Local 6166 News Release

1 JULY 2008 – USW International Convention Day 2 Marked by Resolution Debates and Constitutional Changes to Strenghten Strike and Defense Fund and Add a Woman of Steel as Vice President

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 Local 6166 sent an elected delegation of 4 representatives, plus the Local President, to the United Steelworkers International Convention held in Las Vegas June 30th to July 3rd 2008. Les Ellsworth was accompanied by Mike Pulak, Sheila Thompson, Murray Nychyporuk and Richard Sanche.

Some Highlights of convention:

• The convention unanimously passed a resolution calling for work training, retraining and career development. The resolution called for Steelworkers in Canada to build on its track record of supporting effective sectoral councils, bring unions, governments and community colleges together.
• It called for job training programs to have a strong federal role in defining training standards.
• Resolution on Current Collective Bargaining Struggles, which calls for the union to continue to provide Strategic Campaign Assistance, strike support, legal assistance and Steelworker solidarity
•  A resolution on Building Power at the Bargaining table focused on future strategies for collective bargaining.
•  Article IV, which was unanimously adopted to create the position of an International Vice President at Large. A Woman of Steel who is very qualified, says Leo Gerard, would fill that position.
• A constitutional amendment to up the International Strike and Defense Fund was debated and passed