In addition to causing housing precarity for many working people and families, this high level of evictions is also contributing to the affordability crisis facing our province. In many instances rent was increased substantially following the eviction, thereby contributing to the decline of affordable rental stock. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s annual rental market survey indicates that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment has increased more than 30% over the last five years in Metro Vancouver.

It is therefore clear to us that this situation must be addressed as part of any solution to the housing affordability crisis. The provincial government can take positive action on this issue by immediately releasing all data on evictions in its possession and implementing a system for tracking evictions province-wide while protecting tenant’s privacy rights.

Further, we are also calling on the provincial government to implement rent control that ties the cap on rent increases to the unit rather than the tenant (vacancy control) as soon as possible in order to curb the loss of affordability caused by eviction-related rent hikes.

The post Action Needed to End the Eviction Crisis appeared first on Vancouver and District Labour Council..

Even more disturbing is that these tests are used by the Fraser Institute to create unscientific provincial school rankings. These rankings serve no purpose as they do not inform distribution of resources based on need. The rankings disproportionately affect students in low-income and racialized communities, often resulting in diminished senses of pride and community for students, families, and staff.

The FSA is unreliable, unhelpful and a distraction from the important learning and authentic assessment happening in my child’s classroom. This test is not a required part of the BC curriculum and I don’t want my child participating. 

Despite years of controversy, this government continues to support the Fraser Institute rankings by insisting on implementing this divisive test. I believe this government can, and should, do better. Cancel the FSA!

Sign the petition to end the FSA here.

Text and image credit: BC Teachers’ Federation. 

The post Tell Minister Whiteside: School rankings are harmful and undermine public education appeared first on Vancouver and District Labour Council..

LTS workers have been fighting for a fair first collective agreement. Several speakers from different unions and labour organizations spoke in solidarity with the LTS workers and to demand that the federal government act to end the dispute and fix the Canada Labour Code. 

The following are remarks made by VDLC President Stephen von Sychowski. 

Good morning,

My name is Stephen von Sychowski, I’m the President of the Vancouver and District Labour Council.

We bring together affiliated unions here in Vancouver and in neighboring municipalities, representing approximately 60,000 union members.

We’re very proud to count your local, IBEW 213 among them.

I want to thank everyone for being here today, and especially all of the speakers and our co-organizers NWDLC and IBEW 213. 

I’ve said it before at other rallies and picket line visits and I say it again, we stand with you 100%.

It is unacceptable that any employer would act the way that LTS has over the course of the past several years.

It is especially shameful when it is a large and well resourced employer who could easily do the right thing, but chooses not to.

We know it hasn’t been easy being out here all this time, and we thank you for doing it, because it is so crucial that even when an employer uses every dirty trick in the book, even when they throw their all of their resources and do everything they can to undermine your right to join a union we don’t back down. We don’t walk away from the fight.

That’s the message we have to send to employers as a movement if we want to win long-term.

But there are supposed to be checks and balances in place to protect against this kind of behaviour.

Our labour code is supposed to provide the mechanisms for workers to freely exercise their right to join a union.

But that labour code isn’t working

Worse, in the face of clear evidence that it isn’t working the response from the federal government has been inaction.

Your union has been calling for on the federal government to intervene and ensure that the spirit of the code is upheld, that you are able to access your rights in practice and not just in theory.

Both of the labour councils represented here today have joined that call.

Still, the government has sat on its hands. The game is rigged, and the referee is asleep. 

They sat on their hands while Ledcor utilized scab labour to undermine your strike, while they engaged in unfair labour practices.

They say on their hands while the employer refused to bargain in good faith.

They took no action when asked to provide for a binding arbitration process to end this strike and secure a collective agreement.

We just went through a federal election where all the major parties promised the sky and pitched themselves as defenders of working people.

The reality is that successive governments, whether Liberal or Conservative, have failed to act to implement anti-scab legislation, and to close the loopholes that undermine the exercise of workers rights.

The reality is that time after time throughout the years, NDP bills to strengthen workers right have been voted down by these two parties time and again.

Well, it’s a new parliament and its time to once again demand that the platitudes we heard for five weeks of election campaign are made good on.

The government can and must act quickly and meaningfully to help end this dispute and avoid future ones like it

We will continue to stand with your union in making those demands and in calling for LTS to return to the bargaining table in good faith.

But whatever happens, know that your fight, though difficult, is just.

We are with you for a fair contract now!

Thank you

Image credit: BC Building Trades. 

The post Solidarity with Striking LTS Workers appeared first on Vancouver and District Labour Council..

The truth is that we must learn from and work alongside Indigenous peoples in order to make things right.  

September 30 was chosen as “Orange Shirt Day” by Indigenous people in 2013 to commemorate and honor the survivors of The Indian Residential School System (IRSS) and those who never returned home. At this time of year, over the course of more than 100 years, Indigenous children were forced to return to IRSS institutions where they suffered indoctrination and torture organized by the Canadian state to weaken and destroy Indigenous nations. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) recommended that the Canadian government establish a statutory holiday so that Canadians may never forget the history and ongoing legacy of the IRSS. September 30 is now also Canada’s National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

In solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, we mourn the loss of the children who did not make it home and honor the courageous survivors and their allies who worked for decades to break the walls of silence and denial surrounding the IRSS. On this day of solemn reflection, we acknowledge that racism and religious persecution were used to dispossess Indigenous peoples of their territories, and that we must educate ourselves about the ongoing and current impacts of colonization and genocide on Indigenous peoples. We recognize that the labour movement in Canada has not been the ally it needs to be to Indigenous peoples. We must do the urgent work of ending systemic racism by engaging in a meaningful process of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples that leads to decolonization.

On September 30, we encourage workers across BC to learn, reflect, and act. Here are some resources that you may find useful: 

Webinar, Sept. 30, 2021, 8:00 am: Squamish Stories with Kung Jaadee

Webinar, Sept. 30, 7:00 pm: Suffer the Little Children: Tamara Starblanket on genocide, Indigenous Nations and the Canadian State (with Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada)

Tk’emlúps Nation extends invitation to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 94 Calls to Action 

Read the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide 24/7 support to residential school survivors and others who are affected. Call: 1 (866) 925-4419

For more events and actions, see the BC Federation of Labour events page

The post Statement from VDLC on Canada’s National Day of Truth and Reconciliation appeared first on Vancouver and District Labour Council..

At it’s September 21^st regular meeting, the Council voted not to endorse Vision Vancouver candidates for the offices of Mayor and City Councillor this election.

“This was an important decision at an important time,” said VDLC President Stephen von Sychowski. “As we start our endorsement process this Fall, we are beginning to clarify which elector organizations we intend to support in 2022. Vision was resoundingly rejected in 2018 and vanished from the political scene for most of this term. The progressive political spectrum is already well represented by an array of parties. We don’t see an attempted return for Vision being constructive to our objective of ensuring a strong, cohesive progressive majority.”

The VDLC will launch its endorsement process this Fall, starting with a review of incumbents who intend to seek re-election. Decisions regarding the endorsement of incumbents are expected to be made at the January regular meeting. Council endorsements will be backed by a labour campaign independent of the efforts of candidates or elector organizations. 

“We’ll be continuing our discussions with parties and candidates who are seeking our endorsement over the coming months,” confirms von Sychowski. “We are looking forward to supporting an exciting, diverse group of candidates who are prepared to work together across party lines to implement the bold solutions we need to keep Vancouver moving forward.”

The post VDLC Opts Not to Endorse Vision Vancouver in 2022 appeared first on Vancouver and District Labour Council..

Visit https://www.ndp.ca/team to find your candidate and contact their campaign office to volunteer.

Can’t make it on election day? Your help will make a difference any day between now and then, whether in-person or via remote phone canvassing.

We also still have two labour canvasses hosted jointly with New Westminster and District Labour Council as follows:

Canvass for Phil Klapwyk, Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge
Friday, September 17
Starting at 5:30pm
22386 119 Ave, Maple Ridge
RSVP to nwdlc@shawcable.com

Canvass for Anjali Appadurai, Vancouver Granville
Saturday, September 18
Starting at 5:30pm
5590 Victoria Dr., Vancouver
RSVP to office@vdlc.ca

Together we can ensure there are strong voices in parliament for workers rights, healthcare, climate justice, reconciliation, and tax fairness.

The post Volunteer this Election Day! appeared first on Vancouver and District Labour Council..

On Labour Day a new resource is being launched for those interested in labour education.

Last Fall, labour educators came together to found the Worker Education and Labour Learning Society (WELLS). The mission of this new organization is to promote the expansion of affordable, inclusive, accessible, high quality, and solidarity-based education for working people.

One of the ways WELLS will seek to fulfill its mission is to build a comprehensive website, for use by   both learners and facilitators in labour education. On this website you will find resources on a variety of labour education topics, related news and upcoming events, information about WELLS, and much more. Many of these sections are not yet populated at the time of launch, but additional content will be posted over the coming weeks and month and updated regularly.

The website will also feature the Compensation Café blog by WELLS Treasurer Janet Patterson, and the Labour Education blog by Chairperson Stephen von Sychowski and Secretary Joey Hartman.

You are invited to visit the new website at www.workereducation.ca and sign up for our email list for future news and updates. We’d also love to hear from you about what content or resources you would find useful or would recommend that we add.

Happy Labour Day from all of us at WELLS!

The post New Labour Education Resource for Learners and Facilitators appeared first on Vancouver and District Labour Council..

We can’t wait to see you at this year’s Labour Day Elsie Awards!

This event, hosted jointly by the Vancouver and District Labour Council and New Westminster and District Labour Council will recognize the crucial efforts of all those workers whose tireless dedication and labour has carried us through the pandemic. We will highlight a few of those outstanding union members in the categories of Awesome Union Activist, Dedicated Front Line Worker, Outstanding Shop Steward and Caring Community Activist, as well as hear from some special guests.

This virtual event will start at 11:00AM on Monday, September 6th. CLICK HERE to join.  

Thank you to Valu Co-Op for producing this event, to all of our guest speakers, and Elsie recipients. Special thanks to our event sponsors; BC General Employees’ Union, Community Savings Credit Union, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local B-778 Arts and Cultural Workers Union, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 500, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115, United Steelworkers District 3, Vancity Credit Union, and Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association.

Happy Labour Day!

The post The Elsies 2021 appeared first on Vancouver and District Labour Council..

The post Labour Day Message from Mayor Kennedy Stewart appeared first on Vancouver and District Labour Council..

We are joining with our friends at the New Westminster and District Labour Council on three upcoming Labour Council canvass opportunities. 

Canvass for Jim Hanson, Burnaby North-Seymour
Wednesday, September 8
Starting at 5:30pm
4340 Hastings St, Burnaby
RSVP to office@vdlc.ca

Canvass for Phil Klapwyk, Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge
Friday, September 17
Starting at 5:30pm
22386 119 Ave, Maple Ridge
RSVP to nwdlc@shawcable.com

Canvass for Anjali Appadurai, Vancouver Granville
Saturday, September 18
Starting at 5:30pm
5590 Victoria Dr., Vancouver
RSVP to office@vdlc.ca

The post Join a Labour Canvass! appeared first on Vancouver and District Labour Council..