Hospital volunteers donate colouring books to Local 6500

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Liam Cusack, 6, colours in his new Christmas Activity Book, provided to Local 6500 striking families by the hospital volunteer association. Photo by Ed Veilleux.

Liam Cusack, 6, colours in his new Christmas Activity Book, provided to Local 6500 striking families by the hospital volunteer association. Photo by Ed Veilleux.

Dec 23, 2009- 9:33 AM

By: Ed Veilleux - Sudbury Northern Life Staff

Several children of striking Local 6500 members will be colouring their way through Christmas and into the new year, after the Hôpital régional de Sudbury Regional Hospital volunteer association donated colouring books.

Six-year-old Liam Cusack was ecstatic to get his gift. Within minutes of receiving it, he ran to a table in the union hall to open it and colour a picture of Santa's reindeer.

The Hôpital régional de Sudbury Regional Hospital (HRSRH) volunteer association will be donating roughly 850 colouring books to the United Steelworkers Local 6500. The members of the union have been striking since July 13.

The books were originally made to be sold to raise funds, but the hospital association decided to get into the giving spirit.

“Instead of using them for our own fundraising drive, we decided that they could best be used to give some comfort to the people at Local 6500,” Phillippe Cousineau, president of the volunteer association, said.

“It's a different way of helping the community.”

Tina Murray, co-chair of Families Supporting the Strikers Committee and striking Local 6500 member, said the books will be a great boost right around Christmas.

“We're going to give them to the children to colour in at Christmas.”

The books will be given away at the Steelworkers food bank, as well as on the picket lines around town.

Two Collège Boréal students provided the illustration for the books, which were originally slated to sell for $12 in the association's fundraising plan.

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6 Comments

  • noofie 12/29/2009 6:40:10 PM - Report Abuse

    hey der beefy boy

    like Ranji at the 7-11 says, if no ones is showin up at your planned events, its a big hint that no ones gives a s..t and yer on yer own.
    Ders 3000 of ye on strike and 100 shows up? Ye don't support yerself me son.
    In Botwood High where the wife wnet, she says theyused to say if you can't be an athlete be an athletic supporter" I thinks you gotta be a jock to figger that one.....but she said its the same here..no one gives 2 farts for ye.

  • beefy 12/24/2009 8:53:06 AM - Report Abuse

    PM, how is it that you know the community is not behind the USW? The greed you are talking about here comes only from the vale side. Gee, the union memebers kids got some colouring books, does that really deserve the kind of garbage that you are spewing? Have a great Grinchmas phil.

  • 2010 12/24/2009 7:54:48 AM - Report Abuse

    Not even staff jobs are safe now that is the problem we seen a few staff leave with boxes one day and one of 'em was a lady who claimed her job was now in Brazil. I don't wish it upon you noofie but white collars outside of Vale will eventually get a kicking too.

  • Suez 12/23/2009 4:03:59 PM - Report Abuse

    Mr. Morris, my family is affected by the strike. My husband has worked for Vale/Inco for the last 19 years. We have not received hundreds of thousands in bonus monies. In fact, there were years when a bonus was not seen because the company wasn't making any money. When we bought our first home, nickel was at $1.65/lb.

    Yes, we have a home (a bit bigger than the first, but we are paying our mortgage, not anyone else); yes, we have two cars (our last car was put to pasture at 15 years old, one of our cars is 7 years old); yes, we have a boat (bought 22 year old boat for $4,000); but we don't have "toys" coming out our ying yang.

    The strike action is not one that every employee agreed with; however, in Canada, we have a situation where majority rules. My husband attends his picket duty, peacefully, following rules and protocol. I have gone to the picket line with a hot meal for the fellas that are there, to show our appreciation and solidarity.

    You do not work at Vale, therefore you have no idea what is happening at that company. There is such hate for 6500 workers, which I can't fathom, because they are in a dispute with their employer. It is their right to strike, although many disagree with it. I don't see people bad-mouthing those on strike with other corporations.

    Are you also aware that 6500 donates every pay to charities in our community? That we are volunteers in our community? United Way predicts an $800,000 shortfall because during the last 6 months they have no monies coming in from 6500.

    We are your neighbours and friends. We are working to keep our jobs and those of our fellow employees.

  • yomomma 12/23/2009 2:21:30 PM - Report Abuse

    Regardless of who the kids' parents are, a kid without is a kid without. It's not their fault their parent is striking just like it wouldn't be another kids' fault if their parent was a crackhead. This is about CHILDREN getting a colouring book - let's not loose perspective here people.

  • Concerned Citizen_1 12/23/2009 12:25:57 PM - Report Abuse

    I heard about that on the radio, about the union buying their Christmas gifts from down South. Terry, on Q92, didn't sound too happy about it when he was speaking about it on the morning show. But curiously enough, I haven't heard another story or word about it.

    Is the story being muzzled? Does anyone else have any more info about that? NL, did you run a story?
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