Labour unity is the order of the day at the OFL convention where 1,000 delegates unanimously chose their new leadership team today.

High-profile and longtime labour leader Sid Ryan is the president-elect, replacing Wayne Samuelson who, after 12 years in office, decided not to seek re-election.

“This is a talented and dedicated team,” says Samuelson. “Once these three announced their candidacy, it didn’t take long for a consensus to develop that they were the right people for the job.”

Steelworker Marie Kelley was acclaimed to the position of secretary-treasurer and will take over from Irene Harris, who has also been in OFL office for 12 years, the first

eight as executive vice-president.

Re-elected to the executive vice-president’s office is Terry Downey, who was an OPSEU executive board member and regional vice-president before her first OFL term in 2005.

Delegates clearly welcomed the leadership team’s message of unity and commitment to building a new economy that serves the needs of working people, their families, and communities.

In his acceptance speech, Ryan cited his labour background in Canada with the Steelworkers union and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The president of CUPE Ontario for the past 17 years reserved special mention for the guidance he received from his father, who told him: “Have the courage of your convictions to stand up and be counted. And those words ring in my ears.”

Leading off nominations for Ryan was Pearl Sawyer, executive vice-president for the province-wide UFCW Local 1000A.

Ryan is the one to lead the OFL at this time, Sawyer told delegates.

“Sid has shown himself to be a formidable voice for working people and their families,” she said.

“He is committed to labour unity. He’s engaged in the search for a progressive strategy to build the new economy and social solidarity. And I believe he is bringing to Ontario labour what the movement needs at this time to make Ontario work.”

Delegates were being asked to support a resolution to put a stop to internal conflicts, and they did. It directs the OFL and leaders of affiliated unions to sign a pledge to organize the unorganized, not to take members from other unions.

Steelworker Don Fraser is president of Hamilton and District Labour Council, which submitted the resolution.

“Union members want their dues to go to organizing the 70 per cent of workers who don’t have unions, servicing existing members, and mounting political fightback,” said Fraser.

Resolution 69

Submitted by Hamilton and District Labour Council

WHEREAS union density is around 30%; and

WHEREAS there are millions of workers who want

and need to be organized;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the

Federation and the leaders of all affiliates sign a declaration

agreeing not to raid or liberate other legitimate unionized

workers and to concentrate their efforts on organizing the

unorganized.

De Angelis received the award for her initiative, enthusiasm and “never-take-no-for-an-answer” attitude, said OFL executive vice-president Terry Downey.

De Angelis was the OFL’s youth vice-president from 1997 to 2003. She has also been the UFCW’s youth coordinator.

As job losses continue to mount, and private sector workers struggle with unemployment and lost pensions, corporate leaders “are setting their sights” on the public sector.

“If they can silence us, they will have removed the first and the last lines of defense that many of our members and our community allies have,” said Byers.

She talked about the need to change the employment insurance program and pensions. Workers and communities across the country are suffering, and things are getting tougher for equity groups.

“The gains of women, workers of colour, Aboriginal workers, and workers with disabilities over the past 20 years are being wiped out by the effects of corporate greed,” she said.

Business and government leaders are blaming the crisis for fallout that’s actually caused by their own actions, and using it as an excuse for more anti-worker action, he said.

“In communities across the province, we are seeing the carnage of free trade agreements, tax cuts, privatization, and constant deregulation,” he said.

“And how does the government respond? They respond by saying we need more of what’s caused the problem in the first place.”

The labour movement has the ability and the obligation to make the economy and governments serve the needs of working people, their families, and communities, he said. He went on to say that to be as effective as possible, the labour movement has to restructure itself.

As powers have devolved from the federal government to the provinces and local governments, union membership has become more concentrated at the provincial and local levels.

“Our movement is at an incredibly important crossroad,” said Samuelson, who is stepping down after 12 years in office. “We have a structure that doesn’t recognize the changes that have taken place in this movement.

“We need to restructure this labour movement so we can be a force on the ground.”

The labour movement has led the way on critical issues that affect people’s daily lives, and must continue to do so, he said.

Key challenges include improving pensions and protecting public services, according to Samuelson.

Sixty-two per cent of people have no workplace pension plan, and many of those who do are faced with reduced pensions because their employer-controlled plans are underfunded.

Ontario’s Liberal government is threatening to attack jobs and earnings of public sector workers when it should attack its own revenue problem by doing something about corporate tax cuts and “the $5 billion they’re about to shift over to corporations in their HST scheme,” said Samuelson.

“This is a game of fear and threats,” he said, and Ontarians have to remember “the problems aren’t caused by providing health care, education, retraining and support, or long-term care for our grandparents.”

Samuelson said he’s leaving the OFL presidency with the firm belief that the OFL will continue to grow and that the affiliated unions and their members have the strength and solidarity to build on strong foundations.

“We will elect a strong team of leadership for the coming years,” he said. “We’ll collectively set a path for the years ahead.”

Spirit and strength were evident during the OFL’s Drive to Work campaign which held over 100 events in 53 communities in June.

As hard as it has been to hear the stories of job loss and devastation in communities across Ontario, Samuelson says he was heartened by the commitment of labour councils and activists who have helped people get their stories out.

The “bosses” who have so much money “can never match the passion of each and every one of you,” he said. “And the other thing we have that they’ll never have, is that there will always be a helluva lot more of us than there are of them.”