On Thursday, March 20 Hassan Husseini, a negotiator for the Public Service Alliance of Canada and a member of Unifor local 2025, declared his candidacy for president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). He will be challenging the current president, Ken Georgetti, in the first contested race in nearly a decade. The election will occur during the CLC conference in Montreal from May 5-9.
We at RankandFile.ca will be covering the election campaign, making sure the most pressing issues facing the labour movement are being addressed. We have attached Hassan Husseini’s press release and links to his campaign website, Facebook page and twitter account so you can inform yourself about his positions.
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Hassan Husseini announces bid for Presidency of the Canadian Labour Congress
Long-time labour activist Hassan Husseini has launched a campaign to “Take Back the CLC” in the first contested election for President of the Canadian Labour Congress since 2005.
“As workers and unions, we are facing a massive and unprecedented right wing attack,” says Husseini. “Labour and employment standards, collective bargaining rights, and the right of workers to organize and be politically active, are all targets of right wing governments at the federal and provincial levels. The labour movement is in a fight for survival as a force for progressive social change in Canadian society.”
Delegates will be able to elect the next President of the CLC at the upcoming convention which takes place in Montreal from May 5-9, 2014.
“In recent years, grassroots activism has won real gains. There is much we can learn from these successful struggles such as that of the Quebec students, Idle No More, the Toronto Library workers, the Chicago teachers and others,” says Husseini. “As CLC President I will empower and support that kind of local activism. I will help build the local leadership it takes to challenge someone like Stephen Harper, and his corporate backers.”
Hassan Husseini has more than 20 years of activism in the student, labour, social justice, community and international solidarity movements. A proud long-time member of CUPE, and currently a negotiator with the PSAC, he is currently a member of UNIFOR local 2025. Hassan has experience as a local president, human rights vice-president, health and safety representative, negotiating team member, and labour council delegate.
“The Canadian labour movement needs leadership that is strong, transparent, democratic and inspiring,” says Husseini. ” As CLC President I will give the CLC back to the workers, because there is nothing that bosses and this federal government fear more than an organized, united and worker-driven labour movement. We need, quite simply, a bottom-up, grassroots movement.”
Over the next six weeks, Husseini will be travelling across the country to meet with workers and CLC convention delegates. For more information about Hassan Husseini and his campaign for rank and file renewal of the labour movement, visit:
On Twitter @TakeBackCLC