WOMEN?ZS

|S'SU5E'S

PHOTO BY ELAINE BRIERE

= Pictured in front (I. to r.) are Local 1000's Martha Ulch and Local 2171’s Deborah Mantic at womens’ conference.

Cross-Canada communication

IWA National Women’s Committee works to
set-up network of liaisons with local unions

NOT SINCE THE DAYS of the
TWA’s Ladies Auxiliary have union
women become so connected. Today
TWA women, whom constitute a grow-
ing percentage of working members
in our organization, have quickly set
up a communications network.

National Women’s Committee chair-
person Brenda Wagg says by setting up
liaisons in participating locals, there is a
Qreater dissemination of valuable infor-
mation to women activists, including
materials on upcoming educational
courses, getting more women involved at
the local union level, promoting women
as instructors and marking the progress
of women collectively or individually.

This past June the local liaisons met
with the national committee prior to
the National IWA Women’s Education
Conference to solidify their efforts.
Since then, liaisons participated in a
telephone conference.

“We encourage women to contact their
liaisons,” says Wage. “We like to know
what is happening out there. If there are
no liaisons in some locals, women can
contact me (bwagg@telus.net).”

The current local liaison list, which
include members of the National
Women’s Committee, is Local 1-80’s
Linda Whittaker, Local 1-85’s Crystal
Doucette, Local 1-207’s Cheryl Cox,
Local 2171’s Brenda Wagg, Local 1-

3567’s Cheryl Williams, Local 363’s
Leslie McNabb, Local 1-405’s Veronica
Tames, Local 1-417’s Angie
Thomanek, Local 1-423’s Lenette
Terry, Local 1-424’s Peg Vince, Local 1-
425’s Janice Laurie, Local 500’s Mary
Lou Scott, Local 7oo Robin
Bazylewski, Local 1000’s Martha Ulch,
Local 2693's Nathalie Belair, and Local
2995's Louise Dionne.

The liaisons are matched up with
National Women’s Committee mem-
bers. That committee consists of chair-
person Wagg, first vice chair Scott, sec-
ond vice chair Ulch, third vice chair
Bonnie Armstrong, fourth vice chair
Williams, and secretary Terry.

= PROFILE

CRYSTAL DOUCETTE - LOCAL 1-85

WHEN CRYSTAL DOUCETTE went
from being a fitness instructor to a
millworker at the age of 18 she had no
idea that some day she would be swom
in as an executive board member of
Port Alberni IWA Local 1-85 — long a
bastion of loggers

She’s an emerging union activist!

Sister Doucette, who started at the
Coulson millwork operation in 1996,
has worked on various jobs including
the greenchain, clean-up, and trim-
saws. She got her grading ticket and is
now being trained as a forklift operator.

To parallel that progress, she has
become an activist and vice chair of the
IWA committee at Coulson. “Crystal is
one of our more promising trade

unionists,” says Local 1-85 president
Monty Mearns. “She brings youth,
enthusiasm and dedication to the TWA
and we're glad to have her on the board
at the sub-local and local levels.”

Crystal says that her exposure to
IWA educational classes have helped
build on her people skills and create a
new confidence. She been to the CLC
Winter School in Harrison for job
steward training, gone to a leadership
and organizing course at the national
office and participated in this year’s
National Women’s conference in
North Bay, Ontario.

The mother of four children, includ-
ing two step kids, has received consid-
erable support from her husband
Mike, who is also on the union com-
mittee at Coulson. “Supporting my
education has given me the opportuni-
ty to play a greater role in the union,”
says Crystal. “As a woman you have to
work twice as hard to get the trust of all
the crew - both men and women.”

The union is promoting equality
among all of its members. Sister
Doucette is the local union’s liaison to
the National Women’s Committee and
will act to disseminate information
throughout the local.

Labour commemorates 1989

killing of Quebec women

This year, as in others past, the
Canadian Labour Congress, its affili-
ate federations of labour, and their
member unions commemorated the
December 6, 1989 killing of 14 inno-
cent women student at Ecole
Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec.
= = It was on
Saif) that dreadful
day, 14
years ago
that a lone
gunman
murdered
the students
in cold
blood. CLC
a Executive
Marie Clarke Walker \j,...
President Marie Clarke Walker sent
out a national statment for the
National Day of Remembrance and
Action on Violence Against Women,
commemorating the 14 women mur-
dered and “all women who have
suffered and died at the hands of
partners, family members, and
strangers across this country.” She
said that violence in society is con-
nected to the ongoing struggle for
women’s equality in society.

“It's occurance can take many
forms, including murder, physical
and sexual assault, harassment,
leering and bullying. All of these
have a severe emotional and physi-
cal affect. The physical wounds may
heal, but the emotional affects lasts
a lifetime.” Sister Clarke Walker said
that, while Canadians have achieved
greater awareness around the issues

of sexual and physical violence,
more must be done. She said that
unions must bargain for stronger
protections against workplace vio-
lence and pressure governments for
increased support of groups and
organizations that work to end vio-
lence and assist survivors.

Sister Clarke Walker said that the
labour movement must continue to
stride for women in leadership and
development roles and “practice sol-
idarity with sisters in our global fam-
ily by holding governments to
account for their participation in
conflicts in the name of “anti-terror-
ism,” and by promoting alternatives
to war.

In her message for December 6,
B.C. Federation of Labour Secretary-
Treasurer Angela Schira wrote that
“we are
reminded
every day of
the violence
that contin-
ues to sur-
round us in
this world,
| (but) too
. often we

é ignore the
Angela Schira Violence we
see every day in our neighbourhoods.

“We have a responsibility in the
labour movement, and as members
of communities to do our part,” she
added. Sister Schira cited statistics,
according to Status of Women
Canada, that fifty-one per cent of
Canadian women have been victims
of at least one act of physical or sexu-
al violence since the age of sixteen
and that seventy-seven per cent of
those women were vicitimized by
someone they know.

DECEMBER 2003 THE ALLIED WORKER | 15

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