Day 1 of the ATU Canada Conference is officially in the books!
We opened in Halifax with the National Anthem, a Land Acknowledgment, and a Moment of Silence, before ATU Canada President John Di Nino called the conference to order. Claudia Chender, Leader of the NS NDP and Official Opposition, addressed delegates, and we heard reports from ATU International Vice Presidents Manny Sforza, John Callahan, and Ken Wilson, International Executive Vice President Yvette Trujillo and International Secretary Treasurer Ken Kirk, along with a strike recap from Local 1557's Olivier Lachance, Yan Dompierre-Duford, and Isabel Martins.
ATU International President John Costa made it to Halifax to close out the day, bringing greetings and a message that set the tone for the whole conference.
"We organize. We show up. We fight for our seat at the table, and when they attack us, we fight back and win." He pointed to the wins that prove it. Local 113's legal victory on drug and alcohol testing, Local 1557 coming out of their strike stronger, and the passage of Bill C-14 expanding Criminal Code protections for transit workers across the country. As Costa put it, "That's Power In Motion, and that's the ATU."
Onward to Day 2!