What Participants in Fredericton March Had to Say
In Fredericton, the NB Media Co-op interviewed some of the approximately 250 marchers. Here are
some quotes:
Gail Wylie, Former Civil Servant
"I'm just here in support of all the civil servants. I used to be
one. And I thought about them often as the COVID was going on. I
thought I couldn't have coped as they've done. They're so creative, and
they're so committed, and I just really appreciate the fact that they
kept things going. And especially the health care. I think we should
honour the fact that they are taking risks and they're so talented at
being able to adapt."
Sonny Levasseur, CUPE 2745
"I'm a zone delegate for the Oromocto-Fredericton region [education
support staff]. I'm here to show my support for CUPE. I want to support
all public sector workers, support all front-line workers, that's
basically it."
Sandy Harding, CUPE Maritimes Regional Director
"I'm here for two reasons really. One is that I don't think the
public service workers in the frontline, essential workers, whether
they're unionized or not, have been recognized for the work they've
done in this province. So that's one reason: I think they need a
thank-you. They've held this province together during a pandemic. And
the other
reason is, I'm a mom of five, who has continued to say that I believe
it's the government's responsibility to keep my children in this
province and not tell them to go out to Alberta to get better wages.
And I feel this fight that we're in now can impact us for generations
to come. If we do not do something and invest in our public service
here, and
our public service workers, we'll continue to lose our children to
other provinces, which has an impact. And I'm not willing as a mom to
have my children dispersed all over North America because they're going
to find a better job. I want them in this province. I would love that
they work in the public service, and I want to encourage them. So
that's the two reasons."
Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario
"I'm here from Ontario to show solidarity with our members in New
Brunswick. What's happening here is incredibly inspiring because
frontline workers, public sector workers are facing the same
challenges. Whether we're in Ontario and New Brunswick, Alberta, across
the country, we're the folks who got our communities through the
pandemic, in incredibly stressful, difficult situations. And now,
governments seem to think that somehow, we're the ones who should have
to pay the price for that. And I'm so proud of our members here and the
communities here for standing with them and organizing to say,
‘No, we're not going to stand for that anymore. We're going to
demand
better.'"
This article was published in
September 1, 2021 - No. 77
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08772.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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