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In July, I wrote that we planned to get rid of our LP collection. Well, the deed is done. We turned this into this first round then this What's left: classical, soundtracks, CD box sets, and albums Allan didn't want to part with (front). and finally, this. We got much more money than we expected, thanks to the honesty and integrity of Lincoln Stewart. * * * * For the most part, the business of buying used LPs and CDs is a bit shady, a half-step up from a scam. When Allan was a music critic, we used to trade CDs for cash on a regular basis. We got those CDs for free and they meant nothing to us, so whatever the buyer -- the owner of the used record store -- wanted to give us was free money. The buyer would make a few piles, and say, "Five dollars each for these, three dollars for these, and a buck apiece for these." It was a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. We never knew what they would sell the CDs for. With our LPs, it was very different. This was a personal collec...

I agreed to stand for election because it was an opportunity -- an opportunity to bring a progressive perspective to a riding where those ideas are usually overlooked, and a personal opportunity to expand my own skills and experience. Overall, it was a positive experience -- because it was so short-term. If it had been gone on for six months or a year, I would have been miserable! Here's what I liked, what I hated, and what I just don't get. Positives 1. I met a lot of people! Community activists, progressive-minded neighbours, minority voices in our suburban city. Strangers reached out to support our campaign, to encourage me personally, and with ideas of how they could help. I loved making these connections. It was personally gratifying, and it also expanded my own network in the community. 2. It was a completely immersive experience. I was fortunate to be able to take a leave-of-absence from both library and union work, so I could campaign full-time. I felt exactly like I ...

First of all, I do not apologize. I have nothing to apologize for. No one should apologize for having an unpopular opinion, or an opinion that the majority finds offensive. Second, I said nothing disrespectful to veterans. My utter lack of respect -- my undying contempt -- is for rulers whose policies send humans into unnecessary armed conflict. Those rulers pay lip-service to "supporting" troops, while their policies ensure more humans will suffer from the effects of war. If you're joining us in progress, here's what you missed.  Before the election, I took all my personal social media offline. We knew that the opposition would dedicate vast resources to digging up or fabricating anything they could use against NDP candidates. For some reason, no one directed me to remove wmtc links from the Wayback Machine (i.e., internet archives). This proved to be a grave error. A right-wing political hack who masquerades as a journalist received excerpts from some old wmtc posts...

Where to begin? Not blogging for the last eight weeks has been difficult! I was reminded how much I need to write, and how much I enjoy writing for readers. I have so much to catch up on -- I've been keeping a list -- but I don't want to overwhelm you. (For selfish reasons: I want you to read!) I'm going to blog my heart out, but I'll schedule only one daily post. At least that's the plan. The timeline runs something like this. April 7 - Ontario NDP search committee contacts me. April 9 - I agree to seek the nomination for the NDP in my riding; vetting begins. April 16 - Allan and I go to Vancouver Island with my brother and sister-in-law who live in Oregon. More than just a vacation, this was an exploratory trip, as we are considering moving there. April 20 - I am cleared to seek the nomination. April 24 - We return home from Vancouver Island. April 29 - I attend my first official NDP event, Andrea Horwath's campaign kickoff rally in Hamilton. May 6 - I am off...

Dear friends of wmtc: I have been nominated as the NDP candidate for Mississauga Centre, the riding where I live and work. You can follow my campaign here on the web , on Facebook , and on Twitter . I am very excited to work for the people of Mississauga Centre, to help bring change for the better. Under the leadership of Andrea Horwath, Ontario can recover from the devastating effects of past governments and begin to work for us , the working people of this great province. We need to break the pattern that has been holding us back: moving back and forth from Liberal government to Conservative, going from bad to worse and back again. We need a bold leap to something different: change for the better. Only the New Democrats offer that. I'm enormously proud to represent Ontario's NDP, and to be part of the solution. I hope I can count on your support. With love and solidarity for all, Laura Kaminker

I recently attended the CUPE Ontario Library Workers Conference, which has become a highlight of my year since I first attended (and was elected to the organizing committee) in 2015. It has eclipsed and replaced the OLA Superconference as the most relevant and enjoyable must-attend conference in my schedule. When I first got my librarian degree, I was very excited about attending my first "OLA" (as it's always called). But I quickly learned that the sessions are a crap-shoot, sometimes relevant but often obvious and dull. There's also a great deal of boosterism by OLA and the member libraries. For the difference between the two conferences, for OLA, think employers and libraries , for CUPE Ontario, think  labour and library workers . In recent years, our Library Workers Conference has focused on precarious work and health and safety issues, two themes that are inextricably linked. This year's conference was called "Sex, Drugs & Bed Bugs," a light ...

The City of Mississauga has a community recognition program , through which community groups can have their banner fly at City Hall for a day. When the program was announced, I said to a few of my union sisters, "I know a flag I'd like to see there...". I was only joking -- but they took me seriously! This morning, to the astonishment of many, the beautiful pink CUPE 1989 banner is flying beside Mississauga City Hall! This week marks one year since the members of CUPE Local 1989, Mississauga Library Workers, walked off their jobs and onto the picket lines. It was the first strike in our local's history and the first strike against the City of Mississauga. I am a member and now the president of Local 1989. In the past year, I've been invited to speak on panels, in conferences and conventions, in rallies, meetings, and gatherings of labour activists. Our local was honoured at the CUPE Ontario convention , and featured in a conference called "Building Strong Loc...

This week, the Toronto Public Library announced plans  to open libraries with no staff. Not just no librarians -- we've seen that in many places -- but no staff whatsoever. This was bad enough, but we were further horrified to see that the Ontario Library Association, a membership-based organization that is supposed to further the interests of libraries and librarians, seems to support this idea. OLA Executive Director had the chutzpah  to re-frame this as "innovative". If you are a librarian in Ontario, I hope you will provide feedback to the OLA through this petition: The OLA Should Oppose Staffless Libraries . Please consider sharing with your own library network. * * * * Petition by iPetitions * * * * March 23, 2017 Shelagh Paterson Executive Director Ontario Library Association Toronto, Ontario Dear Ms. Paterson: We, the undersigned, are public librarians in the province of Ontario and members of the Ontario Library Association (OLA). We are concerned and disturbed b...

Are there bag signs where you live? In Mississauga and perhaps most suburban places, people put up bag signs advertising services. The signs are cheap to buy and easy to post. They are also illegal. To me, they are the Nexus of Evil: advertising plus visual pollution plus polyethylene waste. I have called 311 to complain about these signs in my neighbourhood, and if the City has someone available, they will sometimes dispatch a crew to remove the signs. Presumably this crew is also doing other outdoor maintenance, or perhaps they are driving around removing bag signs, which would be awesome. Allan and I also remove these signs ourselves. When we lived in a house, we would throw the signs in the garage until enough had collected, then bundle up the vinyl for trash and the metal frames for recycling. Now, while we're out with our dogs, we'll just put the whole thing in a public trash barrel. This morning while I was out with Diego, I slipped the vinyl off a bag sign, crumbled it ...

After our members returned to work, but while I was still on staycation, I attended a community event organized by labour activists in Peel Region. It was a beautifully planned event, with music and food and lots of opportunities for participation. In Ontario, the Fight for $15 & Fairness is focused on the Ontario Ministry of Labour's Changing Workplaces Review . Each of the three keynote speakers was brilliant and revelatory. First, Gurjeet Sran, an economist from York University, blasted through the myth that raising the minimum wage hurts the economy. (In fact, raising the minimum wage actually  helps the economy .) Sran also spoke about the pressing need to raise the corporate tax rate. Even though most people in the room were familiar with these arguments, it's always good to brush up on facts and strengthen your knowledge. Next, Monica Avero spoke about the fight for justice for workers at Toronto Pearson Airport. Avero is a Unifor member and belongs to the Toronto Ai...

The Strike Is Over - We Have A Deal! The Bargaining Team is very pleased to announce that we have reached a settlement ! This is a "tentative settlement," pending ratification by our members, then the Library Board, and Council. The Bargaining Team is very happy. We are proud of the contract we are bringing home, and we know it never could have been achieved without a strike. Our members had the courage to use labour's most powerful tool and I believe they will feel it was worth it, both for the gains we've made on this contract, and for our future. The ratification vote is scheduled for Monday, July 25.

I am very pleased to announce that we had an encouraging afternoon at the table -- enough that we are meeting again tomorrow. So finally, something hopeful to report. Maureen O'Reilly, President of 4948, TPL Workers Union, and Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario, were instrumental in breaking the impasse and getting us back to the table. I am so grateful for their help! And even more so for how much I've learned from them. Change of Plans Tomorrow and Friday, we are only picketing at Central, and only from 8-12. It's supposed to be scorching, and none of us should be out for extended periods. Members who need the afternoon or evening shift can make their way to our new union hall, where everyone can call councilors, Library Board members, and/or 311. You might want to come up with a script together, to make sure you're all on the same page. A contingent of socialists from TO were supposed to come to the line tomorrow. (They have all visited our line and donated things ...

Picketing Today I received great reports from our members who said Good Morning at the executive garage. Picketing at Central in general is going very well. Don't forget to make leafletting and speaking to the public your top priority. In addition, we hit two locations today: Meadowvale and Courtneypark. Meadowvale "Fun Times at Meadowvale today! "The managers were playing Pokemon Go, as they tried to chase us around and find us. We could not stop laughing. "We had so much fun as we split up and they couldn't keep track of us. They had to chase us around the mall sidewalks, the transit terminal and even the new branch. I wonder how they liked being out today. They even asked us where the other people went when they couldn't see us all ... but we wouldn't tell them. "All in all we had a productive few hours, talking to many members of the public who showed support for us. "Negative news: we did learn that we cannot distribute flyers at the transi...

Libraries Rock! What can you say when 50 schoolkids march to your picket line holding signs they made to support us, chanting "Kids Say: " LIBRARIES ROCK! "??? What a day! The Dufferin-Bloor Hub camp does one social justice lesson each summer, and this summer, that lesson was US! The kids learned about labour rights, a little about the labour movement, what a strike is, and so on. They made signs -- and were each given a free book -- and came out to Mississauga to support the striking library workers. Also on hand were the executive of CUPE Locals 4948 (TPL Workers Union!), 416, 79, and 5180. They all brought us donations of money and water, along with their support on the line. Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario, and Yolanda McClean, CUPE National Diversity VP, arranged the whole day. When their storyteller fell through at the last minute, I told her, "Don't worry. We got this." And we sure did. After a rousing rally, our programmers swung into action. W...

We spent more time in the community this week, speaking to Mississauga residents about our cause, and giving the gift of free storytimes. Here are some reports. Malton "I had a customer tell me yesterday that he calls 3-1-1 everyday to find out when the library will be open. He asked what else he could do and I told him to continue to call everyday and also contact the emails and phone numbers on the flyer I gave him. "Many people I spoke to are outraged by the strike and the way the City is treating us. I also talked to a mom and her daughter dropping other small children off at the pool and she was so surprised at how we are being treated and said that I really "shed a light on the true side of the city as an employer". She's always suggested to her daughter to try and get a job with the City, but is now second-guessing this choice. She said she's going to write to everyone and asked for a few extra flyers to spread the word for us. "I think being at ...

While Ribfest took over Celebration Square, CUPE 1989 members had another satisfying day in our communities. The managers that the City has assigned to "monitor" us (their word) and the special outside security detail came along for the ride. Because, you know, library workers are a big threat to public safety. In our members' words and pictures, here is a bit of our day. Erin Meadows "I was at Erin Meadows Thursday afternoon. A customer came to return a book. He said he just came back from his vacation and he wasn't aware of the strike. When I explained our situation and gave him a flyer, he was really mad and told us he would send emails to the Mayor and Sue McFadden. He said: 'It's ridiculous, I can't believe City is treating part-time staff like this.' He also told us he will be supporting us throughout our fight. He is a customer at Erin Meadows and Meadowvale." Frank McKechnie "The Thursday picket at McKechnie went well. One custom...

On Thursday, striking Mississauga library workers visited various branches in the system to talk with members of the community. Here are some reports and pictures. Clarkson "Our group was quite small, but had a big impact. We saw many patrons that attend our programs regularly. Many were picking up children from camp and were happy and surprised to see us. All were very supportive. One lady took the letter and walked away, then came back to tell us how much she supported us and how wrong it was that our Library Director got a 7.3% raise along with what City Manager Janice Baker makes ($280,000/year). "We even had two patrons that are both former employees show up to support us, and bring us a snack. One even went to Staples to photocopy more handouts for us!! This was amazing and we were so grateful since we had almost ran out of flyers by then. We are looking forward to seeing more patrons tomorrow!" Mississauga Valley "People in general were happy to see us. Most ...