Posted: Wednesday, 11 May 2011

Well over one hundred delegates to the CLC convention in Vancouver attended a Young Workers Forum that heard from presenters about how young workers are mobilizing across North America. Special guest Christine Kistner from Wisconsin said that during the recent controversy their “young workers were at the front of the occupation of the Capitol building in Madison.” She thanked the many youth who helped demonstrate against the state’s Governor Scott Walker and his anti-worker agenda.

Panelists at the forum described actions from across Canada. Jennifer Matthews is a key activist who participated in the recent CLC Retirement Security campaign. She is also instrumental in getting Canada to adopt ILO Convention 138, which is attempting to abolish child labour both in Canada and abroad.

The panel also included Mathieu Debroux (ITUC), Pablo Godoy (UFCW) and Stephen Von Sychowski (COPE). They talked about the plight of migrant workers, the response to the attack on employment standards, and the creation of an international young workers’ blog. One panelist summed up the discussion by emphasizing the need to “capture the imagination of young workers and make the union your family.”