sponsored by the Saskatoon and District Labour Council such as the Day of Mourning for Workers killed on the job and the Labour Day BBQ. I was also able to attend the meet and greet event for unions and the Saskatoon city councilors and mayor.
The AC participates in the Remembrance Day ceremonies and the annual Pride Parade. Along with the Regional Women’s Committee we sponsor an annual open house for PSAC members every December. In the past year our guest speaker was a representative from the Food Bank since the RWC and Ag Local 40022 had each been responsible for a row at the Food Bank community garden.
I participate in the Saskatoon Committee for the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign as the PSAC labour rep. As the representative from the AC to the Prairie Region Council I have attended meetings of the PRC and participated in conference calls. I also sit on the Bylaws Committee of PRC.
The Saskatoon AC has also engaged in political action such as lobbying MPs. However we are represented by Conservative MPs and we have found that they do not want to meet with us as PSAC representatives but only as individual constituents. Even so, we have found it difficult to arrange to meet with them.
The AC welcomes all PSAC members to participate in our meetings and activities. We generally operate by consensus. If a vote needs to be held two representatives from each local are eligible to vote. However it seems that the majority of members attending the AC are from one or two locals and often the same members are also on the RWC. In the past few months these same members have made up the majority of the host committee for the Prairie Region Convention as well. It would be great to have participation from more members from more Saskatoon locals.
In Solidarity,
Jackie Nettleton