Super union to meet in time for Labour Day
The founding convention for the union born of the merger of the Canadian Auto Workers union and Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union will take place in Toronto from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, 2013, a joint committee of the two unions announced Monday. The timing will allow new union convention delegates to participate behind their new union banner in Labour Day events in their own communities, a joint statement said.
The founding convention will be tasked with approving the constitution of the new union, the new name and logo, and will elect its first leaders, including three national officers, three regional directors and the first members of the inaugural national executive board. “Launching the new union on Labour Day weekend is fitting and symbolic,” said Peter Kennedy, CAW secretary treasurer and committee co-chair. “Marching behind our new banner will be an electrifying beginning for an organization that will inject new energy and hope into the labour movement.”
The first three national gatherings of the new union will be in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, said Gaetan Menard, CEP secretary-treasurer and committee co-chair.
“This is a vivid demonstration of the inclusive, nationwide character of our new organization. Our new union will have unprecedented scope and power, in every region of Canada and virtually every major industry,” Menard said.
The first meetings of the Canadian council would occur in Vancouver in 2014, and in Montreal in 2015. The issue of the new union’s name and logo will be determined on the basis of a “thorough” process overseen by the communications working group, including consultation with media and design experts, professional testing and with members of the two unions, the statement said. The merged union will represent more than 300,000 members in various sectors across the country. It will also reach out to retirees, the unemployed and workers in non-organized workplaces.