2017 Pride Parade, Sunday, August 6th

Hello CUPE Local 1936 members,

Please come down to downtown Vancouver and join other CUPE members as we celebrate Pride!

Please see the details as sent by the CUPE BC Secretary-Treasurer Trevor Davies:

CUPE BC will again be participating in the Pride Parade taking place on Sunday, August 6th  in Vancouver. We have a local company building us a float that will be towed by our truck that normally pulls our Community Events Trailer. Our float will be a very colourful carnival theme.

We would like to invite CUPE activists to join us in the parade to promote our Division and our determination to stop discrimination and harassment in our communities. CUPE BC President Paul Faoro and I will be participating in the parade.  We have special CUPE BC Pride t-shirts for members who join us.

In addition we have lots of promotional items to hand out along the parade route. Attracting crowds of more than 650,000, the Pride Parade is renowned on the international stage as one of the largest and most successful LGBTQ events in the world.

The CUPE BC contingent will be assembling on the East side of Thurlow between Barclay and Haro (closer to Haro). Participants should arrive at our float at 11:30 am. Participants are reminded to bring snacks, a container of city tap water, sunscreen and hats as they will be out in the sun for an extended period. Please also advise participants that there will be no room available to transport personal belongings in the truck or on the float, so please limit those items to what you are prepared to carry yourself.

I hope you will join us on Sunday, August 6th  for this amazing and important event in Vancouver.

 

Young Workers’ School at Camp Jubilee

Contact your executive if you are interested or know of someone that would be a good fit.

CUPE 1936: Sheryl Burns, Bernice Way or Lee Ann Lalli. 604 522-8445

Join young workers from around the province for a weekend of learning, connecting and outdoor activities.

Each year the BCFED hosts a Young Workers’ School at Camp Jubilee for workers aged 30 or under. The School is held in a retreat-like environment in the Indian Arm. Participants will attend courses to help them build skills related to the labour movement, political and community organizing, and leadership skills. In addition to coursework, attendees will be able to participate in a variety of outdoor activities and connect with other young workers from around the province.

This year’s School will be held September 15-17, 2017.

Participants will depart from Deep Cove Public Docks on Friday afternoon and return on Sunday afternoon. Please arrive at Deep Cove by 3:30 pm on Friday, September 15.

Parking is limited. Participants are encouraged to carpool. Bus shuttle service will be provided from the Lonsdale Quay to the Deep Cove dock. To register for the shuttle, please choose this option in your registration.

COME VOLUNTEER WITH PRIDE 2017!

Volunteers are an essential part of making the magic of Pride happen, and we are continually looking for volunteers to fill a number of positions throughout the Pride season. Be part of Pride this year, and volunteer at all of your favourite Pride events! From East Side Pride to the Annual Pride Parade, we need your help to build a more tolerant and inclusive Vancouver for all people!

Sign up to volunteer today!

Pride Volunteer Opportunities
Here are just a few examples of volunteer roles that we have available for the 2017 Pride season!

Legacy Awards, East Side Pride, Pride Sports Day and much more!

  • Event Set up Crew: Are you a morning person? Help us set up our amazing events!
  • Event Tear Down Crew: Do you prefer evenings? We always need help tearing down the event!
  • Event Volunteers: Help with volunteer registration, greeting, answering questions etc!
  • Office Volunteers: filing, data entry, We always need some extra help in our office during Pride season!

    Pride Parade!

    • Staging Area Marshal: Help entries park their floats before the parade!
    • Parade Route Marshal: Help floats along the Parade Route!
    • Flag Bearers/Pace Makers: Carry the Rainbow Flag proudly and help set the pace for Parade entries!
    • Greening Crew: Keep our Parade Green, help people get recycling to our recycling stations!
    • Dispersal Area Marshal: Help floats get their parade decorations tied down and ready to get back on the road!
    • Accessibility Services: Help seniors and people with differing abilities and needs enjoy the parade!
    • MC Assistant: Keep our 3 Parade MCs going on while they describe Parade entries for three hours (they’ll sure need water)!
    • Traffic Control: Keep people off the streets and on the sidewalks!

    Are you a Leader?
    The Vancouver Pride Society is looking for an awesome group of outgoing and passionate individuals to help staff make our events as magical as possible! The following roles are available: Team Leads, Captains, and Pride Patrol.

    For More information on leadership roles, please contact Alicea at our office 604-687-0955 or email her volunteercoordinator@vancouverpride.ca

Save the Date: Gender Equality

SPACE IS LIMITED Order tickets here

As a person who is keenly interested in your community, you will want to know about an exciting event coming to Vancouver. Please join us at GENDER EQUALITY NOW – a world class event for people such as yourself who care about human rights and what we can do to advance gender equality, both locally and globally.

This one day symposium will feature keynote speakers and an interactive panel with international and local expertise on gender equality. We will learn from their experiences and explore strategies for positive change.
Keynote speakers are:
· Bette Levy, Vice Chair of the NGO (non-governmental organization) Committee of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and
· Emilia Reyes, Gender-Responsive Public Policy Consultant to the U.N., and the governments of Finland, Denmark and Mexico

The Experts’ Panel discussion will highlight actions both needed and undertaken by government, business and civil society. Audience members will be invited to participate in the discussions followed by a Q & A session.
A workshop will follow, engaging participants in moving forward with collective action.
The Panelists are:
· Senator Mobina Jaffer, most recently the Chair of the Senate study on sexual exploitation of children; former Chair of the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace, and Security.
· Ajit Mehat, former Director General at Human Resources & Skills Development Canada, and CEO of OHSA at Health Canada. Ajit has spearheaded changes to policies to support vulnerable female populations.
· Maureen Fitzgerald, Gender Diversity Advisor, former policy/human rights lawyer and author. Maureen has consulted to many corporations on increasing gender diversity and equality. As a labour lawyer she fought for human rights and women’s equality.

GENDER EQUALITY NOW will enhance your awareness of the issues, provide practical tools for taking action within our communities, and highlight collective mobilization of advocacy on a large scale.

This session is being presented by the Western Canada Region of Soroptimist International a service club whose mandate is to improve the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment.

We hope you can join us!

CUPE attends ILO meeting on decent work for persons with disabilities

CUPE member and Local 1936 President Sheryl Burns represented CUPE at a meeting on decent work for persons with disabilities at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva this week. Sheryl is the co-chair of CUPE’s National Women’s Committee and the committee’s representative for persons with disabilities.

Read the full article on CUPE National’s website by clicking here.