Human Rights – Page 15

2014/03/05

International Women’s Day – March 8

by Hayley Millington

When I was asked to submit an article for International Women’s Day, I was excited at the prospect. Immediately, my mind started perusing numerous options. I used the opportunity to express myself in the vein I feel most comfortable: creatively.

I felt like a poem would best capture my passion over the day and the importance of having this day acknowledged and celebrated.

I
WE
SHE

Reflecting me
The women of History, Past and Present

The intertwined arms of the worldwide sisterhood
Nurturing and Protecting each nation
Sustaining all creeds and cultures

Women slain, laying bare-breasted
Suckling generations
Along grassy plains and concrete jungles

DIS-missed by governments’ regulations
BLIND-sided by society’s apathy
WAY-layed by war and disillusionment

Voices raised in earnest
Clamouring for the essentials of their irreverent sex
PEACE, SAFETY, SECURITY, INDEPENDENCE AND KNOWLEDGE

Straining against society’s reins
Boundaries blurred, distorted by others perceptions of gender
Survival seeping out of sisters pores, as veins bulge in anguish

And SHE, with spirit abound
Infused with the century old fights
Rises to pristine heights
Ready to lay claim to HER rights

HER stories written and retold, awaken movements
With limbs, once immobile
Now tactile and fluid

She laughs
Tears flow
Lips frown
And here SHE stands, Firmly Rooted

I
WE
SHE

Reflections of me
The women of herstory, PAST and Present

This article was written by Hayley Millington as part of our member journalism program. Hayley serves on the UNE’s human rights committee as the national equity representative for women.

2014/02/262014/02/26

Pink Shirt Day

By Steve Houston

“Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.”

– Martin Niemöller

There were times in my youth, when a kind of divine providence would step in – between me and a group of boys determined to bully me into feeling worthless.

For reasons I could not have explained at the time, there was always one boy from the approaching mob who would say “no”. In doing so, he would pluck me from the jaws of impending doom. There would be grumbling, obviously, and he might have to brush me aside for effect.

But in that miraculous moment, I would breathe again. Never looking back, I would walk away lost in what had just happened – and I would slowly begin to feel safe in the world again. The boy and I would never become friends, but knowing he existed gave me hope that things could get better.

Pink Shirt Day taps into that kind of divine providence. We wear pink on that day to say “no”. In so doing, we form a wall between LGBT youth and the bullies determined to make them feel worthless.

But while things are generally getting better in North America, it’s not the case everywhere else in the world.

Human Rights Watch has been urging Russian authorities to address widespread violence being perpetrated against LGBT people. In some of the more egregious cases, bullies have used dating sites to lure young gay men into meeting them, before forcing them to admit their homosexuality on camera and severely beating them. Not only is Russia turning a blind eye to this violence, their rhetoric is adding fuel to the fire.

It’s for this reason that, this year, the It Gets Better project asked its supporters to direct messages of love and support to the LGBT youth in Russia. The project was launched in 2010 by Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller in response to the overwhelming number of LGBT youth who choose suicide to end their pain. The movement has since gone global.

Instances like these make it all the more important for us to intervene – to protect vulnerable young people against those who wish to cause them harm.

On Wednesday, we wear pink to say we exist and, for a poignant moment, the world may feel like it’s a safer place to be – poignant moments like this flash mob of elementary school students at a Vancouver Giants hockey game.

Imagine that at Sochi…. If we all band together against violence, the future looks bright and pink.

This article was written by Steve Houston as part of our member journalism program. Steve Houston serves on the UNE’s human rights committee as the regional human rights representative for the B.C.-Yukon region.

2014/02/262018/06/18

Solving Homelessness

February 20 is Social Justice Day, and we thought it would be interesting to talk about one of the social justice issues facing many nations: the issue of homelessness. In Canada, 30,000 people are homeless on any given night; of these, over 2,800 remain unsheltered, sleeping in cars, in parks or out on the street.

Among those most at risk of homelessness are youth, aboriginal people and victims of domestic violence.

During last year’s National Conference on Ending Homelessness, Minister of State for Social Development Candice Bergen said the Harper government is “committed to working with our partners to address this complex issue.”

And that’s how homelessness is usually presented: a complex issue without an easy solution, without a 10-step plan. But could it be as simple as giving apartments to the homeless?

Well, that’s precisely what one of the most conservative states did – and they’re on track to end homelessness by 2015. In just eight years, Utah has managed to reduce homelessness by a whopping 78 %.

The program got its start in 2005, just a few years before the worst recession since the Great Depression. And yet, the program wasn’t torpedoed in the name of austerity. In fact, despite the additional challenges posed by the economic downturn, it got amazing results.

If your brain hasn’t kablooey’ed by now, you’re probably wondering how exactly this works.

“The model allows homeless citizens freedom in their use of the system. The homeless are given access to their own apartments, while the state provides job training and offer social services, including substance abuse programs, to help residents assimilate to a steady job and social life.”

To house the homeless, the state initially drew “579 [units] from existing rental inventory, 952 from refurbished structures, and 683 [from] new construction”. If the resident is able to land a steady job, 30% of their income goes back into the state coffers as rent. If they can’t, “they still get to keep their apartment”.

“It’s actually a cost-effective way of doing it,” explained Ana Kasparian, co-host of The Young Turks. “The annual cost of E.R. visits and jail stays for each homeless person is $16,670 per year. They found out that if you provide them housing, it’s actually much cheaper; the annual cost of providing an apartment and social worker for each homeless person is $11,000 per year.”

If you’re thinking this is only cost-effective because of the high cost of health care in the U.S., you’d be wrong.

“The Wellesley Institute’s Blueprint to End Homelessness (2007), Shapcott argues that the average monthly costs of housing people while they are homeless are $1,932 for a shelter bed, $4,333 for provincial jail, or $10,900 for a hospital bed. Compare this with the average monthly cost to the City of Toronto for rent supplements ($701) or social housing ($199.92).”

Turns out solving homelessness isn’t as complex an issue as we keep being told by politicians. Investing in homelessness prevention and housing would not only cost taxpayers less, it would be the moral and ethical thing to do.

2014/02/252014/05/08

Congratulations Local 50773

There’s some exciting news coming from the Museum of Human Rights: our members there have just ratified their first collective agreement.

“It’s been a lengthy process,” admits Regional Vice-President Martin Kaminski. “But it’s also been a very positive one.”

Close to 100% of members voted in favour of ratifying the new collective agreement, said Kaminski.

“We got really great comments from members,” explained Local President Stephen Carney, who was part of the bargaining team. “People are happy with the ultimate result.”

From the anonymous comment cards received, it’s clear that the members really appreciate the bargaining team’s hard work:

“Sounds good to me. Thanks to [the bargaining team]. I trust that they did their best and I’m happy with it,” wrote one member.

“Kudos to the bargaining team for a fair agreement!” wrote another.

For his part, Carney said he feels fortunate to have been part of the museum’s first collective agreement.

“It’s not something I had been involved in before,” admitted Carney. “I’ve worked in a union environment, but I had never been involved at the Local level or in the bargaining process.”

“It can be a really engaging experience. You end up becoming really close with your teammates.”

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights will officially open in September 2014.

Congratulations to the bargaining team: Stephen Carney, local president; Travis Tomchuk, local vice-president; Isabelle Masson, human rights officer; Tracy Thor, PSAC regional representative; and Stephen Bedingfield, negociator.

2014/01/30

What happened to Africville?

A piece by Céline Ahodekon

I knew nothing about the black community of Africville until Ben René, the UNE communication officer, recently asked me to write an article on Africville. I was shocked to find out that not long ago, some very basic human rights were denied to the people of that community.

Now, close your eyes with me and imagine for a moment: the house you are living in right now is being bulldozed because someone decided that your living conditions do not meet their standards. And, to add insult to injury, your land is taken away from you.

How do you feel?

That’s exactly what happened to Halifax’s oldest and largest black community of Africville, which was established hundreds years ago.

Even though, the black community of Africville was left to suffer with no basic services, such as clean water, paved roads, and electricity, they managed well on their own – that is, until the Halifax city council declared the community a slum and dump trucks roared into Africville to evict its residents. The people of Africville were quite literally moved to their new homes on the back of dump trucks.¹

One man returned home from the hospital only to find out there was no home for him to return to.²

The community was destroyed. Ironically, some residents weren’t forcedly moved to a better area, but into “derelict housing or rented public housing.”³ Why was that? Shouldn’t governments always try to change things for the better?

In this case, the people of Africville went from bad living conditions to worse ones….

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter what people think or say; home is where your memories are. Africville was home for these people. Yes, it might have been one of the worst slums in the country, but was still home to its residents.

As one former resident put it: “We lost more than a roof over our heads: the black community of Africville lost their happiness, their culture, their identity and, therefore, their soul”.⁴

“Africville didn’t have an organization to fight for Africville people,” said one the participants in a documentary.⁵ Again, brothers and sisters, this episode reminds me that to win a fight, we need to stand together to show that injury to one is injury to all.

Together we are strong!

What was the real reason behind the destruction of the black community of Africville in Halifax, NS and the relocation of its residents? We will never know for sure. However, many things have changed since then; the former site of Africville is now a park. The black community that was evicted, however, is still grappling with the impact of the homes they lost.

Brothers and Sisters, February is Black History Month; let’s take the opportunity to read and learn more about the history of black people in Canada, their stories and their achievements.

Céline Ahodekon is the Union of National Employees’ national equity representative for racially-visible people. She is also a chief steward for Local 20278, which represents members at Fort Langley National Historic Park and the Vancouver Parks office, in British Columbia.

At Fort Langley, Ahodekon says she’s often asked if she’s a historian, to which she laughs and replies, “I am a business woman, I got my degree in business administration with concentration in marketing-sales from Laval University. I can sell anything I believe in and trust.”

“I believe in protecting and presenting Canada’s rich and beautiful natural and cultural heritage for Canadians’ enjoyment, today and for the years to come.”

If you’d like to find out more about Africville, Sister Ahodekon suggests watching “Remember Africville,” a 35-minute film by Shelagh Mackenzie, which can be viewed on the National Film Board’s website. We also encourage you to consult the links in the footnotes.

[1] The Canadian Encyclopedia, Africville.
[2] Idem
[3] Idem
[4] CBC Digital Archives, Officials hail Africville relocation.
[5] Idem

2014/01/22

Human Rights Award – update!

Last October, during the human rights conference, Joyce Hendy was awarded our annual human rights award. We recently caught up with Hendy to find out more about her legacy in our union and to pick her brain about human rights.

Before 1990, the human rights committee (or, as it was once called, the equal opportunities committee) was made up of appointed representatives, as opposed to elected ones.

“They were appointed by their respective [regional] vice-presidents or the national president,” explained Hendy. “One of the drawbacks of this status is that they didn’t have an official voice on the National Executive – they reported through the national president.”

As part of her work leading up to the 1990 convention, Hendy chaired a committee that saw the Vice-President of Human Rights become an elected position – and one that had a voice on the National Executive.

Hendy’s committee also led our component to adopt a clear and inclusive family policy.

“[The Union of National Employees] was one of the first components to have such a policy,” said Hendy. “And it’s still a leader in terms of what family cares costs it covers for activists.”

The policy makes it easier for activists with family care issues to participate equitable in their union, she said.

How far we’ve come

A lot has changed, on the human rights front, since Hendy first became an activist at the national level in 1987.

“There were no equity committees,” explained Hendy. “Equal pay had not been achieved, gay rights weren’t on the radar, First Nations issues were not discussed, and no one even considered that mental health issues were human rights issues – or ones that unions should take on.”

“The union I first became a part of in the 80s is not the same union that we know today,” she added. “The most significant change has been the inclusion and participation of the various equity groups.”

“We are a much better union as a result of the inclusion of all our members in the decision-making process.”

Looking towards the future.

Like most of us, Hendy recognizes that the union has some tough challenges. She pointed to an increasingly global marketplace and an (equally) increasing anti-union atmosphere as two issues that will make it difficult for unions to hold on to the gains they’ve made.

“The challenge will be to educate our new, younger members as to what has been won over the years and the reasons for continuing to push the agenda forward,” said Hendy.

“Many of these new workers do not understand how hard it was to win these rights.”

2014/01/16

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Although it’s primarily an American holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day gives us an opportunity to honour one of the most important voices of the 20^th century and a true friend to the labour movement.

As labour activists, you might be surprised to find out how passionate Dr. King was about labour unions. In fact, Dr. King strongly believed that the civil rights movement could help the labour movement – and vice-versa.

Dr. King contended that the forces opposed to organized labour were the same forces that opposed any semblance of equality for African Americans.

“The duality of interests of labour and Negroes makes any crisis which lacerates you, a crisis from which we bleed,” said Dr. King in his 1961 address to the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

“Negroes in the United States read the history of labour and find it mirrors their own experience. We are confronted by powerful forces telling us to rely on the goodwill and understanding of those who profit by exploiting us. They deplore our discontent, they resent our will to organize, so that we may guarantee that humanity will prevail and equality will be exacted”

Dr. King didn’t mince words. Labour and the equity-seeking African American community shared a common threat: the ultra-right wing. According to him, they threatened everything that was decent and fair about American life.

And among these right-wing threats, of course, was right-to-work legislation (yea, it’s been around that long!).

“We must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work’. It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights,” said Dr. King. “Its purpose is to destroy labour unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone.”

But while union were trying hard to eliminate discrimination, they didn’t all have their hands clean. Certain unions were quite simply denying membership to African Americans; other black union members were denied opportunities for training and education.

“Labour, which made impatience for long-delayed justice for itself a vital motive force, cannot lack understanding of the Negro’s impatience,” implored Dr. King. “There is a maxim in the law – justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

King believed that the labour movement occupied a special position with respect to the civil rights movement – and that was all the more reason to eliminate discrimination within its membership.

“Although organized labour has taken actions to eliminate discrimination within its ranks, the standard expected of you is higher than the standard in the general community.”

“Your conduct should and can set an example for others, as you have done in other crusades for social justice.”

2013/12/05

Stop the violence

Each year on December 6, Canadians pause to remember the 14 women who died on that day in 1989. It’s also a time to reflect on gender-based violence and the steps we can take to eradicate it.

In 2012, a survey conducted by the Canadian Women’s Foundation revealed that 67% of Canadians know at least one woman who has been a victim of a physical or sexual assault. Even today, hundreds of women are turned away each night because many shelters are at full capacity.

For Regional Vice-President Jennifer Chieh Ho, the issue of violence against women compelled her to take action in her local community. For the third year in a row, a candlelight vigil will be held in Surrey, British Columbia.

“We asked guests to bring warm clothing to donate to the local women’s shelter,” explained Chieh Ho. “We’re also hoping people will make monetary donations.”

Supporting women’s shelters is something the Union of National Employees has been passionate about for a very long time. In British Columbia, these shelters are all the more crucial for women who are economically-disadvantaged.

“The provincial income assistance rate is absurd,” declared Hilla Kerner, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver Rape Relief & Women’s Shelter in a recent press release. “Women can’t leave abusive husbands because what they will get from welfare is not enough to provide shelter and food for their children. Women resort to prostitution because what they get from welfare is far from being enough for even their most minimal needs. This government is directly responsible for women’s poverty and therefore for women’s vulnerability to violent men.”

The British Columbia Federation of Labour will also be hosting a candlelight vigil in Vancouver; the PSAC Victoria Regional Women’s Committee is sponsoring one in Victoria.

Those who will attend the Surrey vigil will be treated to quite a lineup of politicians, labour leaders and other speakers – among them, PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President Bob Jackson and UNE National Vice-President for Human Rights Karoline Klüg.

While the events in Vancouver and Victoria are sure to dominate local media, Chieh Ho felt it was important to have an event in her city.

“I’ve been living in Surrey for 22 years,” said the UNE activist. “I wanted to have an event here.”

She’s also keeping her fingers crossed for a large turnout at this year’s candlelight vigil.

“In the past, we’ve only had 70 to 80 people show up – and they more mostly union activists,” said the Surrey resident. “This year, the message has gone out to a lot of other networks.”

“We have more experience now; hopefully we’ll have more people in attendance.”

2013/12/02

Let's talk about mental health

December 3 is the International Day of Disabled Persons. Since its proclamation in 1992, the Day has aimed to “promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.”

The United Nations adds that it’s also an opportunity to “increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.”

In recent years, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Union of National Employees have worked to de-stigmatize issues around mental health and equip our activists with tools to assist members with mental health issues. In fact, mental health was at the forefront of the PSAC’s 2013 National Health and Safety Conference, which bore the tagline “mental health in the workplace”.

While the union is trying to address this issue, I see no effort on the part of Treasury Board to equip managers and human resources specialists with similar tools. Too often, when faced with an employee coping with mental health issues, the employer predictably reacts by assessing their fitness to work – hoping, of course, that the employee will be found unfit to work. The employer is quite simply saying: if the employee is no longer in the workplace, then the problem is no longer their concern.

This attitude must change.

Persons with disabilities should have the right to work in an environment that accepts and recognizes them as equal. According to the United Nations:

“The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes in Article 27 the rights of persons with disabilities to work and employment on an equal basis with others. It stresses the right of persons with disabilities to earn a living from freely chosen work, and to work in an environment that is both accessible and accepting.”

Isn’t it time for Treasury Board to provide the right tools to managers and human resources specialists? It’s what’s needed to build work environments that are both accessible and accepting.

This article was written by Geoff Ryan, the Union of National Employees’ national equity representative for disabled persons, as part of our union’s member journalism program. If you’d like to find out more, click here – to pitch a story or for any questions, please send an email to communications@une-sen.org.

2013/11/19

Trans Day of Remembrance – Nov. 20

What is Trans Day of Remembrance? This is the day that we, in the trans community, set aside to remember and honour our dead: specifically, our dead brothers and sisters that have been killed because they are trans – killed because they dared to be themselves.

Killed because of intolerance and bigotry.

Killed because they did not fit into someone’s viewpoint of what makes a man or a woman.

They were of different races, of different religions, of different ages and from different countries around the world – and they died horrible deaths… beaten to death, shot, stabbed, beheaded, run over by cars….

We remember and honour them because it’s important to honour their bravery and conviction to live their lives honestly and to be the person they were meant to be.

And it’s important to remember them because, there but for happenstance, go we all.

In 2013 alone, there were a total of 238 cases where trans people were killed, according to Transgender Europe.

As trans people, we all know that this could happen to us – and we know that it’s up to us to continue to fight for the rights and protections that will make all of us safe. But it’s up to all of us to stand up and say, “No! This is not right!”

So please, on November 20, remember my fallen brothers and sisters. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Attend a Trans Day of Remembrance ceremony in your community, if you can. Above all, please support the efforts of all of those who are trying to advance the cause of getting trans rights enshrined in law, in all the countries around the world.

Let all of us help stop the killing.

To see a list of those persons being memorialized this year, go to www.transgenderdor.org

Kate Hart is the Union of National Employees’ national equity representative for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. This article was written as part of our union’s member journalism program. If you’d like to find out more, click here – to pitch a story or for any questions, please send an email to communications@une-sen.org.