Gabe MacNally R.I.P

From the St. Catharines Standard:

Union leader MacNally dead at 63

Gabe MacNally was a devoted union man who especially enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren. MacNally, 63, died in his St. Catharines home July 14 of natural causes. A funeral was held Saturday.

He was the president of the Canadian Auto Workers Union Local 199 in 1996-97 and then became a CAW national representative. MacNally retired from that position in 2006. He was also a past president of the St. Catharines and District Labour Council and sat on the United Way of St. Catharines and District board of directors.

In the 1990s, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat on city council in the St. Patrick’s ward.
MacNally was born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, and spent his teenage years in Port Dalhousie. In 1974, he started working at General Motors in St. Catharines and became heavily involved in union activities.

“He got affiliated with the union and that pretty much was his career,” said his son,
Ryan MacNally. “I can’t tell you the endless amount of people that came to his
funeral and said what an asset he was to the union. He was an excellent professional arguer for the union. “Politics was also always a big thing for him.”

When his sons Ryan and Paul had children of their own, Gabe MacNally became heavily involved in the lives of his grandchildren. “He always wanted to be around his grandchildren; take them up to the cottage, take them fishing, to Toronto Rock (lacrosse) games,” Ryan MacNally said.

CAW Local 199 president Wayne Gates paid tribute to his predecessor.
“The one thing from his family, and people I’ve talked to, is how much Gabe loved our union, our local and our community,” he said. “I believe we all owe Gabe a great deal of thanks for his integrity, honesty and hard work,” Gates said. “He improved the lives of our members and helped make the community a better place to live and raise our families.”

Injured Workers' Rally

Labour Council activists participate in the June 1, 2008 Injured Workers' Rally at Queen's Park.

EI Monitoring & Assessment Report

The EI Commission makes public every year the EI Monitoring & Assessment report.

The report provides an overview of the labour market context by province, by sector and by demographic groups, as well as information from key studies and evaluations on the impact and effectiveness of the EI program.

The following is a link to the 2007 Monitoring & Assessment report for your reference: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/employment/ei/monitoring_assessment/index.shtml

Day of Mourning Events in Niagara

April 28, 2008 Day of Mourning Events:

Niagara on the Lake
Location: Centennial Park Arena
Four Mile Creek Road, Virgil
Time: 9:30 a.m.

St. Catharines (Workers’ Monument)
Location: Government Road beneath St. Catharines’ Skyway
Theme: In memory of workers killed during a construction project
on the Skyway
Time: 11:00 a.m.

St. Catharines (Merrit Park Monument)
Location: St. Paul Street West at Burgoyne Bridge
Time: 4:30 p.m

Port Robinson (Rededication Service)
Location: Esquire Explosion Site, 125 South Street North
Time: Sunrise Service 7:30 a.m.

Welland (Rededication Service)
Location: Merritt Park Monument, King Street
Time: 9:30 a.m.

Port Colborne (Rededication Service)
Location: H.H. Knoll Park Monument, Sugarloaf Street
Time: 11:30 a.m

Fort Erie
Location: Fort Erie City Hall, Hwy #3
Time: 2:30 p.m.

Niagara Falls
Location: Niagara Falls City Hall
4310 Queen Street
Time: 4:30 p.m.

It's Time for Public Child Care

Public Child Care Forum

Tuesday March 4,
Howard Johnson's Hotel
7-9 pm


We have a vision for child care in Ontario.

Together, parents, the labour movement and child care advocates have fought for:

- A universal, high quality child care system with a space for every child
- Decent wages and working conditions for child care workers and Early Childhood Educators.
- A comprehensive, affordable child care system modeled on Quebec’s $7/day early learning and child care programs.

Labour Council Elects New Executive

St. Catharines & District Labour Council Elects New Executive

Larry Savage, a Professor of Labour Studies and Political Science at Brock University and member of the Brock University Faculty Association, was elected President of the St. Catharines & District Labour Council in November 2007

Before starting full-time at Brock University in 2006, Savage was Chief Steward of CUPE local 4207, worked as an organizer for UNITE HERE's Ontario council, and served as a constituency assistant to Welland MPP Peter Kormos.

He is the co-author of a book entitled Confrontation, Struggle and Transformation: Organized Labour in the St. Catharines Area, and is actively engaged in labour movement research.
Savage, 30, is the youngest President in the Council's history. He replaces Sue Hotte, who served as Labour Council President for seven years. She did not seek re-election.

The St. Catharines & District Labour Council is the largest central labour body in Niagara. It combines the strength of dozens of local unions representing thousands of working women and men in virtually every sector of the local economy. Its mandate is to organize and advocate on issues that are vital to working people throughout the region, and to carry out local campaigns for the Canadian Labour Congress.

Meet the Labour Council's new executive:

President: Larry Savage (BUFA)
1st Vice-President: Bruce Allen (CAW)
2nd Vice-President: Sharon Shearing (USW)
Secretary: Diane Cormier (CUPE)
Sgt-at-Arms: Serge Valcourt (OPSEU)
Members-at-Large: Dan Crown (CUPE)
Elizabeth Ferretti (CAW)
Jonah Butovsky (BUFA)
Mohammad Nazir (CAW)
Tim Fowler (CUPE)
Ethan Clarke (UNITE HERE)