Lower Mainland Action Update, August 22, 2008

Lower Mainland Action Update, August 22, 2008

In this Update:

1. Young Workers Need Unions Forum
2. Left Film Night - Honey for Oshun
3. Central Committee meets this weekend
4. Upcoming Events

1. Young Workers Need Unions Forum

WHAT: Forum
WHEN: August 28th, 7pm
WHERE: #200-5118 Joyce Street (BCFED Office)
ORGANIZED BY: VDLC Young Workers Committee

The Vancouver & District Labour Council Young Workers Committee is organizing a forum for young workers who want better work and better wages. The forum will take place at the BC Federation of Labour Office (across the street from Joyce Skytrain) on August 28th.

The forum will feature a panel of young union organizers who will share their experiences and tips on how to get a union a win better wages, benefits and respect at your workplace.

The panel will include Jason Mann (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers), Katharine Shea (UNITE HERE) and Darren Miller (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees).

Union organizers will be at the event to meet young workers interested in pursuing organizing a union.

TELL YOUR FRIENDS! FOR A COPY OF THE EVENT POSTER E-MAIL US!

2. Left Film Night

LEFT FILM NIGHT presents:

"Miel para Oshun" ("Honey for Oshun")

7 pm, Sunday, August 31, at 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver.

Award-winning film-maker Humberto Solas directs this allegorical tale of a reunion between a mother and son. Roberto (Jorge Perugorria, star of Strawberry and Chocolate) moves with his father in the early ’60s from Havana to create a new lie in Miami. Thirty-two years later, after the death of his overbearing father, Roberto returns to find the mother his father claims abandoned them both. In Havana, Roberto meets up with his cousin Pilar (Isabel Santos), who tells him the truth: his well-to-do father had kidnapped him from his lower-class mother. Roberto sets out to find her, Pilar at his side. The journey takes them to the other end of the island where they discover that Roberto’s mother was once institutionalized following a breakdown caused by her son’s disappearance. They continue their search, turning up clues along the way, but beset by thieves, suspicious authorities and snags at every turn. At last, Roberto’s diligent efforts are rewarded, in more ways than he might have hoped. Drawing excellent performances from his cast, Solas balances the deeply emotional moments with exceedingly funny sequences (including one in which Roberto and Pilar are forced to slog along on bicycles during their arduous quest). The film also rests upon a multi-layered narrative in which Roberto’s childhood memories and internal meditations mix with the reality of the present. Refrains from Cuban songs add depth to the emotional atmosphere: “Havana, Havana, a song is enough to give you back all that time took from you.”

The film is 120 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles.

Sunday, August 31, 7 pm
Centre for Socialist Education,
706 Clark Drive, Vancouver (corner of Clark & E. Georgia)

No admission charge, but donations towards our costs are welcome. Coffee and refreshments available. Left Film Nights are presented by the Centre for Socialist Education, Young Communist League, and the Vancouver East Club of the Communist Party of Canada. Call 604-255-2041 or email for further information.

3. Central Committee meets this weekend

The Central Committee will meet this weekend in Toronto. On the agenda will be our work in peace, jobs and education, Rebel Youth and Juenesse Militante, the World Festival of Youth and Students and Cuba Solidarity work among other things. It will be followed by the Central CPC/YCL school. A full report will appear in the next update.

4.Upcoming Events

If you know of an event missing from this list, e-mail us and we can add it for next time.

August 22 (Friday), 6pm, “Islamophobia” Forum organize by StopWar @ 5060 Canada Way Burnaby
August 22 (Friday), 7pm, Café Rebelde @ Rhizone Cafe, 317 E. Broadway
August 28 (Thursday), 7pm, Young Workers Need Unions Forum @ BCFED Office, #200-5118 Joyce Street
August 31 (Sunday), 7pm, Left Film Night: Honey for Oshun @ Centre for Socialist Education, 706 Clark Dr.
September 1 (Monday), 12pm, Union Label Labour Day Picnic @ Confederation Park, Burnaby
September 16 (Thursday), 6pm, VDLC Pizza Educational @ Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph St.
September 16 (Tuesday), 7:30pm, VDLC Monthly Meeting @ Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph St.
September 20 (Saturday), 7pm, Chilean Independence Day @ Peretz Centre, 6184 Ash St
September 21 (Sunday), COPE Policy Conference, TBA
September 26 (Friday), 7pm, People's Co-Op Bookstore AGM @ People's Co-Op Bookstore
October 4 (Saturday), Rock for a Living Wage - VDLC Young Workers @ TBA Featuring: The Rebel Spell, Resist the Right, Legally Blind, one more band TBA\
October 4-5 (Saturday-Sunday), "More Power to you" Conference on public power. Details: www.citizensforpublicpower.ca

YCL BC Action Update - August 8, 2008

1. YCL BC Summer Camp
2. Under the Volcano
3. Jane Bouey for School Board
4. Left Film Night
5. Upcoming Events

1. YCL BC Summer Camp 2008

The 2008 YCL BC Summer Camp at Missezula Lake was a big success. Comrades from across B.C. as guests Drew Bowering, Marianne Breton-Fontaine and Johan Boyden from the Central Committee enjoyed a long weekend learning about reform and revolution, camping, partying, swimming, debating and eating fantastic food provided by Joyce Holmes of the Communist Party.

Next year we aim to make the camp even bigger and better so keep your next August long weekend free! If you would like the pictures from the camp just respond to this e-mail.

2. Under the Volcano

This Sunday (August 10th, 12pm-5pm) is the 18th annual Under the Volcano Festival and the YCL will be there sharing an info table with the Communist Party. For more info on the festival check out: http://volcano.resist.ca/


3. Jane Bouey for School Board!

Jane is a comrade and needs our support...

Please forward…sorry for any cross postings.

Jane Bouey, a long-time advocate for public schools in Vancouver, intends to run again in November for election to the Vancouver Board of Education. She will be seeking a COPE nomination.

Jane became active in education issues after her son was assessed as having a development disability. She recognized there were barriers that prevented many students from getting the support they need and began to advocate for change in the public school system.
A co-manager at an independent bookstore, Jane was elected as trustee on the Vancouver School Board in 2002-2005. She is proud to have been part of a COPE school board that stopped provincial funding cuts to inner city schools, passed comprehensive policy addressing corporate involvement in schools and advocated so effectively for all Vancouver children. Jane played a key role in the formation and implementation of the VSB’s groundbreaking LGBTQ policy. She served as Chair of the Board’s Education and Student Services Committee and sat on both the Special Education and Pride Education Advisory Committees. Jane also represented the Vancouver School Board on the provincial BC Trustees’ Association First Nations Education Committee and the City of Vancouver’s Joint Council of Childcare.

Jane is a member of: Vancouver Parents for Successful Inclusion, the Vancouver Public Education Project, the VSB Pride Committee, the Egale national education committee, organizes local literary events, and just finished a term on the board of her housing co-op.

Jane will be seeking re-election as a trustee in November 2008.

Show your support by:

1) Contacting Jane - janebouey@shaw.ca, or jbouey2008@gmail.com to get on her regular e-mail list.

2) Volunteering your time to her campaign

3) Joining COPE (if you are not already a member), and voting for Jane at the Nominating Conference.

To be eligible to vote at the COPE Nominating Conference, people must be a member in good standing on or before 5:30 pm August 14, 2008.

COPE Nominating Conference - 2:30 Sunday Sept 28
154 E 10th Ave Ukrainian Auditorium.

To join COPE go to: http://cope.bc.ca/Become+a+Member, or fill out attached form and send back to Jane at janebouey@shaw.ca, or to COPE 209-175 E Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5T 1W2 cope@cope.bc.ca

Membership is $20 or what you can afford.

4) Offering to endorse Jane’s campaign - janebouey@shaw.ca, or jbouey2008@gmail.com.

5) Contributing financially to Jane’s campaign - Jane Bouey 2008 c/o 307 1763 E Pender St Vancouver BC V5L 3X5

6) Contributing to COPE – cope.bc.ca

7) Joining Jane’s Facebook Group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17012367705&ref=ts and watch for new postings.

4. Left Film Night

LEFT FILM NIGHT presents:

"Miel para Oshun" ("Honey for Oshun")

7 pm, Sunday, August 31, at 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver.

Award-winning film-maker Humberto Solas directs this allegorical tale of a reunion between a mother and son. Roberto (Jorge Perugorria, star of Strawberry and Chocolate) moves with his father in the early ’60s from Havana to create a new lie in Miami. Thirty-two years later, after the death of his overbearing father, Roberto returns to find the mother his father claims abandoned them both. In Havana, Roberto meets up with his cousin Pilar (Isabel Santos), who tells him the truth: his well-to-do father had kidnapped him from his lower-class mother. Roberto sets out to find her, Pilar at his side. The journey takes them to the other end of the island where they discover that Roberto’s mother was once institutionalized following a breakdown caused by her son’s disappearance. They continue their search, turning up clues along the way, but beset by thieves, suspicious authorities and snags at every turn. At last, Roberto’s diligent efforts are rewarded, in more ways than he might have hoped. Drawing excellent performances from his cast, Solas balances the deeply emotional moments with exceedingly funny sequences (including one in which Roberto and Pilar are forced to slog along on bicycles during their arduous quest). The film also rests upon a multi-layered narrative in which Roberto’s childhood memories and internal meditations mix with the reality of the present. Refrains from Cuban songs add depth to the emotional atmosphere: “Havana, Havana, a song is enough to give you back all that time took from you.”

The film is 120 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles.

Sunday, August 31, 7 pm
Centre for Socialist Education,
706 Clark Drive, Vancouver (corner of Clark & E. Georgia)

No admission charge, but donations towards our costs are welcome. Coffee and refreshments available. Left Film Nights are presented by the Centre for Socialist Education, Young Communist League, and the Vancouver East Club of the Communist Party of Canada. Call 604-255-2041 or email for further information.

5.Upcoming Events

If you know of an event missing from this list, e-mail us and we can add it for next time.

August 10 (Sunday), Noon, Under the Volcano Festival @ Cates Park, North Vancouver. Volunteers needed for CPC/People's Voice/YCL table (Noon-6 pm)
August 31 (Sunday), 7pm, Left Film Night: Honey for Oshun @ Centre for Socialist Education, 706 Clark Dr.
September 1 (Monday), 12pm, Union Label Labour Day Picnic @ Confederation Park, Burnaby
September 16 (Thursday), 6pm, VDLC Pizza Educational @ Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph St.
September 16, 7:30pm, VDLC Monthly Meeting @ Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph St.
October 4 (Saturday), Rock for a Living Wage - VDLC Young Workers @ TBA Featuring: The Rebel Spell, Resist the Right, Legally Blind, one more band TBA\
October 4-5 (Saturday-Sunday), "More Power to you" Conference on public power. Details: www.citizensforpublicpower.ca