CANDIDATE FOR VICE PRESIDENT

JACK ETKIN

The BCGEU needs to do more:
Working people are under attack around the world. We are seeing it in Greece and France and England and the United States. Canada may be next, and in fact we are already under attack.

The one group that is big and powerful enough to protect us is Our Unions, including our own BCGEU. That’s why I’m running for the position of vice-president of this union.

I believe that the unions must start to build an independent and grassroots media that can get OUR message out to the people of B.C. and Canada. As long as Big Business controls our television, radio, daily newspapers and almost everything else, we are going to continue losing all of the important battles for our futures.

The corporations are out to destroy the middle class, and the unions, and it’s up to us to stop them. And we can. But we have to do what they have done, which is to build a media and use that media to put out a message and to support the politicians and political parties who will honestly support us. Otherwise, all will be lost.

Democracy: The word democracy comes from the Greek words Demos (the people) and Kratia (to rule). Democracy means The People Rule. There are a lot of things I believe in and want to do, but I PROMISE that I will not do anything that the membership of this union does not want to do, and I WILL do what the members want done. This is not about me, it’s about you and what you want.

I want to see a lot more contact between the executive and the members, with the members being central. This means finding out what the membership thinks and feels and wants; and then our union has got to follow the path that is laid out by the members. That is the number one thing I want to do.

Our governments: I want the unions, and the BCGEU, to lead the fight to regain citizen control of our governments, because that will benefit us all. I also want our union itself to be as democratic and well run as possible. I would like to see our magazine, The Provincial, become bigger and better and more widely distributed and speak to all the people of this great province. Why don’t we have Union Television and Union Radio? I want our union to reach out to the broader community and help build a better society for us all. We have lots of talented people, and there is lots we can do.

The Deficit: People around this province are being hammered by ‘the deficit’ that The Politicians and The Media tell us we have. Even this union is telling members not to expect anything ‘because of the deficit’. The deficit in BC has been caused completely by Gordon Campbell’s tax cuts for the biggest businesses and richest people in the province.

In other words, WE are being told to have less so that the richest can have more. We cannot continue to meekly accept that pack of lies; we have got to start fighting back - and the best way to do that is with the truth. THERE IS NO DEFICIT except for the one that the Liberals have deliberately created with tax cuts; and we will not accept those at the bottom having less while the richest keep putting our wealth and our money into their pockets. That is what I want to fight for - but again, I will do only what the membership wants because my greater belief is in having a democratic union where the membership runs the show.

Me: I’m 62 years old. I teach English to people moving into the country at the Inter-Cultural Association in Victoria. It’s a nice job at a nice place and I am very lucky. I think that everyone should be this lucky. People deserve decent jobs and decent pay. I’ve been a steward here for several years, and am thankful for the professional help I have received from the union when members have needed help. I’m involved with an independent newspaper and have a program on our community television station (channel 11) in Victoria (google: face to face with jack etkin). I know the power of the media and how to make it work for us.

I believe in protecting our planet. I believe in a more equal society, like we used to have. I believe that greater income equality is vital to the health of our society. I know we can solve the problem of homelessness. I’m tired of corporate free trade deals and billion dollar bank profits. I want full employment. I want more money for our schools instead of for a stupid roof on a football stadium. I don’t want our forests and salmon destroyed for the benefit of multi-national corporations.

I know that Big Business is deliberately ruining our public health care system so they can privatize it, and I want this union to fight them. I know that family farms can work. I know that we can do better, and I want our union and all of us to be leaders in that fight to move our province and our country in a better direction.

Thank you.

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