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Labour Education Improves Every LifeHow important is your CLC winter school?Would you believe me if I say that it will help improve the lives of millions? Or if I say that it will help change the views of a whole society as to what people take for granted twenty years from now? These answers are accurate. The accomplishments of the labour movement in Canada over the last 50 years have raised the quality of life of the vast majority of Canadians to a point envied by many nations. In the beginning, each and every one of these accomplishments started out as a struggle for union activists and their allies. But these were activists that were trained to win. You will acquire some of that knowledge and many of these skills during your week at winter school. In 2006, the Canadian Labour Congress turned 50 years old. Over these five decades, activists from all unions can take credit for bringing many benefits to Canadian families. Many were first bargained in collective agreements - one workplace at a time. These are benefits that have defined our way of life. The Canada Pension Plan, overtime and holiday pay, student loans, universal public Medicare, laws promoting
health and safety, the right to refuse dangerous work, protection against harassment and more
recently maternity and parental leaves are all examples where labour activism lead the way. And last year, Many of these accomplishments are taken for granted, and many are still under attack. Yet, we want to expand the list even more. Canadian working families need pay equity, a national pharmacare program, quality child care, and anti-scab legislation to name a few. Your co-workers, your union and your community rely on you and the skills you will learn at ourWinter Schools. Union activists help make their voices heard, their presence felt and their wishes acted upon when decisions that affect our lives are being made. Labour education is not neutral. You will gain knowledge and skills to help you make a positive difference in our society and to improve the world we live in. It’s people like you that make the real contribution to changing our society for the betterment of all. Let’s continue the progress of the last fifty years.
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