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Toronto, May 29/08- Toni Karner of CUPE 4207 Brock University has been elected as Youth Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress Executive Board at the CLC’s convention in Toronto this week.

Marie Clarke Walker was re-elected as CLC Executive Vice-President, while Lynn Taylor of HEU CUPE 6010 in Vancouver was elected as Diversity Vice-President for Workers with Disabilities. Victor Elkins, also with HEU CUPE 6010, was returned for another three years as Diversity Vice-President for LGBT.

Two other CUPE activists were elected as alternates. CUPE 4800 member Joanne Webb, Diversity Vice-President representing Aboriginal Workers on the CUPE Ontario Executive Board, will serve as alternate for the CLC’s Diversity Vice-President for Aboriginal Workers. Ali Mallah of CUPE 79 will be the alternate for Diversity Vice-President for Workers of Colour.

Karner just came off the CUPE Ontario convention floor last week having successfully passed three resolutions from the union’s youth committee. They call for CUPE Ontario to train youth union organizers, establish a youth mentorship program and lobby the Ontario government to make labour education mandatory in high schools.

“CUPE is a more of a social union movement than other labour bodies so I want to build more of that social unionism into the CLC,” said Karner. “Working with youth committees of CLC members, our first priority will be to train young union organizers.”

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