CUPE 998 members are proud of Manitoba Hydro and the work they, and all other employees, perform. Whether indoors or outdoors, from offices to field locations in every corner of the province, the natural gas and electricity needs of customers large and small are met day after day and into the future by competent and dedicated staff. It can be complex and demanding work but we are happy to deliver these services through a public utility owned by Manitobans. Our public utility is in a period of growth and renewal; the financial challenges this brings are investments in the future. A unified, public Manitoba Hydro protects rate-payers and delivers tremendous value to the Manitoba economy. Selling off or privatizing any part of it hurt in the long run and is simply not acceptable. We believe Manitoba Hydro should stay public and in one piece for the benefit of all Manitobans.

Here is an article written by Paul Moist, past president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Canada’s largest public sector union. It does a good job of putting the issues into perspective and was originally printed in the June 2017 edition of The Wolseley Leaf.

Manitoba Hydro – Key to Our Future article

Did you know that June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD)? It’s a day to respect and value our elders, and to highlight the need for action to prevent abuse of older adults.

It’s also a day to stand up for programs that provide community supports for older adults – like the Age & Opportunity Safety Aide program. The Safety Aide: Crime and Falls Prevention for Older Adults program needs your support! The provincial government has cut funding to the Safety Aide program, and a member at Local 3085 will likely be out of work by July 31, 2017. The Safety Aide program receives modest provincial funding and helps thousands of older adults. Follow the link above for more detail.

Our brothers, sisters and friends at CUPE Local 3085 – Age & Opportunity: Support Services for Older Adults will be leafleting to raise awareness about WEAAD and funding cuts to A&O:

THURSDAY, JUNE 15    11am – 1 pm
Manitoba Hydro Place building South entrance
(360 Portage Avenue, Graham Avenue entrance, near the Farmer’s Market.)
Please drop by if you can.   There will be postcards to sign – let’s save the Safety Aide program!  Wear purple to show your support.

Follow this link to find out more about WEAAD:   http://www.weaadmanitoba.ca/index.asp

CUPE 998 supports the LGBTTQI* community, diversity and inclusion. We encourages our members and the public to participate in the 30th annual Pride Parade. Details on the many PRIDE events.   CUPE Manitoba will have a large presence there and will be easy to find, just look for the pink CUPE flags on Memorial Boulevard.

The 10-day event culminates with the PRIDE Parade on June 4, 2017. Participants will be gathering at the Legislature for 10:00 am that day with the parade getting underway at 11:00 am sharp. The parade will wind its way through downtown and end up at the Forks for the day long closing festival. Come on out and show your PRIDE!

We have confirmed that Bill 19 will be before legislative committee again tonight. Very little notice was provided (again!) and this will be the second round of committee hearings on the issue. It creates another good opportunity to put pressure on the government to listen to the many voices opposing Bill 19 and the carve out of PowerSmart from Manitoba Hydro. We are asking citizens to show support by attending tonight’s meeting, if possible.

Thank you to those who signed onto our petition to save PowerSmart! Over 300 people signed up in less than a week with a raft of supporting comments that show how committed citizens are to PowerSmart. There is still time to get on board, click here to sign the petition and add your comments.

We hope to see you at the committee meeting this evening.

Committee meeting details:
Standing Committee on Legislative Affairs – Bill 19
Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at 6:00 pm
Room 255 Legislative Building
(free parking available on site)

Good news! Our recent activities have opened a window of opportunity to stop Bill 19 but we need help getting to the next step.

As posted on our website last week Bill 19 has been delayed at the committee stage by MLA’s who oppose it. If passed, Bill 19 will become law and will remove PowerSmart from Manitoba Hydro. It may still be possible to stop the bill if enough people contact government about it. We are asking all of concerned ratepayers and citizens to get involved and help save PowerSmart. Feel free to share this message with friends and family. The more people that speak up the better.

To assist with contacting government we have created a Save PowerSmart petition on Change.org. If you sign the petition email messages will be automatically sent to Premiere Pallister, Minister of Crown Services Ron Schuler and the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Caucus.

Alternately you can contact Premiere Pallister or Minister Schuler directly by email or phone to let them know PowerSmart should stay in Manitoba Hydro. Their contact information is below. You can also let your local MLA know how you feel; look up and contact information is available here.

Manitobans deserve good public services like the energy efficiency programs currently offered through Hydro.

Let’s do our best to keep PowerSmart in Manitoba Hydro.