Let’s rethink child care

How to reach advocates? How do you reach ECE’s? How do you reach students? How do you reach ECE faculty? How do you reach workers/parents? Building an advocacy movement

Child Care Resolution at 2011 Convention: The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) will engage in a well-funded, sustained campaign for federal government funding and a legislative framework for a pan- Canadian early childhood education and care system that: a) provides children from birth to 12 years with optimal environments in which to grow and thrive; b) provides those who care for our children the wages, working conditions, and respect that reflect the value of the work they do; and c) is non-profit, public, high quality, accessible, inclusive, and affordable, with adequate compensation to Québec; The CLC will make child care a priority in federal elections; The CLC will work with provincial/territorial federations, affiliates, Labour Councils, and coalitions to organize a National Day of Action, and to build provincial action plans that commit to public child care; The CLC will campaign against privatization and public funding to private, for-profit child care companies. How we got here

Formed in Spring 2012 Includes 8 large unions plus the CLC Liaising with child care advocates and researchers; Informed by Trish Hennessy’s focus group research; and Has developed a three-year campaign, leading up to the 2015 election. Multi-union working group

Challenge notion that child care is “just your problem”; Encourage people to tell their stories about finding, keeping and paying for child care; Gather stories for future use; and Lay the groundwork for future activism, building lists Phase 1:Examining and Exposing the Realities Winter/Spring 2013

Key Messages Think child care is just your problem? Think again; So many families are struggling to find decent child care and are scrambling to piece together care they can afford. It doesn’t have to be this way; and Tired of patching together care for your family? You’re not alone. Let’s re-think child care.

Kitchen Table Conversations Created a toolkit and discussion guide Start talking and share own stories; Goal is to generate interest and support for futher work, identify activists; and On-line component will gather stories through social media.

Video on quality and website for information for parents; You Tube video; Child Care report card; Fact sheet on economic benefits; Fact sheet on Quebec ECEC And more Resources

Phase 2: Exploring the Alternatives Fall 2013/Winter 2014 Expand the reach of the campaign by building local alliances; Use the stories gathered “Child Care: True Confessions”; Identify “the ask” with allies.

Take on the child care

Phase 3: Taking Action Spring 2014 to Federal election Making child care a vote-determining issue in 2015 federal election; Emphasize political and public engagement; Work in targeted communities: Possible Pan-Canadian “Day of Action”/ NDP Summit and national conference Fall 2014; an

Guiding principles for messaging Focus on shifting attitudes – individual to collective; Reflect the absurdity of the child care dilemmas; Find a way to deal with parental guilt; Keep messaging inclusive, friendly Incorporate stories from dads, grandparents, others and listen to how they talk about issues; and Make sure we are talking to all the diversity of famiies

What you can do now Host a kitchen table conversation with other friends, family classmates, and parents; Adapt materials for your needs or develop your own using key messages. Get people to write their stories on the website at Tweet, use face book to spread the work

Use your activism