Presented by Ken Georgetti on Monday, 15 March 2010

(Check Against Delivery)

Sisters and brothers, mes chers amis, confrères, consoeurs – I am very pleased to bring a message of solidarity to the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association from the 3.2 million workers represented by the Canadian Labour Congress.

I want to thank your President – James Ryan – and your executive for inviting me to speak to you today.

James has been an outspoken advocate for OECTA – and indeed for the entire teaching profession – at our CLC Executive Council.

And I value his enthusiastic participation and his sound advice on education issues as well as the other key concerns facing the Canadian labour movement.

I am particularly pleased to address your OECTA Annual General Meeting because it has been some time since a CLC president has done so – and this is one time that I actually enjoy being sent to see the teacher after being absent so long!

Teachers are essential – absolutely essential – to the future of Canada.

That’s not just because you teach our children – but also because education has never been more important – to improving our economy and standard of living, to our ability to cope with an increasingly complex world and to our need to understand that world and our place in it.

There was a time not that long ago when a few years of school and some trades training were enough for most Canadians to earn a decent living.

As a young man growing up in Trail, B.C., I remember recruiters from the giant Cominco smelter approaching students in high school – telling them to quit and come to work immediately for big money.

A new car, a house and a union job – that’s what they promised and in those times, they could deliver.

But not anymore.

Education – life-long education – is the cornerstone of our modern economy.

And you – the teachers of this world – are building that cornerstone every day in your classrooms.

Not just our labour movement but our entire country owes all teachers a debt of enormous gratitude for the great work you do – and I am pleased as president of the Canadian Labour Congress to salute you for it.

I want to talk with you about just two of the many important things we are doing at the CLC that are critical to our future.

The first is our strong political action program – in particular the CLC’s successful efforts to elect labour-friendly candidates in municipal elections – including for school boards – across Ontario.

The second is the CLC’s new plan for pension savings reform.

Teachers – like other public sector employees – are more fortunate than private sector workers in one important way – they actually get to help elect their bosses.

It’s an opportunity that should never be squandered.

And the Canadian Labour Congress is dedicated to ensuring that all our affiliated members are told who the labour-friendly candidates are for school boards and municipal offices in every election – like the elections this October in Ontario.

I am very pleased to tell you that we have been increasingly successful at electing those candidates – with the help of our affiliates like OECTA and with the assistance of our local Labour Councils.

As a result, in just the past few years the CLC helped elect more than 800 Labour Council-endorsed school trustees, mayors, and city councilors across Canada.

For example, both Toronto Mayor David Miller and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson were elected with labour support.

Here’s how our Ontario municipal political action campaign is working this year:

We started mobilizing for the 2010 municipal elections with a kick-off conference for labour council presidents last September.

Labour councils analyzed the 2006 municipal election results, determined who they could support, what they knew on the ground about who was likely running for school boards and councils, who wasn’t and strategizing where they could make inroads.

With our affiliates, we are now brainstorming for the names of candidates who share our values on school boards or municipal councils.

It’s a process that has been an excellent outreach tool for the labour movement in every community across Ontario.

Then we go to school – election school.

There will be over 15 weekend training sessions from April through June where we train candidates, campaign managers and organizers and teach municipal fundamentals.

All this work leads up to creating a list of labour-endorsed school board trustees, municipal mayors and councillors.

Endorsement cards will be produced during the campaign period from September 10 to the election day on October 25.

We anticipate having over 700 labour-friendly council and mayoralty candidates in about 103 Ontario communities.

And we plan to endorse a large number of labour-friendly school board trustees.

Our work doesn’t end though the day after election day.

We continue to support those we helped elect by providing them with opportunities through the Columbia Foundation to stay on top of emerging issues that concern working people in their communities.

We provide them with research and training to be able to promote local procurement policies, or to combat the privatization of public services agendas they will face in the council chambers and in the school board meetings.

So here comes your homework assignment – we need your help to maximize that number – and to make sure they get elected.

With just six months until the election period, please participate with our local labour councils to make sure this happens.

Let’s make sure we elect the best possible school trustees.

Secondly – a few words about the CLC’s plan for pension savings reforms.

This is also about the future – not just your future as retirees – but about the future of all our children – for generations to come.

Let’s face it – Canada’s retirement savings system is badly broken and needs urgent repair.

First – only one Canadian taxpayer in three made any contribution to a Registered Retirement Savings Plans – an RRSP – in 2008.

And RRSPs – like the stock market – lost billions in the economic crisis.

Depending on RRSPs for your retirement is like deciding to take a roller coaster to get to work and not knowing when – or how – you are going to get off!

Second –existing pension plans are under attack.

The economic meltdown caused by corporate greed and lack of government regulations has drastically reduced benefits in many plans.

Third – far too many of our retirees are living in poverty and despair.

It’s simply inexcusable that 1.6 million seniors — about 35 per cent of those receiving public pensions —live on less than $15,000 per year.

But the Canadian Labour Congress has a better way to save for retirement – to double the benefits of the Canada Pension Plan – to a maximum of $1635 a month.

It may seem dramatic – but in fact by phasing in over the next seven to ten years, a small contribution rate increase of 2.75% of salary, we can double the Canada Pension Plan benefits payout after a lifetime of work.

Think about it.

For less than one-half of one percent of salary annually over the next seven years, we can double the benefits for future retirees.

Why double CPP benefits?

Because no one who works their entire lives should face the spectre of poverty in retirement because they didn’t have a private pension plan at work.

Because the CPP already covers 93% of all Canadians, union or non-union.

Because the CPP is portable – no matter where you work, or how many times you changes jobs, CPP benefits follow you.

And because it’s universal – all workers pay into it – whether employed or self-employed.

So improving the CPP is the simplest and most effective way to dramatically improve the retirement security of all Canadians.

This is about preparing for the future – this reform will benefit young workers – like your children – the most because they would be pay higher premiums over a longer period.

But older workers will also benefit in retirement.

Will the CLC plan work?

You bet! It has even been costed out by Bernard Dussault, who is a former Chief Actuary of the Canada Pension Plan.

Convincing the government to begin doubling the Canada Pension Plan won’t be easy.

The banks and financial institutions that make big profits from RRSP sales already oppose the idea.

But we know that with your help, we can win.

Just remember - the labour movement in Canada helped create unemployment insurance and public Medicare, as well as other important social programs by convincing our members – and then the general public – that these programs would help all Canadians.

Now we’re going to do it again - retiring with dignity and security should be a right for all – not a privilege for a few.

There are two other major changes the CLC wants to protect workers’ retirement.

The Guaranteed Income Supplement must be increased by 15% to immediately lift seniors out of poverty.

And the Canadian Labour Congress wants a federal system of pension insurance.

Our proprosal would protect everyone’s pension for as low as $2.50 a year for every plan member!

How can you beat that?

We insure our lives, our homes, our vehicles, our jobs – but not our pensions!

That doesn’t make any sense – and it’s time for pension insurance.

So there is the Canadian Labour Congress plan for retirement security – it is simple, it is cost-effective and it can be done.

Now we have to go out and convince union members and the public that pension reform is needed – immediately.

We know we can do it – because the problems are already obvious.

And so are the answers.

By doubling the Canada Pension Plan, by improving Old Age security and by protecting our workplace pensions, we can ensure that no Canadian retires into poverty.

Thank you for listening to me and I hope you can all support our pension reform campaign and municipal political action.