Still a long way to go in Ontario on this Transgendered Day of Remembrance
Tuesday, November 20th, we mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance by celebrating victories in the advancement of trans rights and by recognizing how vigilant we must remain in the face of increasingly vocal hate and intolerance. This year, for the first time in Ontario’s history, CUPE Ontario’s own Susan Gapka, a long-time social activist in […]
Province looking for clear rules on service dogs in schools
Ontario school boards need to have clear, consistent policies when it comes to students’ service dogs — instead of the patchwork that now exists, says Education Minister Lisa Thompson. As part of wide-ranging education legislation that passed first reading last week — the Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act — the government wants to “establish policies and guidelines […]
CUPE welcomes long-awaited pay equity legislation
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) welcomes Canada’s long-awaited first federal pay equity legislation. “This is a great achievement for the women’s movement in Canada and the allies who fought for decades to right this historical wrong,” said CUPE National President Mark Hancock. “There is room for improvement in this legislation, but we give credit to […]
Premier Ford betrays Ontario’s working people and their families
TORONTO, ON (October 23, 2018) – Reducing wages and gutting protections for our provinces lowest paid workers proves Premier Ford is only interested in helping his corporate friends and has no problem hurting working people and their families to do it, says CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. Hahn’s comments come following today’s announcement that Ford […]
Tory government cancels $100 million school repair fund
Ontario’s new Tory government has cancelled a $100-million fund earmarked for school repairs this year, a cut that comes as a result of Doug Ford’s campaign promise to scrap the province’s cap-and-trade system. School boards were notified on July 3 that the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund would be eliminated and that only work contracted on […]
Time for a true national holiday to honour Indigenous peoples
On June 21, CUPE members across Canada will mark National Aboriginal Day, also known as National Indigenous Peoples Day, an annual opportunity to honour and celebrate the diverse cultures of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. Indigenous peoples will be celebrating in their communities, and graciously sharing their ceremonies, customs and heritage with others across the country. It […]
Preparing for a Doug Ford Conservative Government – a message for CUPE members and staff
Attention all staff, CUPE leaders and activists: The election results on June 7, were not what we wanted and are very concerning for all CUPE members and the public services we provide. With only 40 percent of the vote, Doug Ford and the Conservative Party now have a majority government in Ontario. The race between […]
Premier Designate Ford’s hiring freeze demonstrates a lack of understanding of the scope of government services
Yesterday’s announcement of a unilateral hiring freeze across all government services demonstrates Premier Designate Doug Ford’s lack of understanding of the overall scope of services the Ontario government provides, says CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. “Ford has not even been sworn in as Premier and he has made this sweeping decision without having had the […]
May is Asian Heritage Month
Asian Heritage Month has been celebrated across Canada since the 1990s and was officially recognized by the federal government in May 2002. Every year at this time, CUPE celebrates the contributions that members of Asian communities have made to Canada. We acknowledge and honour the activism of people of Asian descent in their fight for human rights and […]
CUPE marks World Water Day 2018
Public water and wastewater services are vital to our lives and are fundamental human rights. These services are the foundation of safe and healthy communities. On March 22, CUPE members and our local and international allies recommit to protecting water and wastewater services from privatization and strengthening these services for future generations. CUPE works in […]
Diverse workplaces bring many benefits
New research demonstrates that having a more ethnically diverse workforce isn’t just important for social justice – it’s also good for the economy. The report, published jointly by the Centre for International Governance Innovation and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, found that a diverse workforce is directly connected to increased productivity and revenues. Diversity Dividend: […]
Women at work: still a long way to go
CUPE’s work for gender justice has a clear goal: not one step back. We push governments at all levels to apply a gender lens to budgets and update policies to recognize the impact of intersecting forms of discrimination. A review of the latest statistics about women and work reminds us that our collective work for […]
news – OSBCU
- Podcast for Education April 24, 2019 admin
- Thousands rally against proposed changes to education April 8, 2019Over 30,000 educators, students and parents gathered at Queen’s Park in Toronto this weekend to protest against proposed changes being made to Ontario’s education system. The rally was held on Saturday afternoon at the Ontario Legislature. It was organized by members from five different unions and protesters arrived in over 150 buses from across theadmin
- Joint Statement on Education in Ontario April 5, 2019The following statement has been signed by five signatories, including: Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) – Ontario and its Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU), the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), and the Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers’admin
- ‘Workplace violence is very real in our schools’: Teaching assistant challenges provincial leaders to walk a day in her shoes March 25, 2019EDITOR’S NOTE: This open letter to Premier Doug Ford, Education Minister Lisa Thompson was also forwarded to the Orangeville Banner. I am a teaching assistant and proud of the job I do. I have received whiplash, concussion, torn ligaments in my shoulder, broken front tooth so yes workplace violence is very real in our schools! Myadmin
- CUPE marks World Water Day 2019 March 25, 2019Public water and wastewater services are vital to our lives and are fundamental human rights. These services are the foundation of safe and healthy communities. On March 22, CUPE members and our local and international allies recommit to protecting water and wastewater services from privatization and strengthening these services for future generations. CUPE works inadmin
- Ontario PCs Are In For A Fight On Class Sizes, Teachers’ Union Says March 18, 2019TORONTO — Union leaders and Opposition MPPs want to know how the Ontario government plans to cut grants for education and increase class sizes without costing any workers their jobs. “Not one teacher, not one, will lose their jobs because of our class size strategy. None,” Minister of Education Lisa Thompson told reporters at anadmin
- School Overcrowding March 15, 2019Read full article >admin
- What you need to know about Ontario’s new model for health care March 1, 2019It’s being called Ontario’s biggest health system reform in 50 years, since the advent of medicare. But what will it actually look like for patients? The government of Premier Doug Ford is merging 20 agencies, which employ more than 10,000 people, into one big agency in what will be called Ontario Health. While much of the attention so faradmin
CUPE Ontario
- Brant Family and Children’s Services’ workers to deliver message to MPP Will Bouma in person after cancelled meeting April 24, 2019BRANTFORD, ON – Workers at Brant Family and Children’s Services (FACS) are hand-delivering a message to MPP Will Bouma after he backed out of a proposed meeting with the union to discuss recent layoffs to front-line staff at the agency. “The children and families who will be left behind by these layoffs and the people […]Vinny Paul
- Ford’s $1 billion public health cut puts Torontonians’ safety at risk; will swamp metro hospitals April 23, 2019TORONTO, ON – Premier Doug Ford’s massive cut to public health funding, which will impact outbreak and infection control, drinking water testing, vaccination rates and fuel hallway medicine, can only be described as “callously dangerous” public policy, says the union that represents more than 1000 Toronto public health staff and thousands of Toronto hospital workers. […]Vinny Paul
- Earth Day 2019 April 22, 2019On Earth Day 2019, it is more important than ever that CUPE Ontario join with other unions, communities, businesses and governments to support strong efforts to address the devastating effects of human-caused climate change. This year, the people of Ontario are facing a climate change crisis on two fronts. The details of the first crisis […]ddadgari
- Still way short on beds, PC announce a 10% cut to real hospital capacity April 18, 2019TORONTO, ON - With Ontario’s population growing and aging, today’s announcement by the PC government for 3000 more hospital beds over ten years, patients can unfortunately expect hallway medicine to continue. The PCs have come up way short on the bed investment needed to deal with aging boomers, says Michael Hurley the president of the […]Vinny Paul
- U of T Campus Unions to hold 11 a.m. news conference tomorrow to discuss release of Asbestos Report April 17, 2019TORONTO, ON – Following a lengthy delay, the University of Toronto’s (U of T) panel reviewing its asbestos management program released its Asbestos Panel Review Report late last month, along with a response from senior U of T administrators. Tomorrow (April 18), at 11:00 a.m., representatives from Local 3902 of the Canadian Union of Public […]Vinny Paul
- Cuts to overdose prevention fuel worst health emergency in a generation April 17, 2019TORONTO – Today, CUPE Ontario is standing in solidarity with hundreds of concerned Torontonians in mourning the thousands of deaths due to overdose caused by government inaction, and sounding the alarm that overdose deaths will increase after the Ford Conservatives cancelled funding for three currently-operating, and two proposed Overdose Prevention Sites (OPS) across the province. […]Vinny Paul
- Latest ford restructuring plan a recipe for longer waits for health services April 17, 2019TORONTO, ON – The Ford Conservatives’ latest restructuring plan will see increased chaos and confusion that will reduce the quality of care in this province, and ultimately punish municipal governments who are already struggling to provide quality health services in their regions, says Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario. While the long-term health plan presented […]Vinny Paul
- 72% polled in Nipissing and Sault don’t support PC health system overhaul April 17, 2019NORTH BAY, ON – Although just ten months ago voters in North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie elected Progressive Conservative (PC) MPPs, recent polling shows that 72% of respondents don’t support the massive changes the PCs are planning to make to the province’s health system. Commissioned by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario […]Vinny Paul