Meow everyone. Well, you will r3emember the last articles i wrote on UNIFOR and the CFS and what plan was in the works , seemingly, for the CFS. This article, a continuation of the previous ones, will get into greater detail as to why I suggest that a merger between the CFS and UNIFOR is a very real possibility . This article will names names f the key players ( and of show show you who they are with their images ) and I will outline their connection to either the CFS, UNIFOR or other unions.
Remember as well that if you wish to see the images in full size, simply click onto them .
The first place to start is at the top, the OFL ( Ontario Federation of Labor ) Of course we all know who slippery Sid Ryan is, Who Irwin Nanda and Nancy Hutchinson are , however, for those who need a reminder, here they are again:
However, I want to concentrate on those with CFS connections so, here is a picture of Joel Duff to begin with .
Duff is no stranger to radical activism. He was up to the point when he joined the OFL back on or about January 03- 2011, the head organizer with the CFS. He was also the CFS Ontario chairman previous to that. As the head organizer for the CFS, he was involved in organizing a plethora of radical actions ranging from the failed ” DROP FEES ” campaign to organizing the student protests for the G20 as seen here:
Duffs asset to the OFL is significant as he is fully bilingual and has significant connections across Canada , primarily with the most radical student organizations. This guy is one to keep a very close watch on .
The next person on the list is Denise Hammond. Hammond was until recently the president of CUPE 1281, the most radical of the CUPE union locals , as well, she was the director of outreach and communications for the Ryerson Student Union. Hammond ran 1281 and the student union with an iron fist and very few dared to take her on. Hammond was for a period of time in a personal relationship with Duff so the union / CFS was deeply seeded into them both. However, Hammond all of a sudden simply gave up her presidency of local 1281 , something she could have had , unchallenged for life , to, wait for it, join UNIFOR . She gave up a significant title and , the salary that went with it. Hammond is now working here :
The next images we see are those of Hammond and her twitter feed where she tells us she is a founding member of UNIFOR . So, my question is; Why would she leave , or give up her seat as a CUPE president to become a simple rank and file founding member of this new organization?
Pictured with Hammond is another person of some note. Greg Denton . Denton was the director of communications for CUPE local 1281 and worked directly under Hammond at the Ryerson Student Union. Denton left to go to Halifax to work for the local NDP candidate there . It is unclear to me if he has returned to Toronto to stay.
Halifax is not foreign territory to either the CFS, the RSU and some of its former executive. Rebecca Rose who was a past President and Vice president of the RSU, moved to Halifax to take over the director of outreach and communication for the CFS out there.
While in Halifax, Rose worked for Kaley Kennedy who was the Chairperson of the CFS out there .
If that name is not familiar to you , it should be. you see , Kaley has a sister, Shelby Kennedy, who, just so happened to be the CRO ( chief returning officer ) for the Ryerson Student Union elections in February 2013.
So far with the exception of Joel Duff and Denis Hammond, we only have only some loosely based connections to the union movement but strong CFS connections and ties. Now, we need to look a bit deeper at those with far greater input and connections to both organizations to see that my postulation of this possible merger is more than just a theory of mine. The first hint of this as being a very possibility comes from UNIFOR themselves. This screen shot below shows very clearly that indeed, UNIFOR is looking to recruit STUDENTS to thier ranks:
With the possibility of adding students the ranks of UNIFOR, the question then becomes: How would students, many who are either not working, or have low wage employment and part time at that, going to be able to afford union membership? The answer lies with the realistic possibility and likely hood of a merger between UNIFOR and the CFS where the students who now are forced to pay into an organization they as students have zero say in, an organization that does nothing for students now, an organization that forces students to be members regardless of whether they want to be members or now, would now be forced to become members of a new organization, again, regardless of whether they wish this or not. UNIFOR gains about three hundred thousand new instant members, some highly radicalized which is exactly what they want, and more importantly, they gain millions of YOUR student dollars , while doing NOTHING for you. So, who are the ones playing roles behind the sences to make this happen? While the CFS currant and past executive of course .
OK, so , so far I have offered up my theory that there may be a realistic merger taking place sometime in the near future between the CFS and UNIFOR. Next, we need to look at the players directly related to this possibility and who they are. Not too long ago, there was a rather detailed article about the potential demise of the CFS and the key figure in this article should come as no real surprise to anyone. Here is the article in question :
Did you catch that? The name mentioned in this article should be one that many in the radical activist and anarchist community should know very well. Ashleigh Ingle. Ashleigh is no stranger to radical activism , as often time, she can be seen at various radical protests yelling things like fuck the police, eat the rich and other like minded claptrap. However, Ashleigh leads another life, one as a teacher in none other than one of more most exclusive private schools in Toronto. While she may be a radical anarchist, she is brilliant, a PHD student in astro-physics if i recall correctly. Here is an image Ashleigh I shot during a not to distant protest at Ryerson University:
Ashleigh is also very heavily involved with the U of T grad studnets union. this is one of the student unions looking to leave the CFS. This student union is known as being one of the most radical student unions out there. During the G20, it the U of T grad student union that was raided by the police on a Sunday morning to arrest several black bloc anarchists who here being housed there , from Montreal. The same student union was being run by a guy named Daniel Vandervoort. Vandervoort is a very loyal CFS supporter as seen here in this image below. He is also one of the ones I have named in a picture above with Joel Duff during the G20 in Toronto. :
I spoke about the U of T graduate student union an dhow it was raided during the G20 where several black bloc anarchists from Montreal were arrested. Those arrested later had the charges dropped. however, I am of the opinion that the charges were dropped because of the administrative nightmare that the G20 was fast becoming. While many were arrested, it appeared that the crown was more interested in focusing their efforts on prosecuting those who had significant roles that included property destruction. While others were arrested for failing to provide ID when legally required, or for being in direct proximity to restricted areas, the cost of those prosecutions would have added significant costs so, it was, simply cheaper to let some go.
The U of T students Union directors where not at all unaccustomed to radical actions. back in about the summer of 2009, the then director of outreach and communication, Angela Regnier was an active participant during the blockade of the Gardiner Expressway by the Tamil protest . She was subsequently arrested for her role but those charged were later dropped.
Oh look, another former CFS executive member … quell surprise . It was widely rumored but never outright fully confirmed that Angela Regnier was then the partner of another radical student union head, Jeremy Salter, Salter was the director of outreach and communication for the York University Federation of students and now, HE is the head organizer for the CFS, replacing Joel Duff who left to join the OFL some years prior.
Here is Salter , circled wearing the blue shirt , at the G20 during the sunday riot at the holding center. Here he e is with the Ryerson Students Unions Caitlin Smith , Rodeney Diverlus and Hamid Osman who is now running the york federation of students as their executive director of outreach and communication. I do need to make clear here that while they are indeed pictured here, I am not suggesting that they were participating in either rioting or other illegal acts:
The CFS connection does not end there, however. The currant director of outreach and communication for the U of T student union is none other than Sandy Hudson, former Ontario Chair person for the CFS.
So now, we have a former CFS chairperson running the very same student union that wants to leave the CFS. This cannot be happening right under her nose without her knowledge and approval .
However, Ms. Hudson is not the only CFS executive member who is supporting UNIFOR and its desire to gain more members. Next, we need to look at the CURRANT head of the CFS, Alistar Woods. Here he is :
However, still, the CFS / UNIFOR does not end there. y4et another former CFS chairperson is deeply involved with UNIFOR, seemingly in a communication and outreach capacity . Let me introduce you to Roxanne Dubois:
Here is a direct twitter feed note that clearly indicated Roxanne Dubois as being their community organizer . What is very interesting to note here is that UNIFOR was, from the time I have been at Ryerson, the first UNION to actually present as , and for union agendas, to students at a seminar such as this. this is yet another indication that UNIFOR is actively looking to students and student unions to become part of THEIR membership :
With all these former and present CFS executive members being involved with UNIFOR, it is not at all a stretch to suggest that a merger between the two organizations is not too far off. However, that leaves the question of why, and who this merger, if indeed it were to happen, benefit? As well, what would the consequences of such a merger, be to students?
However, I have one other person of significant note to ad to the list here of former CFS leaders and radical student union leaders that have joined UNIFOR an din this case, as a founding member. Nora Lorreto is no stranger to radical politics and as the former president of the Ryerson Student Union, the former head of communications for the CFS , she is a big name to add to their ranks. Loretto is well connected across Canada and has significant ties to both the union , anarchist and student movements. Indeed, here connection to the anarchists is very close to home for her. Her partner Jesse Greener is even seen sporting an anarchist tie at the going away party for Joel Duff when Duff joined the OFL. Here is Jesse greener and his wonderful anarchist tie:
Here is Nora loretto :
Here is Nora Loretto announcing her founding membership into UNIFOR :
Nora recently wrote a ” book ” on unions and how students should embrace them. I promise to give her book the exact same attention I give to the clap trap written by Judy Rebbick :
However, our Ms. Nora is also no stranger to radical activism. here she is telling us all the laws in Quebec need to be broken :
Nora has spoken out against the idea of student unions leaving the CFS .however, with all these people who were or still are with the CFS, and with all these seemingly close connections to UNIFOR what then is really going on? I will outline that in the next installment so stay tuned………..
