Convention Update Day 1: April 19, 2018

OPSEU honours Dr. Howard McCurdy Stanley Knowles Humanitarian Award

Howard Douglas McCurdy (December 10, State University. 1932 – February 20, 2018) was a Canadi- an civil rights activist, politician and univer- McCurdy has also served for a time as sity professor. Michigan State University’s president of the National Association for the Advance- Life and career ment of Coloured Born in London, People (NAACP), Ontario, McCurdy’s which he found- great-great-grand- ed. father Nasa McCurdy was In 1959, he an agent on the joined the Biology Underground Department at Railway by which Assumption Uni- African-American versity (now part slaves escaped to of the University Canada in the 19th of Windsor) and century. became the first person of African He moved to Am- descent to hold a herstburg, Ontario tenure track posi- when he was nine tion in a Canadian and encountered university. He racism for the first was department time when he tried head from 1974 to join the Scouts. to 1979. He was excluded and told to form a In 1976–80, he black-only troop. founded and was president of the McCurdy studied Canadian College at the University of Western Ontario, where of Microbiologists. McCurdy authored more he received a Bachelor of Arts, and later at than 50 scientific papers and served on the Assumption College in Windsor, where he editorial boards of Bacteriological Reviews received a Bachelor of Science. He was and the Canadian Journal of Microbiology. awarded a Master of Science and a PhD in In 1967–68, he was president of the Cana- microbiology and chemistry from Michigan dian Association of University Teachers. Convention Update Day 1: April 19, 2018

Convention Update is brought to you by Les mises à jour sur le Congrès vous sont the elected members of the inSolidarity offertes par les membres élus du comité Committee, with the support of OPSEU staff, InSolidarity, avec le soutien du personnel and the OPSEU Executive Board. du SEFPO et du Conseil exécutif du SEFPO.

1 In 1962 he founded the Guardian Club, a civil rights organization to fight racial discrimination in Windsor. In 1969 he was a founder and the first President of the National Black Coalition of Can- ada.

McCurdy’s speech at the NDP’s founding convention is credited with choosing the name “New Democratic Party.” In 1979, he was elected alder- man in the city of Windsor and served two terms until he was elected as the New Democratic MP for the riding of Windsor-Walkerville in the federal election of 1984, thereby becoming Canada’s second black MP and the first black NDP MP.

In the 1988 election, he was re-elected in the renamed riding of Windsor-St. Clair, where he served until his defeat in the 1993 federal election. He was also a candidate for the party leadership in the 1989 leadership convention that selected Audrey McLaughlin.

McCurdy died on February 20, 2018, at the age of 85. He is survived by his wife, four children, and 10 grandchildren.

Awards McCurdy has received many awards, including the Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, and the J.S. Woodsworth Award for Human Rights in 2001. In 2012, McCurdy was made a member of the Order of Ontario. In November 2012, McCurdy was designated a Member of the Order of Cana- da. ■

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2 Honorary Lifetime Membership Award

Steve Graham, Local 462 retiree Steve worked as a paramedic in the Kingston area for 36 years until his retirement in 2016. Steve also served as a steward and in various other positions within the local, including local president, but mostly as treasurer.

Steve faithfully and expertly looked after local finances for many years, even continuing to do so while going through serious health issues.■

Honorary Lifetime Membership Award

Sue Brown, Local 662 retiree of what was coming day-to-day. Sue help defused serious conflicts in the local. The clashes had been longstanding and perilous In 2002, with the Conservatives at it again, Sue to us as a whole. Yet Sue was not intimidated was fearless in the face of both government and or deterred. Her no-nonsense diplomacy went a police action. Sue spent innumerable hours on long way in moving people. Like an old pro, she all of the locals’ picket lines, reassuring members managed to get members listening and find com- that if we stuck together, they would be fine. The mon ground. mood morphed from one of anxiety to one of res- olute determination. In 1996, in North Bay, she helped lead a huge picket line at the Psychiatric Hospital. That strike The end of the strike saw Sue arrested and was carried by local leaders like Sue who hung in charged. These charges had a very significant tough during a time when we really had little idea residual effect on Sue’s life, but as unfair as they were, she always understood that it was sometimes

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3 the price of doing business – our business of caring equipped our members in their struggles with their for people! respective employers, but also proved to be a huge cost savings to the region as well. Sue took an This plain-spoken sister could always show such active role in mentoring young members, especial- poise under pressure and yet seem so humble. ly encouraging new sisters to run for positions of Humility was always the one trait that stood out leadership. with Sue. No matter which role she was in, whether it was as a local president, vice-president of the In retirement Sue still continues to attend her lo- North Bay and District Labour Council, Executive cal’s meetings as well as remain 662’s Area Coun- Board member or as a four term regional vice-pres- cil delegate. She is, of course, an active participant ident, her modesty was always so pervasive. with the Region 6 Retiree’s Committee and has gone on to create a retiree flying squad in North In 2008, there was an explosive strike by Local Bay. 674 at the Temiskaming Health Unit in New Liske- ard. Sue sprinted in with her vehicle, blocking the This doesn’t even scratch the surface of covering roadway, blasting the music (Raise a Little Hell), the over 35 years of dedicated service Sue has and opening up the tailgate to reveal a box full of given to OPSEU! Yes, the sister may have retired picket signs. Addressing the speechless strikers, from her job at the hospital as an activity therapist, she said, “Well, I’m not here for my health sisters. but she will never retire from what she has always Grab a sign!” She completely mobilized members been: an activist, mentor and leader. ■ and garnered the Local of the Year award!

As an Executive Board Member, Sue instituted an effective education program that not only well

Brought to you by: 4 Honorary Lifetime Membership Award Honorary Lifetime Membership Award

including Abidh Khan, Local 500 retiree

Abidh retired in November 2016 – at the age of 70 – an active participant in OPSEU’s Workers of Colour after more than 40 years as a member, steward and Caucus. union activist in Local 500 at CAMH. He has been – and continues to be – a fixture at Over his four decades of activism in local 500, Abidh Labour Day and behind the bar at regional hospitality was a committed steward, advocate, and health and suites at weekend educationals and Convention. safety representative, where he played an active role on the picket lines during the 1996 OPS strike, and Despite suffering a major heart attack and undergo- continued to promote member participation and sup- ing emergency triple bypass surgery last September, port for the local up to, and after, his retirement. Abidh has bounced back with his typical energy and determination. He continues to be a presence in Re- He has also been a constant and active presence in gion 5, including, most recently, attending the Devel- Region 5 – during both OPS strikes (even though he opmental Services rally at Michael Coteau’s office on and the other members at the former Queen Street March 2, attending our International Women’s Day Mental Health Centre were divested from the OPS forum on March 3, and anchoring our hospitality suite in 1997), as well as on picket lines and rallies for the that evening. OPS, BPS and CAAT-A and CAAT-S strikes and campaigns. He also participated in strikes and campaigns As a consistent and committed rank-and-file activist by other unions and community allies. for 40 years – and a genuine OPSEU phenomenon – Abidh is an ideal candidate for an honorary OPSEU For more than 20 years, Abidh has been a delegate Lifetime Membership. Giving Abidh this award is an and active and vocal participant in OPSEU’s Queen’s eloquent way of honouring the hard work and commit- Park Area Council and its successor, the Greater ment of the thousands of local and regional activists Toronto Area Council. He has been increasingly active like Abidh who are the backbone of our union. ■ over the past 10 years or more in OPSEU campaigns and political action, from staffing and co-ordinating regional phone banks, to contacting members during provincial, federal and municipal elections, to becoming a fixture on anti-privatization and, later, We Own It leafletting, info pickets, rallies, canvasses and meetings.

Abidh has been a longtime supporter of the fight against racism, sexism and discrimination in our workplaces and communities, reflecting his experi- ence as an immigrant and worker of colour in Canada starting in the 1970s. He has also supported the work to achieve greater equityKate and Davis inclusion within OPSEU, Evan Carter John Wing

Brought to you by: 5 Human Rights Award – Individual

Albert Salmon, Local 378

On January 26, 2009, the LCBO warehouse manager in Durham physically accost- ed job steward Albert Salm- on for wearing an Obama T-shirt, despite the LCBO having no dress code for warehouse employees.

In addition to reporting this to the police and media, Salmon filed a workplace grievance and won his race- based complaint.

In November 2015, a co-worker wore a Confeder- ate flag on his vest, but man- agement did nothing about this known racist symbol at work until Salmon filed a group grievance with other racialized employees.

The Durham warehouse is currently undergoing a long-overdue workplace investigation of allegations of systemic racism due to Salmon’s courageous action.

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6 Leah Casselman Award – Individual

eight years, four of those as a Regional Jay Jackson, Local 245 Vice-President. In that role, he was elected to numerous board committees, including the Audit Committee, the Political Action Com- Jay has been a longtime activist, both in OPSEU mittee and the Resolutions Committee. and in the community. He graduated as a profes- sional photographer and was offered a position He also chaired the OPSEU employer-side at Sheridan College in 1975. negotiations team, effectively coming to a fair collective agreement for both staff At the time, there was talk of bringing a union unions. into the workplace. That union was OPSEU. Jay was quick to get involved and was soon being In 2008, he was recognized for distinction by elected to the roles of steward and president of the Oakville and District Labour Council for the support staff unit at Sheridan. his work in pursuit of workers’ rights, equity and democratic socialism. To this day he As local president, Jay attended OPSEU provin- continues his hard work on behalf of OPSEU cial meetings. It was at one of those meetings members.■ that he was elected to the college support bargaining team. Jay chaired numerous rounds of bargaining for the support staff unit. At the time, the union was very involved in pay equity negotiations and issues related to the Social Contract. Jay led many of these efforts and helped expand the union conversations to other like-minded workers in postsecondary education.

Jay also sat on postsecondary committees with our national union, advocating for recognition and support of college workers nationally.

He was also very active in politics, running three times as an NDP candidate, both provincially and federally.

In the community, Brother Jackson serves on the Halton Community Legal Clinic Board. He was Chair of the Halton Hills Library Board for almost 30 years and just recently stepped down.

Jay served on the OPSEU Executive Board for

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7 LeahHuman Casselman Rights Award Award – Individual – Local

College support locals have been successful in cre- It happened because our college support locals kept ating fairer workplaces by organizing their part-time on their agenda bringing justice for part-time workers support workers across the province of Ontario. who had been denied the right to organize for over 40 years. They helped find workers, sign cards, organize Many people, including the law firm Hicks Morley, events and make part-time workers want to belong to thought this could never be done. They thought, OPSEU. They created a database, shared information because they helped to write the legislation; because that had been gathered over two years on college they gave legal advice to the College Employer support part-time workers, worked with their labour Council; because they schooled the colleges on ways allies, and helped make Canadian history. to stop organizing from occurring; and because they wasted millions of tuition dollars fighting us, that it College support locals used tactics never tried before. would never happen. But it did! We conducted focus groups, used an online card, and developed an online game to gain the support of stu- Anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “Never dent college part-time workers – all of this, in conjunc- doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, tion with the leadership of our college support staff. citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The College Support Division is Our locals exemplified the true spirit of mobilizing to that small group of thoughtful, committed locals that win. Where many may have doubted, these locals worked diligently alongside organizing staff to make persevered and continued to work to make it happen. this happen.

When you think about organizing Ontario colleges, the logistics are daunting. There was a need to reach out to and build relationships with approximately 20,000 support staff across the province, many of whom work less than three months in an academic year.

Most groups would have given up after the first couple of months, with the tactics the employer engaged in. They kicked some of our people off the campus, had security follow them around, threatened some of our local leaders with discipline, and created a chill in the workplace to dissuade part-time workers from signing cards.

Most organizing drives are challenging, but when you add in the size of the potential bargaining unit, the length of the campaign, the nastiness of the employer and the number of workplaces, it’s truly remarkable that college support locals achieved this.

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8 Tim Brown Award

Geri Kakeeway, Local 732

Sister Geri Kakeeway, Local 732 College Support Geri is very active in her community, educating, and Indigenous Circle rep, is an amazing person, teaching and mentoring everyone around her.■ a great teacher and mentor, and an inspiring community activist.

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