Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Dear AMAPCEO Members,
This will be the last Member News before we go on a brief Summer hiatus. On behalf of AMAPCEO, I want to take this opportunity to wish Ramadan Mubarak to all those observing! In addition to Ramadan, June also marks Pride Month across North America. As usual in recent years, AMAPCEO will be participating in festivities here in Toronto. You can find out more about joining our Toronto Pride contingent and about local celebrations inside this newsletter.
The joy in this year’s Pride will be somewhat dampened by the recent shootings in Orlando, Florida, which targeted the LGBTQ community. The shooting is a tragic and stark reminder that homophobia and transphobia are all too present in our lives. AMAPCEO joins with other trade unions to offer our solidarity with the LGBTQ community here in Ontario and across North America, and to condemn this senseless and hateful violence. Our first duty is to fight hatred and discrimination in the workplace, but our moral obligation spans into society as a whole.
Our recent Special Delegates’ Conference on June 8 capped years of work to reform AMAPCEO’s governance structure, and I am heartened by the decision delegates took to overwhelmingly vote in favour of a series of constitutional and by-law amendments. The new model will help us build for a stronger future, and allow us to invest more in member and activist education and training.
Over the Summer and Fall, we will be sharing information with members about the new structure, and in particular, gearing up for elections of a new Board of Directors – elected for the first time by members, within Districts. Stay tuned for details!
It was great to see more than 150 Workplace Representatives on June 9 for our annual conference. I am excited about the upcoming rollout of our mentorship program this Fall, as well as the newly developed online tracking system for disputes.
Enjoy your summer and all the best,
Dave Bulmer, President