The City of Dauphin is hosting a massive gathering of union employees.
CUPE's 60th Conventions kicked off earlier today, packing the DRS curling rink with people eager to get to a week of excellent discussion.
Several delegates from both the city and the province took part in greeting the crowd.
The morning started with smudging, a traditional greeting from Elder Reg Nepinak, and a performance from the Ebb and Flow Drum group.
After some formalities and a review of last year's minutes, Mayor David Bosiak took to the podium to welcome the attendees to the city.
Bosiak was pleased to see how many people were there who could experience Dauphin.
"It's great to have them select Dauphin for the 60th, I know it's a big one for them as an organization. I think it reflects our communities willingness to be a great host and I just hope they have a great time here. The curling rink is full of people from outside of the community, and any time I see people from out of town, it puts a smile on my face."
Kevin Rebeck, President of the Manitoba Federation of Labor took to the podium as well, and he looks forward to a very productive week for CUPE.
"I'm always excited to hear delegates set the priorities for what they want their unions to fight for and what sort of issues are important to them. Provincial conventions often focus on what sort of legislation they want to see to make - not just in their own individual workplaces - life better for working people, but for people who don't have a union as well."
Also offering greetings this morning was Dauphin's MLA and Provincial Ag Minister Ron Kostyshyn, who offered greetings on behalf of the municipality and province.
Kostyshyn applauded the great work CUPE does and continues to do, for workers.
"Conventions are an opportunity to share ideas, and at today's convention there are representatives from all across Canada. I think that's the key, talking with representitives from other provinces as to what's being done to enhance work force opportunities and improving fairness in wages to people who deserve to be paid a respectable wage."
The week is set to include a lots of topics ranging from diversity, work place safety, wages, and all aspects of workers rights.
This CUPE Convention is scheduled to wrap up this friday afternoon, so expect some extra company in Dauphin throughout this week!
