“’New Day, New Power, New Orleans, was the theme of this year’s conference!
We asked our attendees what the highlight of the Women’s Conference was for them and here are their responses:
Jenny Gaylard: “The speech from Donna Brazilia…it was inspiring, powerful and exhilarating!! She captivated the women instantly with her humor, life experiences and her dedication to women’s rights!”
Dot Tompkins: Teamster Shop Steward from IKEA, has been locked out with her coworkers for the past four months. Dot spoke to the 1,000 conference attendees as part of a “Women’s Activist” panel to raise awareness about the IKEA Lockout. “This is a fight on workers, and we are grateful for the huge amount of support we have received. We are stronger now than the day we went out,” Tompkins said.
Karmen Spooner: The location “New Orleans” was amazing and the shared stories from our sisters were so inspiring.
Cheri Capadouca: The highlight for Cheri was meeting the other Shop Steward Representatives from Local 213. She also found the Canadian Workshop very informative.
Melinda Wornock: “For me the highlight was seeing so many women, the passion and enthusiasm that they have for their union was pretty amazing.”
Lucie Bourgeois: Lucie attended a workshop called “You be the Arbitrator” using real arbitration cases, participants rendered a decision after reviewing arguments by the union and the company. Lucie said “Many of the work shop facilitators were lawyers and it was so nice to be able to tap into their expertise”.
Kimm Davis:
| Teamsters Canada always puts on a special workshop for Canadian Women attendees, this year it was “Accommodating Women in the Workplace” facilitated by a panel of women lawyers. It was very interactive and educational. |
Kimm spoke to the 1,000 conference attendees as part of a “Women’s Activist” panel to raise awareness about the IKEA Lockout. “Why should you care about the IKEA lockout? Every time a rich company like IKEA is successful in replacing decent paying jobs with low-wage marginal jobs, Canada’s shrinking middle class is made even more vulnerable.” Davis said.
