Labour Day message from Canadian Labour Congress

NEWS RELEASE

CANADIAN LABOUR CONGRESS

************************* Change is possible: Just vote for it

OTTAWA, ONTARIO - (September 1) - The Canadian Labour Congress has a message for working people as they take time to relax and reflect over the Labour Day long weekend this year: when working people get active in politics, when they elect the right people and the right governments, things change for the better.

"There is a lot of talk about an impending federal election. If you are one of the countless Canadians who wants an answer to why working people don't get their priorities dealt with, or why our jobs are not being protected; why there's still a shortage of affordable child care and why women still earn just 701/2 cents for every dollar men get when they work - think about who you need to vote for to finally make your priorities the priorities of your government," says Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.

In his annual Labour Day message, Georgetti highlights three positive changes that came about this year as a direct result of having working people meet with their own Members of Parliament and talking with them face to face.

"Once they see who their voters are, and what the real issues are, the choice is clear for any elected official. Represent the people who vote for you, or get replaced by somebody else who will do a better job," says Georgetti.

The new wage earner protection program, which took effect this summer, will see the federal government cover more than $3,000 in lost wages and vacation pay for workers who are owed money when their employer goes bankrupt, tops Georgetti's list as a major victory for working people in 2008.

It includes new protections for worker pension contributions and new protections for collective agreements in place when employers go bankrupt.

Georgetti says Canadians should think about the example of positive democratic change set by the Canadian Labour Congress, which spent the past four years helping its members connect with their local elected representatives and helping everyday working people connect the dots between issues that make a difference in their lives and who gets elected to Parliament, provincial legislatures and municipal councils.

"Imagine what else is possible if more working people did the same thing from now on. Issues that really matter to us - high fuel costs, the lack of affordable child care, the loss of jobs in manufacturing and forestry, and the growing gap between the very well-off and the rest of us - could finally become priorities in Ottawa.

Another example of political change that needs to be driven by working people is the disgraceful inequality that Canadian women experience in the workforce, the focus of a year-long campaign for the Canadian Labour Congress.

Electing people who will address the growing wage gap between women and men and make issues like affordable child care, higher minimum wages, and pension reform is the key.

"We could change our country for the better and have a Canada that works for working men, working women and our families," he says.

The 2008 Labour Day statement can be found at CanadianLabour.ca, the official web site of the Canadian Labour Congress.

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.2 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada's national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils.

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