KINGSTON, Ont. - John MacLennan’s 18-year tenure as Union of National Defense Employees (UNDE) National President will close the same way it began – defending the rights of workers.
MacLennan will join federal public service workers from across Kingston and the Islands in a mass rally to protest the Phoenix pay system fiasco. The rally will take place outside the office of Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen on August 2, 2017, followed by a farewell BBQ for MacLennan.
More than 85,000 federal public service workers have been affected by the Phoenix pay system, either getting overpaid, underpaid or not paid at all by the government. Thousands of workers have had to resort to paying their bills with credit cards or lines of credit. After more than a year and a half; thousands are still suffering with pay problems.
“Workers have lost faith in their employer, the Liberal government, and its ability to fix Phoenix. How about we put MPs on this pay system and see if that will speed up the process,” says Sharon DeSousa, PSAC Ontario Regional Executive Vice-President.
Mass Phoenix Rally
August 2, 2017
4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Office of Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen
841 Princess Street, Kingston, Ont.
Farewell BBQ for John MacLennan, UNDE National President
August 2, 2017
5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Legion Branch 560, 734 Montreal Street, Kingston, Ont.
MacLennan has been a dedicated union activist since he first became a shop steward with the Canadian Forces in 1983. Since then, he has quickly risen through the ranks of the union, having been elected as UNDE Executive Vice President in 1996 and later elected National President in 1999, where he has faithfully served the membership ever since.
“I hope that during my tenure I have made a difference in the Labour movement. Like any leader, leadership only makes a difference when you have strong activists working together for the working people,” said MacLennan. “I am happy to retire feeling the solidarity within the PSAC membership and I have confidence the next generation of leaders will continue the fight to better the quality of life for the membership they represent.”
MacLennan has been a steadfast defender of workers’ rights, for years battling the closure of Canadian Forces bases, the threat of downsizing and the contracting out of public service jobs.
Special guests at the farewell BBQ will include PSAC National President Robyn Benson, PSAC Ontario REVP Sharon DeSousa, UNDE Executive Vice-President June Winger, UNDE Vice-President (Ontario) Serge Desbiens, PSAC Kingston Area Council and PSAC Ontario Regional Council Members.
For more information or to book interviews, please contact:
Lino Vieira, Political Communications Officer, vieiral@psac-afpc.com or 416-577-0238