WU 30 Forum

Approximately 40 people attended the Young Workers Forum on Wednesday night.  Executive VP Terry Downey opened the forum by congratulating newly-elected Youth VP Matt Dumas from COPE and alternate Krista Maracle (OPSEU).  Terry then turned the chair over to CLC Youth rep Erin Harrison.  The first speaker on the panel was NDP MP for Churchill Niki Ashton.  Niki is the NDP Critic for Youth and Post-Secondary Education, among other things. She spoke about the consultations the NDP has been doing around the recession, and how young people have borne the brunt of the economic down-turn.

Effie Vlachoyannacos, from the Youth Union Movement, spoke about the Good Jobs coalition and how over 40 organizations are working together to build an agenda to work for good jobs for everyone. The youth workshop at their recent conference had over 200 participants, discussing how young people want and need to be in leadership roles as we try to build a culture of validating sustainability and green jobs.

David Scrivener, Outreach Organizer for the CFS, spoke about the importance of unions and students working together to resist the pressure on governments to axe social programs.  The Liberal government has allowed tuition fees to rise 4 – 8% while student aide programs are cut and youth unemployment is at a record high.

Patricia Chong, from the Asian Canadian Labour Alliance, closed out the panel by engaging participants in a quiz that helped look at the effects of the recession through an equity lens.  Her solutions included a renewed push for Employment Equity and making more women and young people eligible for EI.

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