Political Pulse - Fall 2017

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Your CUPE Ontario Officers Fred Hahn President Candace Rennick Secretary-Treasurer POLITICAL PULSE News from CUPE Ontario With more than 260,000 members, CUPE Ontario is a strong voice for rights and fairness for our members and our communities. We work at the provincial level for legislative, policy and political change on issues affecting public services, equality, healthy communities and a better Ontario for everyone. CUPE Ontario 80 Commerce Valley Dr. E. Suite 1 Markham, ON L3T 0B2 (905) 739-9739 Greetings from Fred and Candace Friends, In the midst of all that is happening to push forward and demand better, let’s take a minute to appreciate everything we’ve accomplished so far this year. Together we’ve been working for real change that improves the lives of working people and we’ve had some significant victories that will make a real difference in the lives of our members and all working people. We are about to win major changes to our labour laws that include increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour and requiring that part-timers are paid the same as full-timers who do the same work. This only happened because of the work of CUPE Ontario activists and our allies, who have been campaigning for these improvements for years. When faced with tough bargaining our locals have been fighting back and winning – 12 locals walked the picket line. Their strength and perseverance has been noticed by other employers who are beginning to understand that CUPE members are only going to bargain forward. At national convention, Ontario members led the charge to win strike pay from day one to increase our ability to fight concessions and make real gain. Across Ontario, CUPE members have stood strong in the face of hard times and are now turning the ship around. We’re not only winning improvements for our members, but fighting to make Ontario better for everyone in our communities. As we head into a spring election we will continue to push for the needs of working people. Together we have even greater victories in our futures. Fred Hahn President & Candace Rennick Secretary-Treasurer www.cupe.on.ca This document was proudly produced with unionized labour: cope343 Keep informed! Follow us Facebook.com/CUPEOntario Twitter.com/CUPEOntario YouTube.com/CUPEOntario 2 Political Pulse | Fall 2017
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Sandy Heeralal-Judhan - Change maker of the time. If you looked up unstoppable in the dictionary you would likely find a picture of Trinidadian born Sandy Heeralal- Judhan. A member of CUPE 4400, Sandy works for the Toronto District School Board as an early childhood educator by day and a superhero the rest If Sandy sees a problem, she’s determined to fix it and she will rope in everyone she comes across to make sure it happens. She believes strongly in the power of building bridges between communities and puts that into practice pulling together her union life, her personal passion for equality and her membership in the Lions Club. Recognizing the severe lack of resources in remote First Nations communities, Sandy was compelled to do something. She started by connecting with people in the small Oji-Cree fly-in community called Deer Lake First Nations. Identifying needs for their community school, she then went to work, enlisting volunteers and soliciting donations. She didn’t stop there. Today she’s packing transport trailers for the people of the Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation. Not only did Sandy get enough supplies donated to fill three storage containers, she also got the storage space donated and then arranged for a shipping company to donate the transport up to the remote community. The community has planned a big barbeque for the day the trucks arrive. “Whether it’s space, volunteer time or donations, it’s amazing what people will offer if you just ask,” says Sandy. “People’s generosity often brings me to tears.” Working with connections in the medical community Sandy is also trying to get equipment donated to help treat serious diabetes problems and the medical staff necessary to train community people on how to use it. “The more I work with people in these communities the more I hear their stories of loss and hardship that just blow my mind,” she says. “It compels me to do more.” In her own city of Toronto, Sandy works with youth through Native Canadian Friendship Centre. VICTORY FOR SCHOOL BOARD WORKERS - NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT CUPE members who worked for an Ontario school board in either 2012-13 or 2013-14 are eligible to receive their share of a settlment CUPE reached with the government as a result of the union’s successful charter challenge against Bill 115 (Putting Students First Act, 2012.) Bill 115 forced contracts on school board workers rather than respecting the bargaining process. The Ontario Superior Court ruled that Bill 115 had “substantially interfered” with the rights of education workers under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court found that the act stripped workers of their right to bargain collectively. As settlement for the breach, $56.7 million will be paid out among approximately 60,000 CUPE school board workers. If you are a school board worker who was working during the years affected, you can find out more information by visiting: bill115.cupe.on.ca Political Pulse | Fall 2017 3
Page 1: POLITICAL PULSE NEWS FROM CUPE ONTA
Page 5 and 6: First PRIDE in North Bay brings out
Page 7 and 8: Workers on the rise LABOUR DAY 2017
Page 9 and 10: CUPE connects with hundreds of Onta
Page 11 and 12: BETTER SERVICES Long-term care work

Political Pulse - Fall 2017

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