Fall 2019

Purple Volunteers!

SEIU-West is proud to be a union that supports and lives by social unionism – we understand our role is not just to improve the working lives of our members, but to improve the communities in which we live as well.

In that sense, we strive to support and get involved in community events and organizations striving for social justice. It is our members that lead the way – they volunteer, organize, and get involved in both their union and communities every day – in other words, Purple Works in Our Communities!

In recognition of the member volunteering, we held a contest to highlight this important work over the summer – check out this statement from our winner Julie:

I have been a board member volunteer for about 14 years in Naicam and I help run our community thrift store with about eight other board members and approximately 40 volunteers. The money raised will go to projects such as the school music program, the playground summer program, the STARS air ambulance, and communities in bloom among others. We sell gently used items and we sort and organize our store. We are very proud of our community thrift store. If you are ever out this way stop in for a look and cup of coffee!

Member of Distinction Fall 2019: Dwayne Kindt

Dwayne Kindt works in maintenance at Royal University Hospital and also volunteers as a firefighter out of Asquith. We’re proud to call him our Member of Distinction after his efforts in the Biggar wildfires this past Spring.

Dwayne got the call after local Biggar firefighters had been battling the fire all afternoon and night – he and a group of volunteers from Asquith responded to the state of emergency call for aid immediately so they could relieve the personnel that had been there since the fire

started. Dwayne and his fellow volunteers arrived at 5:30 am and fought the fires continually until 9:00 pm that night. For more than 15 hours, Dwayne helped put out the fires; he also helped save at least one home and workshop by redirecting the fire, all the while surrounded by flames.

The whole community came together to combat the fires, and we’re proud of volunteers like Dwayne who put their life at risk to aid a community in need. While he was not alone in his efforts, his bravery is just one example of how every person can make a positive

difference. Thank you Dwayne!

 

Send your MOD nominations to [email protected].

Cape’s Corner

We recently held our kick off for the renewal of SEIU-West committees. Each committee had discussions about improvements to worker safety and how this goal might fit into their future work. Worker safety has been a regular theme this year for the work done within SEIU-West.

 

When you think about it, so much of our work flows to and from worker safety: educating and mobilizing around the three rights (the Right to Know; the Right to Participate; the Right to Refuse); building knowledge and skills with young workers, new Canadians, and more seasoned staff; providing awareness about avenues to become involved and active within the scope of workplace safety; and combating racism, discrimination and stereotypes that affect the emotional and mental wellbeing of all of our members.

 

The committees have been tasked with how they will incorporate worker safety into their work over the next two years. And I’m excited to see the innovative ways that they reach out to build our membership with that goal in mind. Our committees are:  

 

• Aboriginal
• Education
• Member Organizing
• Nursing Care
• Political Action & Awareness
• Retirees
• Worker Safety
• Workers of Colour

• Young Workers

 

These committees are comprised of members from every sector we represent: industrial and allied, education, community-based organizations, retirement homes, and health care. We want to ensure that our members have opportunities to engage with and help lead our union. We should also be looking at how we build a wider movement to encompass people whose principles and beliefs align with ours.

  This is the work of our union beyond bargaining, grievances and arbitration…it builds on our vision of a more just and humane society. Each       one of our committees has brought forward something unique: great opportunities, radical ideas, strong advocacy, and solid history…I look   forward to seeing what they accomplish over the next two years.

FASD Walk and Ongoing Action

SEIU-West members were invited once again to march in support of awareness of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). This walk is held annually by MACSI in Saskatoon on the ninth day of the ninth month at 9:09 am to highlight the nine months of pregnancy.

MACSI is committed to helping women have safe and healthy pregnancies and to supporting individuals and families living with FASD.

We are proud to be a partner in their efforts to educate the public and help put an end to this preventable disorder.

  In order for CBOs like MACSI to continue their community-based work, they need stable, reliable, multi-year   funding from our governments.

  We continue to accept complete CBO petitions with the goal of presenting them to the Legislative Assembly of    Saskatchewan on or around November 6, 2019 - Community Worker Appreciation Day.

  Anyone can participate!

Go to the 'what we believe' section on SEIUWEST.ca and click on the 'People Who Care' campaign (or type in this: http://www.seiuwest.ca/ provide_stable_reliable_multi_year_funding_to_cbos).

Download a copy of our paper petition and print several out, and gather signatures.

Return the original, signed petitions using the instructions that are at the bottom of the petition by October 31, 2019.