Hi everyone, just wanted to put out a few invitations for upcoming
meetings/events that you might want to get in on.

Executive Board Meeting – next Wednesday and Thursday, May 23rd and 24th being held at 100 Lesmill (Head Office) in
the theatre. All members are welcome to come and observe the Board meeting. Attendance is strictly voluntary, OPSEU does not pay for time off or any expenses for members to attend.  The meeting will begin at 9:30 AM on Wednesday, recess at 5 PM Wednesday and then resume at 9 AM on Thursday.

The second is the May meeting of the Greater Toronto Area Council on Wednesday May 30th, starting at 6 PM. Due to renovations at Wellesley, this meeting will be held at 25 Cecil Street (main intersection is Spadina and College). This month’s meeting will feature a panel speaking on Rank and File Solidarity….guest speakers include: Sam Gindin, is a Canadian academic and intellectual who served as research director of the Canadian region of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and later as chief economist and Assistant to the President of the Canadian Auto workers (CAW), Humberto Dasilva, Solidarity Pact and Organizer with CUPE, Pam Johnson, Humber Local 562 faculty member. RSVP to either tlmacmaster@yahoo.ca or opseu.gtac.action.list@gmail.com .

Lastly, just another reminder that International Youth Day applications are now being accepted, the application form can be found at: http://www.opseu.org/committees/youth/Final Call to IYD 2012_with signature.pdf . Do not miss this opportunity to network, learn, share experiences and have some fun. Please submit your completed application by e-mail or fax to the Equity Unit no later than midnight, June 15, 2012.

Region 5 would like to take this opportunity to thank those that have decided to “socialize” with us. If you haven’t taken the opportunity to follow Region 5′s activities on Social Media we would invite you to take the opportunity. Please distribute to your members as they may want to socialize as well.

You can join us on our Facebook group at:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/region5/
Visit our Facebook Fan Page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Opseu-Region-5-on-FB/205274872818751
Get Tweeted by following: @OPSEURegion5 on Twitter

Region 5 Boat Cruise Tickets

Region 5 Boat Cruise tickets have been selling fast, the first batch has
sold out, the second batch is now on sale. Tickets are $20 per person (age
restriction of 19 and over). The boat boards on June 16th at 7 PM and will
return at 11 PM. It was a great time last year and this year promises to be
the same. Get your tickets now before they sell out.

To make arrangements for your tickets contact either:

Rod Bemister:  rodbem@rogers.com

Krista Maracle: krista571@gmail.com

Nancy Pridham: nancypridham@rogers.com

International Youth Day

The Provincial Young Workers Committee invites you to submit your
application for the 2012 International Youth Day. We look forward to
meeting you!

This year’s event will take place on August 9th and 10th, the event’s theme
“Economic Equality: Our Voice, Our Future,” aims to empower young workers to
make informed choices about their futures in OPSEU, their workplace and the
broader labour movement. We hope participants will leave the event with
solid ideas that they can take back to their communities to make a
difference.

Event participants will be selected by the Provincial Young Workers
Committee with assistance from the Equity Unit. The selection process will
try to achieve a diverse group of attendees, representative of the young
workers within our membership. Confirmations will be issued to the selected
participants in late June.

Do not miss this opportunity to network, learn, share experiences and have
some fun. _Please submit your completed application_ by e-mail or fax to
the Equity Unit no later than midnight,  June 15, 2012.

Applications are available at:
http://www.opseu.org/committees/youth/Final Call to IYD 2012_with signature.pdf

South Asian Heritage Month and Region 5 Boat Cruise events update

Hi everyone, Region 5 attended the premiere screening of “We Are Wisconsin”
last night, it was an excellent documentary on the events that happened in
Wisconsin and labour’s reactions to it. If you do get the chance to see it,
we would recommend it, especially given some of the behaviour of the
government in Wisconsin around bargaining is slowly, but surely making it’s
way into Ontario.

Just wanted to update you on the South Asian Heritage month events and on
Region 5′s Boat Cruise event as we have new information on both of them.

There are now 3 South Asian Heritage month events that we have been made
aware of:

May Day and South Asian Heritage Month Celebration on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 starting at 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm. It is being held at Sagan Banquet Hall, 7180 Edwards Boulevard, Mississauga [East of Highway 10 Derry Road & Hurontario Street].

It will be featuring Recognition of South Asian activists and includes dinner and cultural entertainment.

Admission is free, but you do need to RSVP by May 7th to:  jgairey@ofl.ca, 416-347-9732 (cell) or gbhandal@clc-ctc.ca,
416-441-3710, x.225

This event is being sponsored by: Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), Canadian Labour Congress–Ontario (CLC), Brampton & Mississauga Labour Council, Coalition for Black Trade Unionists (CBTU-Ontario Chapter), Latin
American Trade Union Coalition (LATUC), Asian Canadian Labour Alliance (ACLA), UFCW Canada and PSAC Ontario.

“Our Stories, Our History” exhibition and gala dinner on Saturday, May 12th, this event will be featuring a South Asian History & Culture Exhibit, award presentation to eight South Asian Canadians for their contribution in social & economic justice work and cultural performances, as well as a buffet dinner.

The location is the Princess Banquet Hall, 3330 Pharmacy Avenue, Scarborough, Toronto starting at 5:30 PM. Admission is $60 per person. For tickets and information, please contact hasan@cassa.on.ca, 416 932 1359 Ext 12 or visit the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians website at www.cassa.on.ca

Celebrate Asian Activism and Unity – This event is being held on Saturday, May 26th from 1 PM to 4 PM at Head Office, 100 Lesmill Road (York Mills and Don Mills). Come join other activists as we celebrate with the Workers of
Colour Caucus….RSVP for this event by May 18th. For more information and to RSVP please email aclaontario@gmail.com .

Region 5 Boat Cruise – just a reminder about the Region 5 Boat Cruise on June 16th, tickets are apparantly going fast since our last email message on Monday. Approx. 50 to 60 tickets have been spoken for since that email.  Get yours before they run out. Since the Wellesley office is closed for renovations, we are not selling them from the regional office and the EBM’s are making arrangements to sell them and get them to you.

To arrange for them and to make arrangements to get them contact either:

Rod at rodbem@rogers.com
Krista at krista571@gmail.com
Nancy at nancypridham@rogers.com

Here is the update……..Rod is at the CAAT(S) Divisional meeting starting tomorrow and running to Sunday at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, he will have the tickets with him. If you make arrangements with him at rodbem@rogers.com (so that he knows to expect you), he can get your tickets to you on the spot. Tickets are $20 per person (those attending the
educational that weekend already receive one free ticket). Admittance to the event is restricted to age 19 and over due to the fact that alcohol is being served.

March 14th - Local 528 is holding an information picket for ServiceOntario at 393 University Avenue from 12 PM to 1 PM, their message is quite simple.  ServiceOntario needs to be kept public to ensure access to frontline services and to protect Ontarions security of personal information.

March 15th – OPSEU members at the Fred Victor Centre, 145 Queen Street East, are holding an information picket from 12 PM to 1 PM to urge Executive Director, Mark Aston to return to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair first contract.

OPSEU members at Fred Victor are currently negotiating with management to attain their first collective agreement. Recently the OPSEU bargaining team filed for conciliation and asked for an outside mediator for assistance. On March 5th, however, management made it clear that they were no longer interested in bargaining. They requested what is known as a “No Board report”. This request will be formally processed within a few days by a conciliation officer from the Ministry of Labour, meaning that a 17-day countdown to a lock-out of staff is imminent.

Please join our brothers and sisters, to help attain a fair contract.  If you cannot make the information picket you can still help by contacting Mark Aston, at 416-364-8228. Ext. 310, fax: 416-364-4728 or email: maston@fredvictor.org .  Tell him that his workers deserve a fair, negotiated Collective Agreement.

International Women’s Day was March 8th and there were a number of events leading up to and on that date.  On March 3rd a number of OPSEU members joined the rally and march to City Hall.  They also participated in their own flashmob to Ditch Drummond….the video of that event is at:  http://animoto.com/play/lX0IN41W2nUbC8jj0FGggw?utm_content=main_link .  On March 8th, Region 5′s Women’s Committee held a successful women’s day event at 31 Wellesley Street.  Approx. 50 participants enjoyed their meal as “Celebrity” servers:  Eddy Almeida, First Vice-President/Treasurer, Gord Longhi, Region 3 Board Member, and our own Rod Bemister, Region 5 Board Member, served up a storm while participants heard from guest speakers from I Am A Girl, Miss G Project and the White Ribbon Campaign.  Everyone seemed to have a great time, thank you to Sisters Edie Strachan for organizing the event and the Provincial Women’s Committee for helping to pull it off.

Region 5 EBM Rod Bemister would like you to note…..Gord’s spoon is clean!!!

We’d like to thank Pam Johnson for the video of the March 3rd International Women’s day rally/march and flashmob.  You can see the video at: http://animoto.com/play/lX0IN41W2nUbC8jj0FGggw?utm_content=main_link

The Provincial Workers of Colour Caucus would like to start a Region Five workers of colour caucus. They would like to invite Region 5 members to a regional caucus creation meeting at 31 Wellesley on Saturday March 31, 10:00am to 4:00pm.

A Region 5 caucus would be a great way to network and to strategize around equity within the Region.

Please contact Peter Thompson, Chair of the Workers of Colour Caucus at Peter.Thompson@mpac.ca for more information or to RSVP for this important meeting.

Hi everyone, hope everyone has had a good week and weekend. We spent Saturday…saving Ontario Place, it was a chilly and blustery day but approx. 50 people showed up to tell the Government to keep Ontario Place open and keep it public! Here are some of the upcoming events for the next couple of weeks in Region 5, if you haven’t come out…these will be some great events to get your feet wet….

Saturday, March 3rd – OPSEU has been asked to participate in this year’s International Women’s Day Rally and March to send the message that we need good public services and good jobs.

Meet: 10:30am. Saturday, March 3 @ OISE, 252 Bloor St W, 2nd floor to make a sign for the rally and march with your job and the service you provide.

Flashmob dance: If you would also like to participate in a flashmob dance during the march on the steps of Old City Hall, please come to the rehearsal:
Wednesday Feb 29, 7-8:30 at 31 Wellesley St. E (region 5 HQ).

IWD rally and march is a fantastic annual celebration of the struggle for women’s liberation. Thousands come out each year to rally and march. Join OPSEU this year.  For info: Pam Johnson (local 562) johnson.pam1@gmail.com
. For more information about International Women’s Day Toronto you can visit their site at: http://iwdtoronto.org/

Before the event, the Mary Spratt Breakfast is also being held at the Steelworker’s Hall, 25 Cecil Street. Mary Spratt was a feminist and activist with the Steelworkers for over 40 years. The cost for the breakfast is $10 with proceeds going to Local Women’s Shelters. This event is sponsored by the Toronto and York Region Labour Council. For more information and tickets call (416) 977-7274 ext. 230.

Monday, March 5th – 6 PM – 31 Wellesley Street – The Region 5 Women’s Committee are holding their monthly meeting, the topics this month are Intro to Roberts Rules of Order & Public Speaking to promote PWC Resolutions at Convention 2012 – fooled by Robert’s Rules, think they are over your head, they aren’t, see Robert’s Rules used in everyday language

Thursday, March 8th – 6 PM – International Women’s Day – 31 Wellesley Street – sisters and brothers are invited to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women. Guest speakers include Because I Am a Girl and they are currently awaiting confirmation on a speaker from the MissG Project. More information is available on the Sisters in Solidarity website. This event is open to Sisters and Brothers but we ask that you RSVP at the Sisters In Solidarity website at http://www.sistersinsolidarity.ca to register so that we can plan accordingly.

Wednesday, March 7th and Thursday, March 8th – OPSEU Head Office, 100 Lesmill Road – Executive Board Meeting – you’re invited to join us and observe your Executive Board at work. Members are allowed to come to the board meetings, however, this is on their own time and at their own expense. OPSEU does not provide letters for time off for members to attend, pay their time off, own time, or pay any expenses. Attendance is purely voluntary. If you have the free time to come out and observe the board meeting, we’d be more than happy to see you.

Here are some of the events scheduled for Region 5 in the next couple of weeks.

Thursday, February 23rd at 6 PM – 31 Wellesley Street – Greater Toronto Area Council (GTAC) is meeting to discuss constitutional amendments and resolutions for the 2012 OPSEU Convention. RSVP for the meeting by email at:  opseu.gtac.action.list@gmail.com .

Saturday, February 25th at 10 AM – Ontario Place – Main Entrance – Save Ontario Place Rally -

Guest speakers include OPSEU’s 1st VP/Treasurer, Eddy Almeida, Region 5 EBM, Rod Bemister, and NDP Critic for Tourism and Culture, Paul Miller.

At the rally, people will be given an opportunity to sign memory boards of their favourite Ontario Place memories or why they believe the park should remain open to the public. These memory boards will be forwarded to John Tory, appointed as the chair to the Ontario Place revitalization advisory committee.

Monday, March 5th at 6 PM – 31 Wellesley Street – Region 5 Women’s Committee meeting – Intro to Robert’s Rules of Order and Public Speaking to promote PWC Resolution for the 2012 OPSEU Convention – fooled by Robert’s Rules, confused by the terminology frequently used at convention, don’t be….see Robert’s rules simplified in everyday language and situations

Thursday, March 8th at 6 PM – 31 Wellesley Street – International Women’s Day event – celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women, hosted by the Region 5 Women’s Committee – Current list of speakers are from Because I Am A Girl and the MissG Project.  For more information about the event and to RSVP visit the Sisters In Solidarity Website