Susan Rab for President

Whether we're connecting individuals or building relationships among affiliates, implementing local versions of OFL and CLC campaigns, or supporting and amplifying the fightbacks of Ottawa affiliates, labour council's calendar should be full of invitations to get involved.

Labour Day and the Day of Mourning are successful long established traditions that could prioritize involvement of new participants. Delegates should be consulted to determine whether former events such as International Women's Day dinner and Labour Appreciation Awards should be re-instated. As resources and interest permits, additional activities should be piloted.

Mandated standing committees must be permitted to meet and they must be supported. Committee chairs should be allowed to lead their meetings and to be encouraged to be the person making a report at the monthly membership meeting. Young workers and new delegates need to be prioritized within all our structures. Not all delegates are looking for more responsibilities, but opportunities to get involved must be offered to those who do.

The CLC has provided our labour council with at least 6 days training with Action Network, but we haven't yet tested any of its features. Calendar, targeted email lists, event registration, petitions should be attempted. Locals (especially smaller ones) should be assisted in using the platform when organizing for a strike or garnering public support for a key issue. A flying picket squad would be simple to develop. Activists who want to join picket lines and attend rallies have been asking to receive that information.

The ODLC rents a significant portion of the floor of a downtown building. It should be a busy place most nights of the week. We need an ODLC that organizes and mobilizes members.

ODLC meetings must encourage respectful discussion and allow debate. The role of the chair is to impartially facilitate decision-making by the group. At monthly meetings, executive meetings and every day in between, the president's role is to serve members.

The ODLC can enhance democracy by making sure that delegates and alternates can access public notification of the February election on the ODLC website, by email to the broader list serve, and on social media. In a democracy, elections cannot be kept secret.

An updated list of affiliated unions, delegate entitlement and publicly available contact information should be shared with candidates. Delegates and alternates must be able to hear from candidates before election night.

A budget needs to be proposed, debated and adopted by delegates. Audits should be shared. Transparency is required when unions attempt to affiliate or decide to disaffiliate.

Labour Council must prioritize communication with delegates. Anyone who has been attending meetings regularly should know where meetings are being held without relying on their local to forward information. Delegates must be treated as legitimate representatives of their locals. Their voices and votes at monthly membership meetings must hold weight. Contentious agenda items can be widely circulated before the meeting so that locals can be consulted.

The by-law review, which was suspended in 2017, needs to be prioritized. By-laws, election guidelines and all other processes and procedures must be equally and impartially applied to all.

Locals follow their own processes to choose delegates and alternates. Currently, presidents send first and last names to labour council. After delegates and alternates attend their first meeting, their contact information is collected. Getting to the first meeting should be much easier! All delegates and alternates who want to be, should be on the Canada Post mail list and the email list. Meeting dates and locations must be easy for anyone within the labour movement to find.

It is time for an affiliation drive. All inquiries should be immediately answered. A transparent process must be implemented to ensure that potential affiliates are welcomed. Meeting procedures, membership dues and communication with individual delegates must be constantly examined with a goal of eliminating barriers to participation. We need an ODLC that is open.

Guests are a key feature at Ontario labour councils. Potential affiliates and community groups fighting for working people should be encouraged to attend Ottawa and District Labour Council meetings. Building solidarity and harnessing the Power of Many require opportunities to connect.

We know that young workers, differently-abled workers, indigenous workers, Black, racialized workers, new immigrants and women are marginalized and oppressed in our society, and far too often, within our movement. The ODLC must reactivate the young workers committee, reinvigorate the women's committee and human rights committee, as well as explore ways to support workers from other equity-seeking groups whenever possible.

As a community with significant numbers of bilingual and francophone worksites, the ODLC must prioritize improved French language services within the labour movement and facilitate the involvement of members in the language of their choice where possible.