Support CUPE Education Workers
Education workers are the backbone of Ontario’s public education system.
On Sunday, October 30, CUPE education workers served their 5-day strike notice ahead of a final week of mediation with the provincial government. These education workers are some of the first groups to negotiate with the province after facing four years of Bill 124’s 1% wage caps.
In response, Premier Ford’s Education Minister Stephen Lecce invoked the Notwithstanding Clause and introduced back-to-work legislation to prohibit a strike and impose a contract on the 55,000 workers and still refuses to bargain. No government in Canada has ever taken this egregious action before.
The use of the Notwithstanding Clause to pass Back-to-Work legislation is an attack on all workers in Ontario. If he gets away with it, all other workers will face the same threat: contracts imposed by law instead of free collective bargaining.
CUPE education workers will defy this threat, and plan to picket on Friday November 4.
Friday November 4: Show up at a Picket Line
Education workers are the backbone of Ontario’s public education system and we’re fighting for a good deal to ensure high-quality education and services for kids.
Whether you’re an education worker or an ally, come out to a picket line to send the Ford Conservatives a message and to secure a real deal.
In Toronto, picket lines will be set up at Queen’s Park from 8am-5pm. Additional picket locations are scheduled in communities across the province!
https://cupe.on.ca/dontbeabully/
Download and print this poster to bring to the picket line!
Saturday November 5: Wear Purple for Education Workers
Wear your purple shirts on Saturday, November 5, 2022 to show your solidarity with striking education workers! Post your photos online or share with Unifor at communications@unifor.org.
Tag @CUPEOntario and Unifor Local 707 in your content to show the Ford Conservatives that support is growing and far reaching!
Protect the Right to Strike
In Canada, workers have a Charter-protected right to engage in free and fair collective bargaining, and to withdraw our labour through a strike. The Supreme Court of Canada has repeatedly upheld these collective rights, and here’s why;
- The right to strike promotes dignity. Workers must be allowed to have a say in our own working conditions. This includes refusing working conditions that are imposed on us.
- The right to strike promotes equality. Deep inequalities exist between workers and employers. The possibility of a strike enables us as workers to negotiate on more equal footing.
Content for this post comes from Support CUPE Education Workers | Unifor National and Tell the Ford Conservatives: Don’t be a bully – CUPE Ontario
Whether you are able to join a picket line in support or not, please take a moment to go on the above link to Tell the Ford Conservatives: Don’t be a Bully – CUPE Ontario and send a letter to the Premier opposing Bill 28
Iain Fleming
Unifor Local 707
UPC Chair
