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FEDERAL ELECTION - POLL RESULT: CAW'S SUPPORT OF LIBERALS DRIVE VOTERS TO THE CONSERVATIVES

Poll shows Hargrove's support of Martin solidified Conservative support

TORONTO, Jan 18, 2006 � Part of the upward thrust in Conservative popularity could be attributed to Buzz Hargrove's support for Liberals in the federal election campaign, says a poll conducted by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Canada.

�The CAW's advice to voters has backfired by helping the Conservatives solidify their support," says Sharleen Stewart, SEIU Canada's International Canadian Vice-President. "But it is not too late to turn back this tide of Conservative support.�

While 80 per cent of respondents said Hargrove's endorsement of the Liberals has made no difference to their voting preference, 15 per cent of respondents who identify themselves as traditional Conservative voters say that they were less likely to vote Liberal as an alternative to their traditional party of choice since Hargrove supported �voting strategically� for the Liberals.

�For some conservative voters, Hargrove's support of the Liberals has been good enough reason to discount voting Liberal all together,� says Stewart.

The poll also shows the CAW's advice did not produce the hoped-for momentum of NDP voters toward the Liberals. Only seven per cent of traditional NDP voters said they were more likely to vote Liberal.

�Workers expect clear leadership and guidance from their labour unions, and that is why SEIU has supported the NDP throughout this election. The stakes are too high to play political games, and Buzz Hargrove's ill-advised announcement proved it,� Stewart says.

The SEIU survey polled more than 800 eligible voters from across the country and is accurate to plus or minus 3.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

SEIU Canada is an independent Canadian union representing 95,000 workers in Canada, and is a partner of the fastest growing union in the labour movement, SEIU, with 1.8 million members.

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For more information, please contact:

Barry Smith, SEIU National Communications Associate, 416 528 9116

EXTREME RIGHT WING MINDED "UNION BOSSES"!

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February 2, 2007

Labour
House raid yields Local 183 papers

IAN HARVEY
correspondent
TORONTO
Lawyers for Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) are in Barrie court today looking to get their hands on computer records and Local 183 merchandise seized in a raid.
Lawyers are leveraging a rarely used provision of the law to a Barrie Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge. They say they have enough evidence to show materials were taken from the Local 183 offices and stored at an area home belonging to a former employee.
In addition to caps, t-shirts and other branded paraphernalia, lawyers seized several computer disks which may contain membership lists from Local 183 and pertinent information taken when the outgoing executive stripped the offices of almost every document dealing with finance and meetings.
The court issued an Anton Pillar order, a civil search and seizure warrant which allowed a court-appointed lawyer to go to the premises and demand entry in a similar way police do with criminal search warrants.
Anton Pillar orders are most often issued to allow owners of copyright material to enter a premise and seize materials. The other party is not notified of the application nor if an order is granted.
In the LIUNA case, lawyers presented evidence from Local 183 employees who swore they had delivered materials to the home. They argued successfully that the unannounced raid was necessary because if their intents were known, the materials they sought would be destroyed or moved.
Named in the statement of claim were: Former business manager Tony Dionisio, former comptroller Dario Di Sante, former secretary-treasurer Joao Dias, former business managers Louis Torres, Victor Ferreira, Jon Goncalves, Mario Cavalheiro and Joel Filipe.

"There were essentially no records when the trustees arrived."
Dan Randazzo
LIUNA Lawyer
It seeks damages of $100,000 per person plus a $1 million punitive fine. This action is in addition to a lawsuit filed in December seeking $2.8 million in funds LIUNA claims was improperly spent on surveillance. None of the allegations in either statement of claim have been proven and the defendants have not yet filed their rebuttal with the court.
After a lengthy standoff at the door of Torres’ home in Brantford, the court-appointed lawyer was permitted to enter.
“They have two hours on presentation to get legal advice and during that time, the court-appointed lawyer — not our lawyer — is supposed to be inside making sure nothing is destroyed,” said Dan Randazzo, LIUNA’s in house counsel. “But they refused entry and we’re going to be filing a motion for contempt of court on that.”
He said caps, ties, t-shirts and other branded apparel was seized “worth several thousand dollars.”
“We don’t know the full inventory because the court-appointed lawyer has it in a secure place,” he said. “We will go to court Friday to report back and to find out what was seized.”
He said LIUNA is particularly interested in the computer disks because while the old executive was clearing out prior to being replaced by the trustees, materials were aggressively shredded.
“There were essentially no records when the trustees arrived,” said Randazzo. “On any given day, there is usually one bag of shredded materials. That day, there were 12 bags of shredded paper.”
Lawyers for Torres will argue the computer disks should not be handed over because they contained “privileged information.” Randazzo says LIUNA is taking that to mean it contains communications and documents between lawyers and clients which are generally protected by law.
However, he says, LIUNA’s lawyers will argue the disks should be examined to see which ones may have documents pertinent to Local 183.

NEWS - WORKERS ARE STANDING UP

It’s always inspiring to see workers stand up and dare to fight for respect and fair wages at the workplace. Today, workers at Casino Nova Scotia are doing just that.

In December of 1994 the Casino and provincial government promised this community good secure jobs paying well over $12 an hour plus tips. More than twelve years later, many workers are still starting at $7.15. Casino Nova Scotia is Great Canadian Gaming Corporation’s third highest revenue earner, yet workers in Nova Scotia make the lowest wages in the gaming industry across Canada. Halifax casino workers are no longer putting up with broken promises.

When workers unite to improve the lives of their families through better jobs, they bring in more resources to our communities and remind us all that everyone who works hard should be treated with dignity and respect.

Casino employees like Julie Glendenning, Shawn Coates and Rob Mailman want to make sure that promises made to Nova Scotians are kept.

SEIU Local 902 members will be supporting the efforts of the casino workers because Nova Scotia’s families need good quality jobs that can allow our communities to flourish. It’s time all Nova Scotia workers were respected.

Cynthia Wamback
President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 902

(Appeared in the Chronicle Herald on April 11, 20007)