Latest news with #FredHahn
National Post
7 days ago
- Business
- National Post
CUPE Ontario Delegates Unanimously Call for Ford's Bill 5 to Be Scrapped
Article content TORONTO — Nearly a thousand voting delegates at CUPE Ontario's annual convention last week unanimously adopted an emergency resolution to oppose and defeat the Ford Conservatives' Bill 5, currently being rushed through the legislature and into law. Article content Bill 5 will give Doug Ford and his cabinet the power to create, with the stroke of a pen, no-law 'Special Economic Zones' anywhere in the province. Article content CUPE Ontario convention delegates specifically condemned Schedule 9 of this overreaching and antidemocratic omnibus bill as posing grave threats to workers' rights, Indigenous sovereignty, environmental protections, and public accountability. Article content Delegates to the convention came from thousands of workplaces across the province: municipal services, hospitals, long-term care and health care, schools, universities and libraries, as well as a wide variety in social services, including child care, child protection agencies, community supports for persons with developmental disabilities, services for the Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing, supportive housing, and injured workers' compensation. Article content 'Just three months ago, a minority of eligible Ontarians – only 45 percent – showed up to vote in the provincial election, and it was the votes of merely one in five people that gave Doug Ford's Conservatives a majority of seats in our provincial legislature,' observed Fred Hahn, developmental services worker and president of CUPE Ontario. 'If this isn't a weak mandate, I don't know what is. Article content 'Nothing that Premier Ford told you or me during the election campaign gives him license to consolidate more power for himself and his cabinet ministers – and especially not to eliminate environmental protections, disrespect First Nations, and suspend workers' basic rights. But that's what Bill 5 will do. It's a Trump-style power grab by Doug Ford, who said he'd protect us from the anti-Canadian authoritarian in the White House. Article content 'With Doug Ford's Greenbelt corruption scandal still under active police investigation and his wage-suppressing Bill 124 overturned by the courts at significant expense to the public, we encourage Conservative MPPs to urge their colleagues in cabinet to scrap Bill 5 now.' Article content CUPE Ontario unites 290,000 frontline public sector workers throughout Canada's largest province whose labour underpins every cent of economic growth here. Their 61st annual CUPE Ontario convention began on Wednesday in Toronto and wrapped up Saturday morning. Article content The full text of CUPE Ontario's resolution to oppose Bill 5: Article content CUPE Ontario's Resolution to Oppose and Defeat Bill 5 CUPE Ontario will launch a comprehensive, province-wide campaign—uniting all parts of our union with community and labour allies—to vigorously oppose and defeat Bill 5. This campaign will include: Article content Educating Ontarians about the serious threats posed by the bill's Special Economic Zone (SEZ) provisions, which give Cabinet unchecked power to suspend or amend any law, directly undermining vital labour protections such as the Employment Standards Act, Labour Relations Act, and Occupational Health and Safety Act. Mobilizing our members to raise public awareness about the dangers of a two-tier system that would erode working conditions for all. Building the broadest possible coalition to demand the immediate and full withdrawal of this dangerous legislation. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Business Wire
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
CUPE Ontario Delegates Unanimously Call for Ford's Bill 5 to Be Scrapped
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nearly a thousand voting delegates at CUPE Ontario's annual convention last week unanimously adopted an emergency resolution to oppose and defeat the Ford Conservatives' Bill 5, currently being rushed through the legislature and into law. Bill 5 will give Doug Ford and his cabinet the power to create, with the stroke of a pen, no-law 'Special Economic Zones' anywhere in the province. CUPE Ontario convention delegates specifically condemned Schedule 9 of this overreaching and antidemocratic omnibus bill as posing grave threats to workers' rights, Indigenous sovereignty, environmental protections, and public accountability. Delegates to the convention came from thousands of workplaces across the province: municipal services, hospitals, long-term care and health care, schools, universities and libraries, as well as a wide variety in social services, including child care, child protection agencies, community supports for persons with developmental disabilities, services for the Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing, supportive housing, and injured workers' compensation. 'Just three months ago, a minority of eligible Ontarians – only 45 percent – showed up to vote in the provincial election, and it was the votes of merely one in five people that gave Doug Ford's Conservatives a majority of seats in our provincial legislature,' observed Fred Hahn, developmental services worker and president of CUPE Ontario. 'If this isn't a weak mandate, I don't know what is. 'Nothing that Premier Ford told you or me during the election campaign gives him license to consolidate more power for himself and his cabinet ministers – and especially not to eliminate environmental protections, disrespect First Nations, and suspend workers' basic rights. But that's what Bill 5 will do. It's a Trump-style power grab by Doug Ford, who said he'd protect us from the anti-Canadian authoritarian in the White House. 'With Doug Ford's Greenbelt corruption scandal still under active police investigation and his wage-suppressing Bill 124 overturned by the courts at significant expense to the public, we encourage Conservative MPPs to urge their colleagues in cabinet to scrap Bill 5 now.' CUPE Ontario unites 290,000 frontline public sector workers throughout Canada's largest province whose labour underpins every cent of economic growth here. Their 61st annual CUPE Ontario convention began on Wednesday in Toronto and wrapped up Saturday morning. The full text of CUPE Ontario's resolution to oppose Bill 5: CUPE Ontario's Resolution to Oppose and Defeat Bill 5 CUPE Ontario will launch a comprehensive, province-wide campaign—uniting all parts of our union with community and labour allies—to vigorously oppose and defeat Bill 5. This campaign will include: Educating Ontarians about the serious threats posed by the bill's Special Economic Zone (SEZ) provisions, which give Cabinet unchecked power to suspend or amend any law, directly undermining vital labour protections such as the Employment Standards Act, Labour Relations Act, and Occupational Health and Safety Act. Mobilizing our members to raise public awareness about the dangers of a two-tier system that would erode working conditions for all. Building the broadest possible coalition to demand the immediate and full withdrawal of this dangerous legislation. Because: Introduced on April 17, 2025, Bill 5's SEZs pose grave threats to workers' rights, Indigenous sovereignty, environmental protections, and public accountability—amounting to a fundamental attack on democratic processes. We cannot claim to be 'Elbows Up' to 'Protect Ontario Workers' while adopting the worst anti-democratic measures being introduced south of the border. Defeating this draconian bill demands the united strength and collective action of our entire union, the broader labour movement, and all Ontarians committed to fairness and justice.
National Post
28-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Villa Colombo Personal Care Workers Strike for Paid Sick Days and Benefits
Article content TORONTO — Personal Care Workers at Villa Colombo Homes for the Aged Inc. are on strike as of Wednesday, May 28. CUPE 5525 members in the Supportive Housing Unit have been negotiating with Villa Colombo for over a year and have reached an impasse with the employer. Article content Article content 'Throughout the pandemic, Villa Colombo staff worked tirelessly to keep residents healthy and safe,' said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. 'Now the employer is proposing to keep part time workers excluded from existing health benefits and reducing paid sick days for full-timers. Sick employees should not be forced to work with vulnerable residents.' Article content Proper health benefits and paid sick days are crucial to protecting vulnerable residents from infection. Article content Despite full awareness of the risks of having staff work while sick, Villa Colombo is pushing to reduce paid sick days for full-time workers and keep part-time workers' sick days at zero. As it stands, workers would be penalized with lost wages by making the responsible decision to stay home when they are ill. Article content Further, the employer wants to keep part-time workers excluded from existing health and benefits plans and make significant and disruptive changes to the existing scheduling system. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Business Wire
26-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Months Of Organizing Pays Off as CUPE 2189 Members at YWCA Toronto Ratify Landmark New Deal
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Over the course of months, a small cadre of dedicated labour activists turned a large but largely untested group of workers at the YWCA Toronto into a union prepared to fight for fair pay. It took hundreds of in-depth and often emotional conversations, union education, and strike training. The result was weekly informational pickets at rotating locations, record setting membership participation, and the ultimate prize: a new contract that workers are proud of. Last week, members of CUPE 2189 voted to ratify their new collective agreement. These roughly 250 members work at the YWCA Toronto as child care workers, housing support staff, settlement workers, violence against women counsellors and in other critical roles supporting the most vulnerable women and gender diverse people in the city. They entered this round of bargaining in desperate need for a fair raise in the shadow of Bill 124 but YWCA Toronto's first offer would have done little to help workers catch up. 'Workers are going to food banks, missing rent payments, struggling just to get by. This was a make-or-break negotiation for us and I am so incredibly proud of the effort and care our members put into organizing and mobilizing for what is fair,' said Amanda Kinna, a business administrator with the YWCA Toronto and president of CUPE 2189. 'Nearly every person who works at the YWCA Toronto has a second or third job. We have families. We have the daily stress of trying to survive at the poverty line in this city. Despite that, we showed what is possible when workers build their power.' The contract includes a flat rate raise amounting to an average increase of 11 per cent over three years, money which will go a long way to helping the 70 percent of CUPE 2189 members who struggle to pay their monthly bills. The deal also ends the practice of double on-call at the Woodlawn location, provides an additional day of union work for the president so they can continue to strengthen the local, and includes a one-time signing bonus on top of the annual grid increases. 'The effort that went into getting these workers educated, informed, and prepared to fight is a much-needed reminder that all workers can fight for what they deserve. Regardless of the size of the local, when workers organize and fight together, we win together,' said Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario. 'Frontline community workers are among the lowest paid in the province and this win is going to serve as a north star, motivating other workers to fight for fair wages while giving negotiators support to ask for more at the table.' Widespread community support was key to this securing this deal, with hundreds of community members attending rallies and over one thousand community members sending messages to the YWCA Toronto Board of Directors. 'We are a group of mostly women supporting some of the most marginalized women and gender diverse people in the city. We've felt ignored for so long. To suddenly be seen, embraced, and supported by the community was deeply meaningful,' said Kinna. 'We're proud to work at the YWCA Toronto. We're going to keep doing our jobs, keep supporting the people who need us, and keep building our power.' od/COPE491
Business Wire
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
MEDIA ADVISORY: CUPE 2073 to Hold Press Conference at Queen's Park on Monday as Canadian Hearing Services Refuses to Bargain
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--When Canadian Hearing Services (CHS) came to the negotiating table last week amidst an ongoing province wide strike impacting thousands of Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing Ontarians, they did so not to bargain - but to demand silence and acquiescence. CHS said they'd only be willing to make an offer to settle the month-long strike if their list of conditions was met; this included an end to a campaign meant to shine a light on how CHS has distanced itself from the Deaf community, and a total media blackout. These conditions would allow CHS to further mistreat workers while undermining the meaningful community support that is growing across the province. Instead, CUPE representatives, frontline workers, Deaf advocates, and the NDP will be holding a press conference at Queen's Park on May 26 to share how CHS is gaslighting workers, ignoring Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing Ontarians, and damaging collective bargaining. CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn, NDP Shadow Minister of the MCCSS Lisa Gretzky, General Support Services counsellor Marriott Otchere, and Deaf entrepreneur and CHS client Andrea Zackary will be presenting. od/COPE491
