Talking politics at the District 3 Conference

(Photo: Steelworker and former B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains)

For day two of the USW District 3 Conference, politics was at the forefront of discussion, hearing first from NDP Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.

Kinew was elected as the first-ever Indigenous Premier in Manitoba on Oct. 3, 2023. A former CBC broadcaster, a best-selling author and musician, Kinew became leader of the Manitoba NDP in 2017.

In his address to USW delegates, Kinew conveyed a powerful story from the campaign trail. He recalled engaging an angry man who talked about his frustration at falling behind, feeling like more and more was being extracted from him and his family, while others got ahead and he and his family were not seeing the benefit of growth.

“Governments have a responsibility to show in a concrete way how we are making life better for people like you,” Kinew told delegates.

Read a summary of Kinew’s remarks here.

The conference also got a thorough update on political action from Brett Barden, staff representative in the Communications and Political Action Department in District 3, who also leads the Steelworkers Vote program in the district.

“Since our last conference in 2018, we’ve been on the ground with hundreds of Steelworkers volunteering in ridings across the district, knocking on doors, talking to fellow members and spreading the word about NDP policies that matter to workers. And let me tell you, we’ve made some serious gains,” said Barden.

Barden spoke about the important role Steelworkers played in winning seats in federal and provincial elections – including two general elections in Alberta, as well as provincial elections in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

The conference also heard from a panel focussing on political engagement through the Steelworkers Vote program. The panel included Jason Prokopchuk, USW Local 7689; Lionel Bonnefoy, USW Local 9074; Erin Zuchotzki, USW Local 1976; Lois Palmer Local 1-207; and was moderated by Robin Navin from Local 1944.

Former NDP B.C. Minister of Labour, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and long-time Steelworker Harry Bains received the outstanding service award. Bains talked about his own experience getting involved in politics and his motivation to make life better for British Columbians during a dark time of conservative-leaning Liberal rule.

“Friends said, ‘step forward if you don’t like what’s going on out there,’ ” Bains recalled.  

Prior to the NDP win in 2017, the minimum wage had been frozen in B.C. for a decade, penalizing the lowest-paid workers.

“Today the minimum wage is the highest in the country,” said Bains, who was elected as an MLA in 2005 in Surrey-Newton and appointed the Minister of Labour in 2017, when the NDP won government.

District 3 Indigenous Engagement Co-ordinator Julia McKay spoke about the efforts of building a program for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, including bringing together Indigenous Steelworkers across the country.

USW National Director Marty Warren also addressed delegates, speaking on the importance of politics when it comes to worker protections, jobs and the economy. He also highlighted the important work the union has been doing on trade and procurement.

“If we’re creating it in Canada, why aren’t our provincial and federal governments buying it?” asked Warren. He also talked about the importance of working together across the country and the efforts of the union’s national committees, including the contributions of members and staff from District 3.

Participants also heard from a helpful panel about member engagement through collective bargaining, featuring Dave Baraniuk, USW Local 1-207; Nolan Paquette, USW Local 1-1937; Warren Luky, USW Local 6166; and moderator Cindy Lee, staff representative.

Delegates also took part in a variety of workshops covering issues such as the duty to accommodate, duty of fair representation, bargaining equity, communication action teams, decolonizing our collective bargaining agreements, strategic campaigns, emerging human rights and mass texting.

USW Canadian Counsel and legal department leader Shaheen Hirani and District 3 lawyer Debra Burton talked about the dos and don’ts of grievance handling for local unions. Hirani and Burton advised: DO be honest and take responsibility, and DON’T give any attitude. They also offered some sound advice for many areas of life: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should! Hirani and Burton emphatically recommended against recording conversations.  

At the end of the day, delegates heard from USW District 6 Director Kevon Stewart and International Secretary-Treasurer John Shinn.

Stewart was named District 6 Director on Oct. 1 and is the first-ever Black District Director.

“Every decision that I make as District 6 Director, if it doesn’t have members at the heart of it, it’s not a decision I will make,” said Stewart. He spoke about the challenging circumstance of going on strike. “We deserve everything we fight for. If we don’t fight for it, we will not get it.”

John Shinn has been International Secretary-Treasurer since 2019 and is the former Director of USW District 4, covering Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and the territory of Puerto Rico.

Shinn will formally retire from the role in January, and will be replaced by former District 6 Director Myles Sullivan.

“Hearing the good work you have done is amazing, the work you are doing on behalf of our members,” Shinn said of the work of District 3 leaders, local unions and staff. “The labour movement is the greatest social movement in the world and we need allies too. We need to stand up for civil and human rights.”

Former longtime USW Local 7106 President Tom Davie also received the outstanding service award. Davie served as shop steward, local vice-president and then president from 2004 to 2024. He recently retired.

USW Local 7689 President Jason Prokopchuk, formerly a Saskatchewan Federation of Labour vice-president, received the outstanding service award as well. Prokopchuk also is a member facilitator and an ambassador and facilitator for the Elevating Action campaign against gender-based violence, as well as an avid community and campaign volunteer.

Delegates also got up to speak in support of various resolutions and of striking workers.

The conference also heard from Ruth Lopez and Imelda Jimenez, representatives of the Mexican union Los Mineros, with whom the USW has a longtime partnership and strategic alliance. The women reported on some of their union’s recent bargaining successes as well as breakthroughs in representation. For the first time, there are two women on the Los Mineros national executive board.

Lopez credited the Women Miners of Steel program, which is modeled after the USW Women of Steel with improvements to gender representation within the union and within workplaces.

Hot tip:

Some delegates also wondered why we state our pronouns at USW meetings. Do you have questions about that too? Check out this helpful primer put together by our National Steel Pride Working Group.

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