USW Canada: Human Rights Conference Call December 2009

The United Steelworkers is pleased to invite you to attend our Fourth National Human Rights Conference. This conference will focus on developing skills and strategies to advance human rights locally and globally.

Why send delegates to this conference?

Human rights are workers’ rights. Steelworkers have a proud tradition of bargaining equality and working for legislative change to protect and advance human rights. As we say in our anti-harassment policy, discrimination and harassment strike at the very heart of Steelworker solidarity.

Due to a weakened Canadian economy and the effects of globalization, workers are dealing with the impact of workplace change and job losses. We have seen a sharp increase in incidents of workplace harassment, racism and discrimination. This conference will be an opportunity to share strategies on making equality an essential part of the economic recovery. We must defend human rights in our changing workplaces. We need to identify how to reach out to our community, political and labour allies. We can ensure that labour laws and trade deals improve working conditions and human rights for workers, domestically and globally.

Plenary and workshop sessions will focus on:

Economic Equality Now! Recognizing the current economic recession’s barriers on equality seeking groups, and, planning next steps to remove them in an economic recovery.
Political Action and Lobbying: have lunch with an NDP ally and work toward combining our political voice and Steelworker action with the party that truly represents working people.
Education - Three Steelworker Moments

i) Creating solidarity from cultural diversity
ii) Defeating homophobia
iii) Ensuring the Duty to Accommodate

The details:

The National Conference will start with a joint National and District 6 Directors’ Reception on Tuesday, December 8th, at 6:30 p.m., and finish on Wednesday, December 9th by mid-afternoon.

Registration for the National Conference will be from 8.00 a.m. to 8.55 a.m. on Wednesday December 9th.

*For those delegates going to Pittsburgh for the 15th USW International Civil and Human Rights Conference, there will be a free return bus ride. The bus will leave for Pittsburgh right after the National Conference, returning to Toronto at 8.00 p.m. on the evening of December 13th. If you would like to take advantage of the bus ride, please fill in your details on the Transportation form.

Please find enclosed a registration form, travel and hotel accommodation information as well as a childcare and special needs request form.

There is no limit on the number of delegates a Local can send to the 4th National Human Rights Conference. Please advertise this conference in your Local newsletter, and with your women’s, human rights, and negotiating committees.

We want to ensure this conference is representative of the diversity of our Union. Simultaneous translation will be available throughout the conference. We also ask you to encourage the attendance of people with disabilities, people/workers of colour and aboriginal persons.

Thank you for supporting your delegates and helping to ensure this Fourth National Human Rights Conference is a success. If you have any questions, please contact the Kai Lai, Equality Rights Representative, at the Steelworkers National Office by telephone: 416-544-6004 or by e-mail to: klai@usw.ca

In solidarity,

Ken Neumann
National Director for Canada