Unit 1 Bargaining Proposals Meeting – Thursday, August 5th

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Come out to the Unit 1 Bargaining Priorities Meeting – Thursday, August 4th at 5 pm on Zoom. There will be a vote on the proposals going into bargaining in September. You will be able to talk about our proposals, offer feedback, and discuss how your voice can be heard at the table. Click here to register – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUsde2srT4pE9wkWp8m_MahjsStv8br5q3Z
The meeting is open to all members in good standing of CUPE 4207. If you are not a member in good standing, or are uncertain, please email us at info@cupe4207.org!

Making the Move from Ally to Accomplice – June 22nd!

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Public Library (or online live stream) for the first talk in our monthly series, Titillating Talks: Everything you were told was not polite to talk about!

Wednesday, June 22nd at 7:30pm, in-person at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library & online

Making the Move from Ally to Accomplice: Trans Inclusion

Featuring:

Celeste Turner (they/them) – LGBTQ2+ Support Coordinator, Niagara Falls Community Health Centre

Stephanie Vail (she/her) – Community Health Worker from Rainbow Niagara 2SLGBTQ+ Services at Quest Community Health Centre

Doors for the in-person option open at 7pm at the NOTL Public Library (10 Anderson Ln, Niagara-on-the-Lake).

Can’t make it in person? Join us online! The event will be livestreamed NOTL Public Library Facebook Page & NOTL Public Library Youtube Channel. Online comments will be monitored so virtual guests have the opportunity to have their questions answered by presenters.

Accessibility & Questions

  • If you have questions or need any additional support to attend or watch this event, please email dkrause@notlpl.org.

  • This event will be video recorded, and live transcription/ subtitles will be available.

  • If you want to attend in-person, and need to take transit, find information about NRT OnDemand transit here.

Titillating Talks is part of the Niagara Skills Network Community Toolbox Series, and is organized by the following community partners:

Aging & Attention Study Looking for Participants

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Aging & the Control of Attention

Unit 1 member, Emily Davis is a Ph.D. student in the psychology department and is working on some interesting research!

Working with Principle Investigator, Dr. Karen Campbell, Emily is running an in-person experiment in the Neurocognitive Aging Lab here on campus. They are looking to recruit students aged 18-28 for a two-hour session. During the session, students are asked to complete some computer tasks that measure their ability to control their attention.

Class credit (if an option) or a $10 honorarium is offered as compensation for your time.

If you are interested, please contact: Ron 905-688-5550 ext 4996 or email brockcnalab@brocku.ca with “ATTENTION STUDY” in the subject line.

Summer School for Activists Workshop Series

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Coming in summer 2022! The goal of this summer school workshop series is for community members in Niagara to come together to co-facilitate and learn together. At no cost community members can participate in as many as they want, drop into a single session, or volunteer to facilitate a workshop on a skill they want to share.

Email Kate at k8sp@proton.me to chat about getting involved, to share an idea, or with any questions!

Workshop Ideas Form PDF: workshop idea form

About the series PDF: Get involved in summer school for activists!

Upcoming Committee Meetings

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Bylaw Committee Meeting

Tues, June 21st 2022 at 5:30pm

We will be holding a hybrid  Bylaw Committee meeting to begin the process of working through the bylaws.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0td-CgrzMtHdzFbjrg02bXNxxLNvEvySkn

 

Mobilizing and Organizing Committee Meeting

Wed, June 22nd 2022 at 4pm

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwod-mtpzkiHNd3LxupkR7xhTjpG5OPf-Wb

 

Environmental Justice Committee Meeting

Thurs, Jun 23rd, 2022 at 5:30pm

The Environmental Justice Committee will be having its first meeting of the term. We will be electing co-chairs and a member-at-large, and engage in a strategic planning session to identify the goals that we want to accomplish for the term. Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUodeCgqjMjHtGrdVUE45X7KD9khJV-mtE0

 

After registering, you receive a confirmation email with additional information about the meeting you’re registering for.

 

 

Abortion is Healthcare

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Message from Tracy Kennedy – Health, Safety, & Wellness Officer 

Good Morning 4207 Members,

I am sharing the media release that the CUPE Ontario Executive Committee released yesterday.

As Co-Chair of the CUPE Ontario Women’s Committee and CUPE 4207 Health, Safety, & Wellness Officer, I want you to know that there have been discussions about the implications of what is going on in the United States with Roe vs Wade. Indeed, this information leak has created quite the ripple & wave across North America.

We support women’s right to choose, and if they choose to do so, they have the right to safe abortions. The Ford government has demonstrated their standpoint about women, their rights, and their bodies – it’s problematic.

We can’t continue to let this happen to women’s bodies and to women’s rights….We aren’t going to let this happen…

Call upon the Ford government to put healthcare funding and resources for women where it’s needed, rather than support patriarchal laws that disempower women and put them at risk of duress, harm and death. Let’s call upon the Ontario government to do better – and to lead by example.

Tracy

CUPE Ontario Media Release:

“Abortion is healthcare”: CUPE Ontario’s statement on Roe v. Wade and the fight for reproductive justice everywhere

In the face of news out of the United States that Roe v. Wade could be overturned, CUPE Ontario sends a message of solidarity to outraged and frightened allies south of the border.

We know that such a decision will unnecessarily endanger the lives of so many, with one recent analysis warning that a total abortion ban in the United States would increase pregnancy-related deaths by 21%. We know that would disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, racialized, and low-income people most of all. We know that this is the time to loudly say that “abortion is healthcare” and that “you can’t ban abortion – you can only ban safe abortion.”

And we also know that our solidarity is rooted in a shared struggle – the struggle over reproductive justice that crosses borders, however different we might think things are here.

Though abortion has been legal in Canada since 1988, it has never been equally nor fully accessible. Most abortion services are concentrated in cities, with Ontario having only four rural clinics offering these critical services. Some clinics or hospitals have limits on how far into the pregnancy they’ll perform an abortion at, forcing people, especially in rural areas, to secure lengthy and costly transportation to urban clinics.

In some parts of the country, you have to pay out of pocket for an abortion, a violation of the Canada Health Act. And in others, due to stigma and underfunding, abortion pills will not be prescribed.

Today, it’s not lost on us that in this provincial election, now in full swing, the Ford Conservatives include eight anti-choice candidates.

Instead of assuring us that Ontario won’t follow the lead of provinces which do not fund abortions in private clinics, forcing many between impossible choices, the Ford Conservatives have avoided important questions.

Instead of committing to ensuring access to safe abortions in rural regions, Doug Ford has said: “We’re not changing anything in Ontario. We’re keeping it exactly the same.”

The status quo isn’t good enough. It’s not good enough because full access to a safe abortion has never been the reality here in Canada. And it’s not good enough because, with the rapid erosion of reproductive rights in the United States, standing still on either side of the border could mean losing ground.