On the road: The great eastern tour

“We’re finally seeing our members again!” PSAC-Quebec Regional Executive Vice-President (REVP) Yvon Barrière exclaimed as he embarked on a more than 2,000 km-long automobile tour of eastern Quebec. 

With more than fifteen meetings over five days, this was his opportunity to reconnect with members after two challenging years of pandemic. Bargaining and mobilization were the orders of the day. 

“Seeing real faces, meeting new members, greeting our smiling activists, chatting with everyone…we really missed this,” Yvon Barrière asserted. “The nicest surprise was seeing how motivated our members are. They’re ready to fight tooth and nail to defend their employment contracts against rising inflation and a neglectful government.”

Our REVP, alongside regional representative Mélanie Desrosiers, spoke with dozens of members from Bas-St-Laurent, Rimouski, Matane and Gaspé, to name a few. Our call was answered by members from all fields, including UNE (Parks Canada), USJE (Correctional Services), CEIU (Service Canada), GSU (Public Services and Procurement Canada), UHEW (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and UCTE (Canadian Coast Guard). We owe the tour’s success to the phenomenal work of the organizers, locals and components that made these visits possible.