You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
POLITICAL PULSE<br />
NEWS FROM CUPE ONTARIO <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong><br />
In this issue...<br />
Greetings from Fred and Candace.......2<br />
Member profile .......................................3<br />
School Board Legal Victory...................3<br />
Carnival <strong>2017</strong>..........................................4<br />
North Bay’s first PRIDE..........................5<br />
Victory in Wasaga..................................5<br />
Back to court for Premier on Hydro.....6<br />
Paramedic conference..........................6<br />
Strong solidarity on Labour Day..........7<br />
Queen’s Park Review.............................8<br />
CUPE O takes AMO................................9<br />
<strong>Political</strong> Action Conference..................9<br />
Strike Pay from day one......................10<br />
Healthcare workers conference.........10<br />
Time to Care rally for seniors..............11
Your CUPE Ontario Officers<br />
Fred Hahn<br />
President<br />
Candace Rennick<br />
Secretary-Treasurer<br />
POLITICAL PULSE<br />
News from CUPE Ontario<br />
With more than 260,000 members,<br />
CUPE Ontario is a strong voice for rights<br />
and fairness for our members and our<br />
communities.<br />
We work at the provincial level for<br />
legislative, policy and political change<br />
on issues affecting public services,<br />
equality, healthy communities and a<br />
better Ontario for everyone.<br />
CUPE Ontario<br />
80 Commerce Valley Dr. E. Suite 1<br />
Markham, ON L3T 0B2<br />
(905) 739-9739<br />
Greetings from Fred and Candace<br />
Friends,<br />
In the midst of all that is happening to push forward and demand<br />
better, let’s take a minute to appreciate everything we’ve<br />
accomplished so far this year.<br />
Together we’ve been working for real change that improves the<br />
lives of working people and we’ve had some significant victories<br />
that will make a real difference in the lives of our members and all<br />
working people.<br />
We are about to win major changes to our labour laws that include<br />
increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour and requiring that<br />
part-timers are paid the same as full-timers who do the same<br />
work. This only happened because of the work of CUPE Ontario<br />
activists and our allies, who have been campaigning for these<br />
improvements for years.<br />
When faced with tough bargaining our locals have been fighting<br />
back and winning – 12 locals walked the picket line. Their strength<br />
and perseverance has been noticed by other employers who are<br />
beginning to understand that CUPE members are only going to<br />
bargain forward.<br />
At national convention, Ontario members led the charge to win<br />
strike pay from day one to increase our ability to fight concessions<br />
and make real gain.<br />
Across Ontario, CUPE members have stood strong in the face of<br />
hard times and are now turning the ship around. We’re not only<br />
winning improvements for our members, but fighting to make<br />
Ontario better for everyone in our communities.<br />
As we head into a spring election we will continue to push for the<br />
needs of working people. Together we have even greater victories<br />
in our futures.<br />
Fred Hahn<br />
President<br />
&<br />
Candace Rennick<br />
Secretary-Treasurer<br />
www.cupe.on.ca<br />
This document was proudly produced with unionized<br />
labour: cope343<br />
Keep informed!<br />
Follow us<br />
Facebook.com/CUPEOntario<br />
Twitter.com/CUPEOntario<br />
YouTube.com/CUPEOntario<br />
2 <strong>Political</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong>
MEMBER<br />
SPOTLIGHT<br />
Sandy Heeralal-Judhan - Change maker<br />
of the time.<br />
If you looked up<br />
unstoppable in the<br />
dictionary you would<br />
likely find a picture of<br />
Trinidadian born<br />
Sandy Heeralal-<br />
Judhan. A member of<br />
CUPE 4400, Sandy<br />
works for the Toronto<br />
District School Board<br />
as an early childhood<br />
educator by day and<br />
a superhero the rest<br />
If Sandy sees a problem, she’s determined to fix it and<br />
she will rope in everyone she comes across to make sure<br />
it happens. She believes strongly in the power of building<br />
bridges between communities and puts that into practice<br />
pulling together her union life, her personal passion for<br />
equality and her membership in the Lions Club.<br />
Recognizing the severe lack of resources in remote First<br />
Nations communities, Sandy was compelled to do<br />
something. She started by connecting with people in the<br />
small Oji-Cree fly-in community called Deer Lake First<br />
Nations. Identifying needs for their community school,<br />
she then went to work, enlisting volunteers and soliciting<br />
donations.<br />
She didn’t stop there. Today she’s packing transport<br />
trailers for the people of the Mishkeegogamang Ojibway<br />
Nation. Not only did Sandy get enough supplies donated<br />
to fill three storage containers, she also got the storage<br />
space donated and then arranged for a shipping<br />
company to donate the transport up to the remote<br />
community. The community has planned a big barbeque<br />
for the day the trucks arrive.<br />
“Whether it’s space, volunteer time or donations, it’s<br />
amazing what people will offer if you just ask,” says<br />
Sandy. “People’s generosity often brings me to tears.”<br />
Working with connections in the medical community<br />
Sandy is also trying to get equipment donated to help<br />
treat serious diabetes problems and the medical staff<br />
necessary to train community people on how to use it.<br />
“The more I work with people in these communities the<br />
more I hear their stories of loss and hardship that just<br />
blow my mind,” she says. “It compels me to do more.”<br />
In her own city of Toronto, Sandy works with youth<br />
through Native Canadian Friendship Centre.<br />
VICTORY FOR SCHOOL BOARD WORKERS - NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT<br />
CUPE members who worked for an Ontario school board in either 2012-13 or 2013-14 are eligible to receive their<br />
share of a settlment CUPE reached with the government as a result of the union’s successful charter challenge<br />
against Bill 115 (Putting Students First Act, 2012.)<br />
Bill 115 forced contracts on school board workers rather than respecting the bargaining process.<br />
The Ontario Superior Court ruled that Bill 115 had “substantially interfered” with the rights of education workers<br />
under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court found that the act stripped workers of their right to<br />
bargain collectively.<br />
As settlement for the breach, $56.7 million will be paid out among approximately 60,000 CUPE school board<br />
workers.<br />
If you are a school board worker who was working during the years affected, you<br />
can find out more information by visiting: bill115.cupe.on.ca<br />
<strong>Political</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong> 3
CARNIVAL <strong>2017</strong><br />
Celebrating Caribbean culture important part of fight for racial justice<br />
On the first weekend of August, CUPE Ontario members<br />
took to the streets to celebrate the 50th anniversary of<br />
Toronto Carnival. Joining the parade in vibrant costumes<br />
and dancing to steel bands CUPE members jumped up<br />
in recognition of all that Caribbean culture has brought<br />
to the city and delivering a strong statement against<br />
discrimination and hate.<br />
Carnival first came to Canada in 1967, originally taking<br />
place on Simcoe Day to mark the end of slavery in<br />
Canada on August 1, 1834.<br />
Our members handed out leaflets, created by CUPE<br />
Ontario’s Racial Justice Committee, to onlookers along<br />
the parade route, covering three main issues: the need<br />
for festival funding from all levels of government; police<br />
accountability; and decolonizing Canada 150.<br />
With the recent resurgence of neo-Nazi activity,<br />
emboldened by President Trump’s election in the U.S.,<br />
it is vital our union join the movement against hate<br />
and racism. Not even a week after Carnival, we saw a<br />
rally of violent white supremacists, where thousands of<br />
white men baring torches, chanting unbelievable hatred,<br />
flooded the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia.<br />
This kind of overt hate and racism is not just confined<br />
to our neighbours south of the border. It’s happening in<br />
our own backyard. We’ve already seen branches of the<br />
so called “Proud Boys,” attack a First Nations’ rally in<br />
Canada.<br />
We’re also experiencing it in our workplaces.<br />
Immediately following the Charlottesville hate rally, a<br />
group of white nationalists tried to organize a rally on<br />
the University of Toronto’s campus. CUPE members<br />
at local 3902 reacted quickly, writing an open letter<br />
to the university’s president condemning “the use of<br />
our workplace as a platform for hateful, racist, antiblack,<br />
anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and otherwise whitesupremacist<br />
rhetoric.”<br />
In times like these, our union will not remain silent.<br />
Rather, we are determined to raise our collective voices<br />
against hate and white supremacy. It’s only together that<br />
we can truly address the inequalities in our society.<br />
4 <strong>Political</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong>
First PRIDE in North Bay brings out more than 2000 people<br />
When CUPE Ontario vice-president<br />
Henri Giroux and newly elected<br />
National Northern Ontario Rep,<br />
Amanda Farrow-Giroux began to<br />
organize North Bay’s first PRIDE<br />
march, they never dreamed more<br />
than 2000 people would come out<br />
to celebrate. What began as a plan<br />
hatched after attending Toronto’s<br />
PRIDE, turned out better than they<br />
could possibly have hoped.<br />
“Our community clearly needed<br />
this,” said Giroux. “The outpouring<br />
of support from people of all ages<br />
and all walks of life was truly<br />
inspirational.”<br />
Never ones to dream small, the two<br />
wanted more than a march. They<br />
got the City to approve a flag raising<br />
ceremony and with the help of<br />
others, organized a march followed<br />
by a lakefront family barbeque. The<br />
march closed down streets and the<br />
park overflowed with people<br />
enjoying fun activities and taking<br />
advantage of the information booths<br />
about city services and other<br />
supports for the LGBTQ community.<br />
“I can tell you there were a lot of<br />
tears shed that day. It’s pretty<br />
powerful when people feel<br />
recognized and accepted,” said<br />
Farrow-Giroux. “We feel very<br />
honoured to have played a role in<br />
making this happen. We can’t wait<br />
for next year.”<br />
“It was an honour to attend North Bay’s<br />
first PRIDE,” said CUPE Ontario<br />
President Fred Hahn. “It was a truly<br />
inspiring day.”<br />
Victory for the people of Wasaga. Inspiration for the rest of us.<br />
The people of Wasaga Beach<br />
celebrated a huge victory this<br />
summer after they came together<br />
and successfully stopped their<br />
mayor and council from selling off<br />
Wasaga Distribution Inc. (WDI)<br />
With the help of the Keep Hydro<br />
Public Coalition, local residents<br />
successfully pressured the Wasaga<br />
Beach council to keep and expand<br />
the local public hydro distribution<br />
company which is rated as one of<br />
Ontario’s most efficient hydro<br />
providers with the lowest electricity<br />
cost in the province.<br />
Thousands of residents got<br />
involved, demonstrating their<br />
opposition to privatizing their local<br />
utility. Through talking to their<br />
neighbours, local volunteers put up<br />
over 4200 Keep Hydro Public lawn<br />
signs and collected over 8000<br />
petition signatures from residents<br />
opposed to privatizing WDI.<br />
After months of community<br />
involvement, Wasaga Beach council<br />
voted unanimously to keep WDI<br />
public at an emergency meeting<br />
back in July – a complete about<br />
face from where they started when<br />
the Mayor originally proposed the<br />
plan.<br />
“Wasaga Beach volunteers are a<br />
shining example for the rest of the<br />
province on how we can win back<br />
the ownership of Hydro One<br />
through grassroots campaigning,”<br />
said CUPE Ontario President Fred<br />
Hahn, a member of the Keep Hydro<br />
Public Coalition. “Hydro should be<br />
affordable for everyone, not in the<br />
hands of profit driven<br />
shareholders.”<br />
<strong>Political</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong> 5
CUPE to appeal judge’s decision to dismiss hydro lawsuit<br />
Judge Cavanagh’s decision to dismiss our lawsuit over<br />
the sale of Hydro One was a huge disappointment to<br />
the people of Ontario and we have now filed an appeal<br />
to have the decision overturned, said Fred Hahn,<br />
president of CUPE Ontario.<br />
“We know the government’s decision was not in the<br />
best interest of the Ontario people, we know they<br />
structured the deal in a way that benefitted a large<br />
number of bankers operating as middle men on the<br />
deal, and we know those same bankers held Liberal<br />
party fundraisers to explicitly celebrate the sale of<br />
Hydro One shares. This is all a matter of public record,”<br />
said Hahn.<br />
“Though we are pleased that the judge ruled the<br />
Premier and her Ministers cannot hide behind<br />
parliamentary privilege, we are baffled by his<br />
conclusion that the pleading was unsupported,” he<br />
said.<br />
In June, government lawyers argued that the three were<br />
protected from any wrong doing because they are<br />
protected by parliamentary privilege, and asked the<br />
judge to dismiss the case before it could proceed to<br />
trial.<br />
“We believe the evidence we brought forward is more<br />
than enough to meet the necessary test for proceeding<br />
to trial and are at a loss as to how the judge could rule<br />
against proceeding,” said Hahn.<br />
“This is not the first time a CUPE lawsuit has faced<br />
preliminary hurdles before going on to win on appeal<br />
and then at trial. We are hopeful the appeal court<br />
will allow the case to move to trial,” Hahn said.<br />
CUPE Paramedics work to raise their profile<br />
Paramedics Services Workers across Ontario are<br />
highlighting the vital role that paramedicine plays in<br />
communities. Members came together for their<br />
conference themed “Raising our Profile” in Niagara <strong>Fall</strong>s<br />
this.<br />
Renewing their commitment to protect the critical work<br />
paramedics do in local communities, members received<br />
training on how to become strong public advocates on<br />
the important role they play in our health care system.<br />
Delegates also strategized on how to build local<br />
strength and how to successfully lobby for enhanced<br />
paramedic services to keep up with growing community<br />
need.<br />
Members also elected Jason Fraser, a<br />
paramedic in Peterborough, as their<br />
new committee chair and held the<br />
inaugural meeting of the CUPE<br />
Ambulance Committee of Ontario<br />
(CACO) Women’s Caucus to shine light<br />
on issues affecting women in the<br />
workplace.<br />
6 <strong>Political</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong>
Workers on the rise<br />
LABOUR DAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
Record turnouts at Labour Day events across Ontario<br />
had a feeling of renewal and sense of pride.<br />
“We’ve come through more than a decade of austerity<br />
that has resulted in job cuts, frozen wages, short staffing<br />
and with many people having to work multiple low-wage<br />
jobs,” said Hahn. “Working people are fed up of taking<br />
hit after hit while corporate executives keep getting<br />
richer. Workers are standing together, pushing back and<br />
we’re starting to make substantial changes that will<br />
improve peoples lives.”<br />
“Thanks to the labour movement working together<br />
with community organizers we have managed to make<br />
significant gains this year for our lowest paid workers<br />
and those working part-time,” said Candace Rennick,<br />
Secretary-Treasurer for CUPE Ontario. “Bringing<br />
minimum wage up to $15 an hour and getting equal pay<br />
for part-timers doing the same job as full-timers, will not<br />
only make their lives better, it will help to stop the slide<br />
backwards. These wins will put us on stronger ground to<br />
win greater improvements for all workers.”<br />
“Coming through a year that had a record number of<br />
CUPE strikes has definitely strengthened a sense of<br />
solidarity among our members,” said Hahn. “The out<br />
pouring of community support our members received<br />
was something for us to truly celebrate this year.”<br />
<strong>Political</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong> 7
QUEEN’S PARK REVIEW<br />
The legislature’s back and election season is upon us<br />
On September 11, MPPs returned to Queen’s Park after<br />
the summer recess. Heading into an election year, we<br />
can expect all parties to be trying to position themselves<br />
to get our votes.<br />
If things weren’t bad enough for the government – with<br />
Premier Wynne having popularity ratings lower than any<br />
other Premier on record – the first week of the fall<br />
session began with two high-profile trials on the<br />
misconduct of high-ranking Liberals.<br />
Two top staffers from Premier McGuinty’s office are on<br />
trial on criminal charges of destroying public information<br />
in the cover up of the gas plant scandal.<br />
Premier Wynne’s former Deputy Chief of Staff and a<br />
well-connected party organizer are on trial, charged with<br />
offering illegal inducements (bribes) to get an unwanted<br />
Liberal candidate out of the way for the Sudbury byelection.<br />
Glenn Thibeault went on to win the seat for the<br />
Liberals and is now Minister of Energy.<br />
When it comes to interference in recent nomination<br />
races the Liberals aren’t the only ones in hot water.<br />
Accusations of serious irregularities, including ballot<br />
stiffing, have emerged in at least six Conservative party<br />
nomination meetings in recent months, including Ottawa<br />
West Nepean, Richmond Hill and Newmarket Aurora.<br />
Outrage has been so loud that the party has been<br />
forced to hire Price Waterhouse Coopers to start<br />
overseeing the process.<br />
Behind all the shenanigans, there is very important<br />
legislation working its way through the political process<br />
at Queen’s Park. Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces and<br />
Better Jobs Act, has been amended and brought back<br />
for second reading.<br />
Among other things, Bill 148 will increase the minimum<br />
wage to $15 an hour, require employers to pay part<br />
timers the same as full timers doing the same work,<br />
make it easier for some workers to join a union, and<br />
protect newly unionized workers from being fired without<br />
just cause before they have their a first collective<br />
agreement.<br />
While much within Bill 148 is a great victory for workers<br />
in Ontario, the labour movement is unanimous in its<br />
shock that the Liberal government chose to only extend<br />
card-based certification to a small group of workers,<br />
leaving out the majority. There is still a final opportunity<br />
for amendments before final reading and CUPE Ontario<br />
will continue to push for this to be fixed.<br />
Also, ahead in this fall’s legislative agenda will be Bill 33,<br />
anticipated to be introduced by the NDP for second<br />
reading at the beginning of November. The “Time to<br />
Care” bill would entrench a four hour a day, minimum<br />
care standard for seniors living in long-term care. Right<br />
now, there is no minimum standard of care in Ontario.<br />
Aging seniors are suffering while workers are run off<br />
their feet with one personal support worker trying to<br />
meet the needs of more than 30 residents in some<br />
cases.<br />
Written in collaboration with CUPE Ontario, Bill 33 would<br />
dramatically improve the quality of care in long-term<br />
care homes across the province.<br />
Let your MPP know that you want them to support Bill<br />
33, visit TimeToCareOntario.ca<br />
8 <strong>Political</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong>
CUPE connects with hundreds of<br />
Ontario’s municipal councillors<br />
CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn and leaders from<br />
our municipal sector met with hundreds of mayors<br />
and councillors from across the province at the<br />
Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s (AMO)<br />
annual conference held in Ottawa this year.<br />
There to promote the union’s municipal priorities,<br />
CUPE’s outreach was well-received. As municipalities<br />
struggle with how to increase the revenue they need<br />
to provide quality public services, CUPE Ontario<br />
offered a much-needed voice in support of<br />
progressive revenue tools.<br />
Don’t miss<br />
CUPE Ontraio’s 1 st<br />
<strong>Political</strong> Action<br />
Conference<br />
November 12 - 15<br />
Toronto Sheraton Centre<br />
A “Hands-On” conference on political<br />
engagement, lobbying, direct action<br />
and more.<br />
Guest speakers, plenary sessions,<br />
workshops and real world experience<br />
you won’t want to miss.<br />
Facing provincial legislation that could damage<br />
frontline emergency medical support, CUPE<br />
paramedics were on hand to highlight the value of<br />
paramedic services in ensuring patient safety.<br />
Councillors at AMO overwhelmingly disagreed with<br />
proposed introduction of “fire medics,” noting<br />
paramedics provide the best quality emergency<br />
medical response in a more cost-effective way.<br />
Highlighting the important victory in Wasaga Beach<br />
that stopped the privatization of their local electricity<br />
provider, discussions with councillors showed that<br />
the vast majority supported keeping their local<br />
electrical utility public.<br />
Following hundreds of face-to-face discussions, the<br />
CUPE Ontario team collected contact information<br />
from supporters so we can continue the<br />
conversations as we gear up for the 2018 municipal<br />
elections.<br />
Guest speakers include:<br />
Stephen Lewis<br />
and<br />
Desmond Cole<br />
For registration details visit:<br />
cupe.on.ca/political-action-conference<br />
<strong>Political</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong> 9
CUPE members win strike pay from the first day<br />
Thousands of CUPE members from across the<br />
country voted to strengthen our bargaining power by<br />
changing CUPE’s strike pay to begin on the first day<br />
of a strike or lockout.<br />
“This historic change goes hand in hand with our<br />
members’ clear decision to put their employers on<br />
notice – in CUPE we will not accept concessions,”<br />
said CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn.<br />
“Strengthening our strike pay provisions shows we<br />
mean business.”<br />
Ontario workers have been under attack for<br />
decades. In response CUPE implemented its new<br />
Bargain Forward policy earlier this year. The<br />
Convention’s decision to implement strike pay from<br />
day one of a strike or lockout is just one tool to<br />
support the new policy that’s been developed to give<br />
locals what they need to succeed at the bargaining<br />
table.<br />
“Workers in Ontario have been forced to accept less,<br />
while those at the top keep lining their pockets with<br />
more money,” said Candace Rennick, CUPE Ontario’s<br />
secretary-treasurer and regional vice president to the<br />
national board. “Our members have said enough is<br />
enough. They’re sending a clear message. If you’re<br />
coming after us, we’re going to be ready and we’re<br />
going to fight back.”<br />
Health Care Workers demand change<br />
CUPE Ontario’s healthcare workers’ conference, themed “Health Care<br />
Rights, Everyone’s Fight,” was held in Niagara <strong>Fall</strong>s this year.<br />
After decades of privatization creeping into our health care system<br />
- driving up cost and eroding patient care – the fight to protect our<br />
universal health system requires all of us. Adequate funding for<br />
patient care is a top priority for CUPE members in working in the<br />
sector.<br />
The Time to Care campaign topped the conference agenda. In<br />
Ontario, there is no minimum care standard for aging seniors living in<br />
long-term care and this is not acceptable.<br />
Everyone left the conference determined to make a four-hour<br />
minimum care standard for long-term care residence a key issue in<br />
the upcoming provincial election.<br />
Violence in the workplace, universal Pharmacare and protecting our<br />
public blood system were also key agenda items.<br />
10 <strong>Political</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong>
BETTER SERVICES<br />
Long-term care workers sound the alarm on quality of care<br />
There is a crisis in long-term care that is hurting Ontario’s<br />
aging seniors and it is directly related to staffing levels.<br />
“There simply aren’t enough staff to meet the growing<br />
and complex care needs of the aging residents. This<br />
means daily care is rushed and lacks the necessary<br />
compassion,” said Bonnie Soucie, an RPN speaking at a<br />
rally outside the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health<br />
Centre in Ottawa. “Insufficient staffing means care is<br />
compromised in many ways, from resident cleanliness<br />
and infection control to feeding.”<br />
Long-term care workers across Ontario are holding rallies<br />
and town halls to raise the public’s awareness and build<br />
support for Bill 33 (The Time to Care Act) which, if<br />
passed, would mandate a minimum of four hours of daily<br />
care for each resident. Right now, there are no set<br />
minimum standards in Ontario.<br />
“A very sad aspect of the insufficient care levels are the<br />
conditions that increase incontinence because there are<br />
not enough staff to answer call-bells when residents<br />
need help to the toilet,” said Candace Rennick,<br />
Secretary-Treasurer for CUPE Ontario and former longterm<br />
worker, speaking at the rally in Renfrew. “Care staff<br />
are demoralized. They want the province to act now to<br />
increase care hours.”<br />
“The research shows that staffing and funding levels are<br />
lower in Ontario than in the rest of the country,” said<br />
Michael Hurley, President of OCHU, speaking at the rally<br />
in front of Fairview Manor in Almonte. “People need to<br />
know what’s going on and they need to speak up – that’s<br />
the only way the government will make the urgent<br />
changes we need.”<br />
Ontario seniors built this province. They deserve to be<br />
safe and cared for in their final years. CUPE members are<br />
working hard to get the government to support Bill 33<br />
when it goes to second reading on November 2, <strong>2017</strong>.<br />
“Our government should be ashamed of the state of<br />
long-term care in this province,” said Rennick, speaking<br />
at a community town hall in Peterborough. “It’s time to<br />
put things right.”<br />
To let your MPP know that you want them to support<br />
Bill 33, visit TimeToCareOntario.ca<br />
<strong>Political</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong> 11
Workers demand protection from violence on the job<br />
Hundreds of health care workers and allies rallied<br />
outside the Ontario Hospital Association office on<br />
October 5, to raise awareness of the violence they<br />
face at work on a daily basis.<br />
As in most public service sectors, violence against<br />
health care workers is a growing epidemic. Calls for<br />
better protection against workplace violence in the<br />
health care sector has been ignored in their latest<br />
round of contract negotiations.<br />
“This is simply unacceptable,” says Michael Hurley,<br />
president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions.<br />
“Workers should not have to fear for their safety every<br />
time they go to work. We will not stand by and let this<br />
continue to happen.”<br />
Treena Hollingsworth, a personal support worker at<br />
the rally, said that many health care workers who<br />
have been assaulted on the job are so physically or<br />
psychologically scarred that they may never work<br />
again.<br />
Upcoming Events<br />
Oct 31 – Nov 5 <strong>Fall</strong> School Toronto Sheraton Centre<br />
Nov 12 – 15 <strong>Political</strong> Action Conference Toronto Sheraton Centre<br />
Dec 11 – 14 Racial Justice & Human Sheraton Parkway North<br />
Rights Conference<br />
Jan 22 – 25 Secretary Treasurers Conference Sheraton Parkway North<br />
Feb 22 – 25 OUWCC Conference Ontario Regional Office<br />
Feb 27 – Mar 4 Spring School Toronto Sheraton Centre<br />
12 <strong>Political</strong> <strong>Pulse</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2017</strong>