Why COPE 378 Members Should Support Occupy Canada

COPE 378 members, staff, and officers turned out to support Occupy Vancouver on October 15. With associated events continuing peacefully across the country, here are COPE 378’s Top Ten Reasons why our members should be supporting the Occupy Canada movement: 

1. Almost 400 meter readers’ jobs are being eliminated to be replaced with “Smart Meters” and the rest of us get HIGHER electricity bills (click here, or here for more).
2. The BC Government is telling workers at ICBC they have to accept no wage increases when the cost of everything is going up and ICBC is making massive profits (visit the “Driving a New Mandate” campaign page for more information).
3. The gap between the wealthiest people in Canada and the rest of us is growing.
4.  Dedicated and productive BC Hydro workers are losing their jobs to pay for huge subsidies to private power producers.
5. Massive and profitable multi-national companies like Hertz are trying to eliminate full time jobs and replace them with part-time workers.
6. Members working on IT at ABS are losing their jobs as BC Hydro goes from one private sector contractor to another, leaving the workers behind.
7. BC, one of Canada’s wealthiest provinces, has the worst child poverty rate in Canada, and we’re falling further behind the rest of the country.
8. We have a Liberal government that reduces taxes for the wealthiest BC companies and individuals, while at the same time cutting supports for those living with physical and mental disabilities.
9. Huge multinational insurance company RSA is telling the members at Canadian Northern Shield that despite billions in profits, they can no longer afford to provide a secure pension plan for the workers.
10. Workers at Gulf and Fraser Financial Group are being told by their employer that they must accept disruptions to their work schedule without any allowances or protection in their collective agreement.

These are just a few of the issues that COPE 378 members share with the people involved in the Occupy Canada movement in communities across BC.  Their struggle is our struggle. We are the 99%.

David Black, President

COPE 378