Report of the Regional Executive Vice President - Prairies
to the Prairie Region Council
October 2009
I am pleased to say we had an active summer in the Prairie region. Our members were out in full force on the Think Public Campaign. I believe that I covered all of the events in my National Board of Directors report but if I haven’t I will certainly make sure that I do in my next one.
I was privileged to meet with the Edmonton and Regina RWC’s, HRC’s and AC’s since our last meeting. I understand completely the over extension of our members and that many of them are involved in all of the committees. However I believe that if we do a concentrated membership drive that we will achieve our goal of attracting new members to our committees who will be of assistance to us in our important work. I realize that often the committees are working on the same issues but I also know there is a need for separate meetings where our time is dedicated to specific issues. The RWC’s in Dec will be meeting with Sister Patty Ducharme and Sister Andree Cote to form a plan of action for 2010. We will also be inviting Sisters from our coalition groups and grass roots Sisters to this meeting to ensure a well rounded discussion. I am looking forward to the meeting to help us re-energize our work.
Overall I thought the Prairie Region School was a great success. I was really pleased to be able to spend the entire week with the members. It is the first time for me to have a dedicated time slot on the agenda of each of the workshops. I was able to stop in to all of the workshops and hear what our members were expressing about our Union, their workplaces and the communities that they live in. I have had an opportunity to speak with some of our members since the school and appreciated their open, honest input. I will certainly share with Sister Judy Shannon our REO so that when we are planning our next school we can consider the advice we were given.
I am very honoured to be the United Way co-chair of the Government Division. This involves many early morning meetings but I have always supported the United Way and always will. I sent letters to all the Locals to share with their members as well as asked that they be posted on the web site. I believe in this time of economic uncertainty our members need to give now more then ever. These agencies and the work they do are crucial to our communities.
I just attended the Manitoba Federation of Labour Convention where we saw a new leader elected. I believe that under Brother Kevin Rebeck”s leadership we may see our movement rejuvenated. It is not that long ago that Brother Kevin was attending his first convention as a youth delegate. Although our delegate numbers were not high, we had more delegates at this convention then we have had at past conventions. I hope this is a trend that continues.
Oct 17th will see a new leader of the Manitoba NDP as Gary Doer will be moving on to be the Ambassador to the United States. This came as a surprise to many and I am glad I am not the one organizing this leadership convention. I am sure whoever is elected will be a great leader and Premier of Manitoba.
While it's shaping up to be a busy fall and winter I have confidence that we are up to the challenge. I look forward to continuing our work together.