SEIU Local 1 President Sharleen Stewart's 2007 Convention Speech

Good Morning Sisters - Brothers and Guests.

Welcome to SEIU Local 1.on. A new union ready to tackle the new problems - the new realities of today's workplaces. A new union ready to serve - our present members and thousands of new members yet to join.

In October, 90 per cent of all our voting members in locals across Ontario - Thunder Bay - Belleville - London - Hamilton - Toronto and places in between, voted for a new stronger united SEIU local in Ontario.

They knew the power of 40,000 members united would give them more power to stand up for their workplace rights than 40,000 members divided.

Over the next two days you have the task to make the vision of one united, powerful, kick ass local union a reality.

It is up to you and the leadership you elect to casrry out the vision SEIU before the membership last fall.

Remember what we said. SEIU Local 1.on will:

• Operate from a clear strategic sense of direction.
• Grow and build strength in our industries through an integrated program of bargaining and political action.
• Increase our organizing, bargaining, and political activities so SEIU Local 1.on will be a force to be reckoned with both by employers and the rest of trade union movement in Ontario.
• Stand for progressive politics to make our world a better place for ourselves, our families and our grand children.
• Based on solid trade union principles of solidarity, unity, democracy, integrity, trust, fairness and equity.
• Above all we will be inclusive. A membership-based union must be member controlled.

We all have a big task ahead of us. By working together we can accomplish much.

SEIU Local 1.on must become the best example of what "union" means and what a union is all about.

In today's political climate your task - our task is becoming even more onerous.

Throughout North America, unions are struggling to retain membership. Anti-union governments, and neanderthal employers have used the tactics of globalization, downsizing, and restructuring to rid themselves of unions.

In the United States, in 2003 only 12.9 per cent of all wage and salary workers were union members, down from 13.3 per cent in 2002. The trend has been going down for 25 years.

In Canada 32.2 per cent of workers are unionized. Far better than the American statistics, but before we gloat too much, in 1984 almost 42 per cent of Canadian workers belonged to union.

The Canadian Labour Congress says we need to organize between 150,000 to 200,000 new members a year just to stem further declines in union density.

Are we up to the job to give the thousands of health care workers in hospitals, nursing homes, retirement homes and home care workers, building cleaning services workers, call centre operators, and high tech workers a chance to join a union that will stand up for their work place rights?

SEIU has bucked the trend against a declining membership base. In the United States, SEIU is the fastest growing and now the largest union. I don't know about you, but that's the kind of union I want working for me.

A kick ass union - that's what we all want SEIU Local 1.on to be.

Last fall we committed to do "Whatever it Takes" to win the best contract for our 11,000 nursing home workers. It's a commitment we made. It's a promise we delivered. Already there are vast improvements to health and safety language, greater pay equity adjustments, and we didn't roll over on working condition issues. They remain front and centre.

We will never give up the fight for increased staffing in nursing homes because it helps our residents and it helps us.

Most of our hospital contracts will open up this fall. As with the nursing home industry we are going to use our new found strength and unity to force the OHA and hospitals into one central contract from Thunder Bay to Ottawa to Goderich. SEIU hospital members will reap the benefits of the superior conditions where they now currently exist.

We are going to have a major fight on our hands with the hospitals and OHA. Their agenda is to find new ways to contract out. Their agenda is to develop more P3 hospital initiatives, even though these private public partnerships will end up costing us as taxpayers 10 per cent more than if the hospital remained under public control.

So much more needs to be done to improve the lives of our home care and retirement home members. They are some of the most undervalued and underpaid workers in Ontario.

They didn't join a union to go backwards. They joined SEIU to give them a voice on the job, and more money in their purses.

We must not let them down.

One of our biggest fights will be with the new provincial government.

I don't know about you, but I though we voted for change last fall. Why is it I feel like Rip Van Winkle? Did the election of October 2003 really happen or were we all asleep since we first heard about the "common sense revolution," only to wake up to find out it is still on.

I guess the more things change the more they stay the same. Liberals are the masters of campaigning from the left and governing for the right.

If you voted Liberal I forgive you - just don't let it ever happen again.

I said in January and may I boost, the first union leader in Ontario to say that, it looked like this government was setting the stage for wage freezes or wage restraints. All one had to do was read the December Economic and Fiscal Review, where the government says it has to do something about salaries and benefits because typically 75 per cent of operating costs in the public sector are related to salaries and benefits.

What the government does not say is that this ratio hasn't changed in twenty-five years.

I don't want to get too technical here, but since 1994 labour productivity growth has averaged 1.56 per cent while the aggregate real wage grew by an average rate of only 1.11 per cent. This is a substantial difference. Workers and particularly workers in the broader public sector have not received the full benefits of productivity gains.

I see some eyes glazing over. But the point is this. Every worker in Ontario, no matter where they work over the last decade has had to do more with less. Health workers worked their guts out during the SARS crisis without any recognition. Nursing home workers because there are no standards of care, home care workers because of the managed competition model, building cleaners forced into Wal-Mart like wages and manufacturing workers watching their jobs move out of Canada. The list goes on and on.

I say to the Liberal government - No way, are you going to impose wage freezes on us.

If hospital CEO's in Ontario can earn over $500,000 per year, there can be no logical reason why a hospital service worker must be frozen at $32,000 per year.

You know 25 years ago chief executive salaries were about 39 times the pay of the average worker. Today it is about 1,000 times more.

You are not going to balance your budget on the backs of the people who provide the services.

It now seems the government may be backing down somewhat, but we can't let our guard down.

Wages must at least keep pace with the cost of living. It could even argue for a catch up because since the mid 1990's public sector workers have lost about 10 per cent of their punching power.

Dalton Camp, a Red Tory, ( a good Tory if there are any) wrote some years ago,

It shouldn't be called Canada anymore ... the name that comes to mind is Dontneedit. The capital of Dontneedit is Cantaffordit... The movers and shares here all agree the country's problems have become insurmountable and nothing can be done except to do nothing.

Paul Martin and the federal Liberals gave $100 Billion tax cut to corporations. To say there is no money is total nonsense.

I say it's time to rebuild this province. To do it, the Liberals only have to break one promise. Not the hundreds they already have. Break the no tax increase promise. For a mere $2 more per week per taxpayer we can balance the budget and put money toward health care, schools, nursing homes, transit.

Is that too high a high price to pay for living in decent society?

This union -SEIU Local 1.on is going to kick up some serious dusk. It's time we took back what is rightfully ours.

We are going to do this by building an invincible team.

We all need each other to make it happen.

Leaders need the support of the membership and the staff.

A leader's position is only as powerful as the trust members place in them.

Trust needs to be earned every day.

Trust needs to be based on the principles of fairness and equality, and open communication and dialogue.

Only then can the individual aspirations of 40,000 be united into the power of one union, speaking with one voice.

I pledge to do my best to see that the membership of SEIU Local 1.on will always feel as part of their union. They must have a real stake in their union.

I pledge SEIU Local 1.on will educate and train more worksite specific leaders. We need union leaders at all levels to make the changes in our workplaces and communities that will support and enhance the well being of not just ourselves, but all working people in Ontario.

It's time we get tougher and smarter with both our employers and governments.

It's time to energize and mobilize.

Are you with me? Let's go build this local union to be the champion of working people everywhere in Ontario.