To all COPE 378 members: 

I am pleased to report that members of COPE 15 have voted overwhelmingly in favour of merging with COPE 378.

With a vote of 93% in favour of the merger, COPE 15 members have given a strong mandate for unity, and we are pleased to have received such enthusiastic support from members.

COPE 15 members have embraced an opportunity to make our organization stronger and more unified, and I would like to express our appreciation to those who took the time to engage in this process.

The merger has also received the unanimous endorsement of both the COPE 378 Executive Board and Executive Council.

To All COPE 378 Members:

COPE 378 will assist members who wish to attend the BC NDP Convention November 27-29 in Vancouver. Your Executive Council has set aside funds to assist COPE 378 members who attend the Convention. Members must be selected as delegates by their local Constituency Associations.

In order to access this assistance, please get in touch with David Black, Vice-President, or Jeff Gillies, Executive Board Member and Co-Chairs of the Political Action Committee.

In Solidarity,

David Black, Vice-President
Jeff Gillies, Executive Board Member
Co-Chairs, Political Action Committee

Young Workers: do you want to make your workplace - and your world - a better place?

COPE 378 has an exciting opportunity for young members who want to learn more about labour movement and social justice, and get involved.

Sign up to learn new skills, meet new friends and make a difference in your workplace and community.

BC Federation of Labour Convention The BC Federation of Labour will be holding its bi-annual Policy Convention from November 23rd to 25th in Vancouver. The theme this year is "Confronting the Crisis: An Economy that Really Works for BC."

In 2010, approximately 85% of our membership will be in bargaining with their various employers. This requires an enormous amount of work and organization on the part of our staff.

As such, we have scheduled a full day bargaining planning session for our staff on Monday, October 5th. It is important that all members of our staff be included in this session.

Therefore our office will be closed on Monday, October 5, 2009. In case of emergency, messages left on our switchboard will be checked periodically throughout the day and calls will be returned as soon as possible. Our office will resume regular operation on Tuesday, October 6th.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

In Solidarity,

Andy Ross
President

The BC Liberal government is bringing in a new sales tax which will drive up prices on many day-to-day necessities. The HST will merge the PST with the GST and apply to a wide range of goods and services on which British Columbians currently only pay GST.

Prices will go up on goods and services including haircuts, food, heating bills, housing, safety equipment, funerals, magazine and newspapers, dry cleaning, airplane tickets, movie and theatre tickets, vitamins, bicycles and more.

The HST is a regressive tax which will disproportionally affect lower- and middle-income families. British Columbians will have even less to spend in tough economic times.

VANCOUVER - Provincial budget cuts announced on September 1st will have dramatic consequences for public libraries according to Neil Monckton, chair of the non-partisan civic advocacy group Think City. Joined by author Yann Martel and seven other Canadian authors, Think City is urging citizens to sign a new petition online calling for the restoration of library grants.

OTTAWA - The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has signed a landmark HIV & AIDS advocacy agreement with ITUC Africa - the African Regional organization of the International Trade Union Confederation. The accord creates a partnership approach to addressing HIV and AIDS in each jurisdiction and in promoting universal access to prevention, treatment and care of infected workers and their families.