Presented by Ken Georgetti on Monday, 9 May 2011

(Check against delivery)

Sisters and Brothers!

On behalf of the CLC and our 3.2 million affiliated members – welcome to my home city of Vancouver.

And welcome to the Convention where our labour movement democratically decides its future.

And Sisters and Brothers – I have to say that after last week’s election results, the future is bright orange for the working people of Canada!

When Official Opposition Leader Jack Layton comes here to address you in person, he won’t need to fly here – because right now he’s still walking on air!

Can you believe it? 102 NDP MPs in Ottawa!

And 39% of the members of that new NDP caucus are women.

The NDP caucus also has the highest number of MPs under 30 years of age as well!

If that isn’t the best present for the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the NDP by the Canadian Labour Congress and the CCF, I don’t know what is!

But despite those excellent results, Prime Minister Stephen Harper still won a majority – and we know he will govern with a heavy hand.

But in adversity there is also opportunity – the NDP with its greatly strengthened base certainly can articulate an alternative vision of Canada.

One that articulates the actual needs of the majority – the 60 per cent of Canadians who did not vote for a Conservative government.

This election campaign was unique – because the Canadian Labour Congress and our affiliated unions made the issues of working people matter to all parties.

When, during an election campaign, did every political party have to address the CLC’s plan to expand Canada Pension Plan to help all workers retire with dignity – and not in poverty?

When, during an election, did politicians have to talk about job creation and job protection?

It’s been a long time...

Sisters and Brothers – we have changed the national agenda with our own agenda for change!

Finally, we are getting all parties to stop ignoring the needs of working people – that’s progress all by itself.

And we are also making a real difference in the lives of workers with our effective political action strategy at every level – federal, provincial or municipal.

We’re forcing change through persistent lobbying of Members of Parliament and all governments for better legislation for the people we represent.

We’re successfully telling our story with this year’s Convention theme.

We’re strongly representing working people with Good Jobs.

As a result, workers have Better Lives.

Why? Because Unions Make A Difference!

But there is a very dark cloud on our horizon that will dim the bright orange glow we’re enjoying today – the Conservative majority government.

We must all be clear to the dangers ahead – the Conservatives are the most right-wing party ever to obtain a majority in Canada’s Parliament.

They are led by the former head of the far-right wing National Citizens Coalition – Stephen Harper.

The Conservative agenda would slash public services to pay for even more corporate tax cuts – tax cuts that only create windfall profits – not jobs.

We can’t let that happen.

Now the Conservatives have control in the House of Commons for four years – but they can’t control the country if they disregard the people.

And our Canadian labour movement must inform our members on the danger this Tory majority presents to their personal interests.

We must mobilize like never before.

And we must organize our members to defend social programs like Medicare that have benefited everyone in our great country!

You know, we’ve shown with our Canada Pension Plan campaign that when we go on the offensive with labour’s issues, it is our opponents who are forced to react and who can’t control the debate.

This Convention is where we also start a new mission – a mission to work harder and work smarter than ever at presenting a realistic image of our labour movement to the public through the media.

Too often unions are portrayed negatively, inaccurately and unfairly.

Put simply – we’ve been framed!

Framed by our opponents, by big business, in the media that they own and by right-wing governments across this country.

But through an improved public image and the use of accessible social media like Twitter, Facebook, texting and the Internet – we are going to step completely out of their frame for a change, starting at this Convention.

Sisters and Brothers – we have to fight fiction with facts.

Fight fiction with facts – don’t underestimate just how important that is.

And thanks to the Internet and social media, you can’t hide the truth from people anymore. You just can’t do it.

Undemocratic regimes are crumbling all over the world because the most powerful armies can’t stop ordinary people who only have a cell phone from learning the truth.

And you know, Brothers and Sisters, we have to get the truth out about us, about why unorganized workers should join a union.

We have to demonstrate that the “lifetime” union advantage is not just an hourly wage rate of 7 to 14 per cent higher than non-union workforce.

The real union advantage should and can be quantified.

It’s from $100,000 to more than $1 million in the total value of better wages, benefits and pensions over a lifetime. Think about that.

We have to show how our members gain at every stage of their life – how a union job means buying a home sooner and paying off that mortgage quicker.

It means sending your kids to college or other training.

The lifetime union advantage means having dental and vision benefits.

It means having retirement security.

And a union job means having a workplace that is safer and fairer for workers.

The reality is that the group which best understands the union advantage does the most to stop our organizing – bad employers and their right-wing government partners.

That’s why we have to do more than ever to communicate the union advantage.

Because when we succeed, more workers will want to join a union.

But I am already very proud of what we have already accomplished through our affiliates in just the last few years.

We didn’t know in 2005 that the world economy was soon going to collapse.

But we always knew that workers needed bankruptcy protection to put them first in line ahead of banks and other creditors for their wages and severance.

And we convinced Parliament to pass the Wage Earner Protection Program, with all party support in seven days at the end of the Paul Martin government.

Workers in bankrupt companies used to be lucky to get just fifteen cents of every dollar they were owed – and they got it two years after the bankruptcy.

Two years after! They needed it that day!

Now they get wage, vacation and severance pay under the Wage Earner Protection Fund almost immediately – ahead of the banks.

Last year, the Fund paid out a huge $50 million to workers who lost their jobs when the companies they worked for went bankrupt.

And no judge or bankruptcy court can unilaterally alter or change a collective agreement to hurt workers, like they did before.

When the financial storm finally broke in 2008, labour moved quickly to further protect workers.

You remember that budget Flaherty put out that said there was no crisis?

We led the campaign and organized rallies across the country that forced the Conservative government to introduce a stimulus package to support Canadian jobs and industry.

And the CLC successfully fought to get billions more in extended Employment Insurance, benefits, helping tens of thousands of unemployed workers get benefits they deserved.

On a much more positive note, once again, the CLC was on the move at a key moment in 2009.

We launched our flagship campaign to promote retirement security for all after millions of Canadians learned a bitter lesson about how pension plans and RRSPs can be completely devastated by the fall of the stock market.

You know, three serious market meltdowns in just 10 years had shown the public that nothing, nothing can beat the security of a better Canada Pension Plan to provide dignity in retirement after a lifetime of work in this country.

Without all of us in this room that wouldn’t have happened – it would not have been a prominent issue in Canada – or in this election.

We built unprecedented broad-based support for the CLC campaign to double Canada Pension Plan benefits – most provincial governments supported us, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, seniors and students all agreed – the CPP must dramatically expand.

And they also agreed that the Guaranteed Income Supplement – the GIS – must be increased because 1.6 million Canadian seniors living on incomes of less than $16,000 a year – it’s a national disgrace.

Sisters and Brothers, public opinion polling shows it – Canadians are solidly on our side on retirement security.

We can change this country for the better with retirement security for all.

And despite the election results, we’re going to win improvements in the Canada Pension Plan in this term of the Harper government.

Because the only thing that can’t be stopped is a good idea.

I am also pleased to report that our political action at other levels has been very successful.

Through our new municipal political action campaigns, we have elected 1,250 labour-friendly mayors, councillors and school board trustees throughout Canada in just a few short years. Just like Gregor Robertson.

And it will be extremely busy in 2011 with provincial political action.

In 2009, labour played a major role in helping to elect the first New Democrat government in Nova Scotia history under Premier Darrell Dexter.

This year the CLC, our federations of labour, affiliates and labour councils will all work hard to elect labour-friendly governments and candidates in over half our provinces.

But the CLC doesn’t simply see political action as ending with elections – that’s just the beginning.

Our lobbying by union leaders and members has put a face and voice to the labour movement in Ottawa.

From the Westray Act to stronger ergonomics regulations to bankruptcy protection, we’ve made a big difference.

But, you know, our work at the CLC is not simply about electoral politics and lobbying.

We held a very successful “Rise Up! For Your Rights” Conference in December about the erosion of human rights and fundamental democratic principles under Harper and other governments.

The CLC’s “Equality Once and For All!” year-long campaign launched at our last Convention, forced the issue of improving women’s equality into the public eye.

And the CLC continues our campaign to stop employers from abusing the basic labour and human rights of temporary foreign workers in Canada – and to ensure Canadian workers are not displaced by employers exploiting cheap labour.

Sisters and Brothers, I am very pleased that this CLC Convention is the largest in ten years; with some unions that have not been in attendance now back in the House of Labour – welcome home! Sisters and Brothers, welcome home!

And there’s a reason for that.

In the past three years, the affiliates of the CLC have worked harder than ever to build stronger unity and cooperation, among us.

Our extensive Structural Review of the CLC has the full support of the Executive Council, and a new protocol for resolving disputes means we are finding better ways to build on our solidarity.

Sisters and Brothers, our labour movement is the primary organization in Canada that speaks out for and stands up for working people.

But we have to recognize both our strengths and our shortcomings.

The economy is changing. For the first time in 2008, jobs in the service sector amounted to more than in the manufacturing sector in Canada.

The changing demographics of the country and the future face of the labour movement will be far different than today with greater numbers of racialized workers and Aboriginal workers joining our workforce.

We need to address seriously the issue of union density because our very survival depends upon it.

That means we must be able to adapt – to organize not only in the workplace, but also in the community.

And we must address any divisions in our labour movement – because the enemy is not in this room – the enemy is in powerful positions all over the country.

It’s clear to us that our success with the Canada Pension Plan campaign is truly a tribute to the unity and cooperation of our affiliates.

I applaud our affiliates – all of you – for demonstrating that true leadership will always find a way to achieve our common goals – thank you, to all our affiliates, for that leadership!

Our solidarity couldn’t be more timely.

We have recently seen how bad things can get in the United States.

And today, on behalf of our Canadian labour movement, I am proud to say that we stand united as one with the workers of Wisconsin! As one!

What happened down there in Wisconsin reminds us of the need for solidarity – because solidarity is the only thing that can defeat the atrocious greed and the irrational hatred aimed at unions.

It also shows us that political action is essential to block attacks on our fundamental labour rights.

We don’t need to look any further than that bargaining at Canada Post or Air Canada or see workers locked out at US Steel in Hamilton and so many other disputes to understand why our solidarity is essential.

Because we face some big challenges out there.

The new workplace of today’s economy is predominantly small.

Its employers are often viciously anti-union.

So we have to recognize that what we did 50 years ago, even 10 years ago just doesn’t work anymore.

Labour can’t be playing 8-tracks and expect to organize workers listening to Podcasts on their iPhones! It won’t work.

But doing things differently doesn’t mean abandoning our principles – that is not an option and never will be.

The easy way out is to blame others for our difficulties – and believe me, they are indeed responsible for many of them.

But we can only change what we do – change our strategies and tactics – not theirs.

We have to make the winning argument that a strong labour movement whose members have good wages and benefits lifts everyone up, including non-union workers and all businesses.

Because without unions, the standard of living will drop for everyone.

I remember well from my days working at the Cominco Smelter in Trail not far from here – about 400 kilometres – that when the union was negotiating a new contract, we had the quiet but strong support of managers as well – because they knew they would get whatever increases we bargained too.

Even the car dealers were supporting the union – they too understood the union advantage – but they’d never admit it!

But the car dealers realized that a new contract meant workers would soon be able to buy new cars and trucks!

Everyone in the community knew they all would benefit when workers won.

That’s the same message our entire labour movement has to take to the country.

Our labour movement is truly at the crossroads – either we change or our opponents will change us.

Because there’s an old saying – “Change is inevitable, but progress is optional.”

We have to make progress inevitable too, my friends.

The way to do that is simple – we need to work together to build unity, to make our labour movement even stronger than it is today, to recognize that our differences are tiny compared to our common goals and to never, never, never give up on our dreams for a better world for all.

As one of the greatest Canadians – J.S. Woodsworth, a founder of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation – so eloquently put it:

“What we desire for ourselves, we wish for all. To this end, may we take our share in the world's work and the world's struggles."

Sisters and Brothers – let me add that it is our role and our responsibility as Canada’s labour movement to make hope possible!

We’ve built a great movement here, my friends.

You have much to be proud of.

Thank you for everything you have done for this great labour movement.

Have a great Convention!