REGION OF WATERLOO, ON – The Region of Waterloo’s mismanagement is harming the quality of paramedic services and putting the community and its workforce at risk, according to paramedics represented by Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 5191 (CUPE 5191). Luke McCann, an active paramedic and president of CUPE 5191, said emergency calls had increased…
DURHAM REGION, ON – The Ontario government’s plan to privatize vaccine delivery will undermine the ongoing publicly delivered vaccine rollout in Durham Region, according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1764. The Local represents 350 paramedics employed by the Regional Municipality of Durham, who are administering vaccines through in-home services and mobile…
TORONTO, ON – Ontario paramedics, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), are concerned with a government plan to use a private, third-party company to participate in the province’s vaccine rollout, claiming that the company will need to hire working paramedics from Ontario’s land ambulance services. CUPE, Ontario’s largest paramedic union representing over…
This year on May 1st, First Responders Day, we recognize the workers who have been battling on the front lines of a global crisis for over a year now. On this day, one year ago, we were calling on the government to make sure that the paramedics and ambulance communications officers on the front lines…
KITCHENER-WATERLOO, ON – Region of Waterloo paramedics and logistics and support workers have given their union a strong strike mandate in their current contract negotiations with the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. The paramedic services workers, represented by Local 5191 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE 5191), held an online strike mandate vote on…
Infectious disease expert Dr. Tara Moriarty invites CUPE members to participate in the following vaccine education initiatives: 1) If you’re a Canadian who would like to ATTEND a nightly Zoom sessions about COVID-19 vaccine safety, please sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrp0-GkyZS1Oe4cu4T7F6t1xdumCr9HmWo5dUwAYaRaw0AWw/viewform 2) If you’d like to request a special session for your organization, union etc, please contact Grace Kim at [email protected]. First…
WATERLOO, ON – Region of Waterloo paramedics are being denied WSIB claims after contracting COVID-19, a move that the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) believes is being enabled by the Ford Government’s unwillingness to hold employers accountable for workplace outbreaks. “Having fallen ill with COVID-19 from working was scary enough,” said one Region of…
WINDSOR, ON – Essex-Windsor paramedics are extremely concerned that the region could face an ambulance shortage after a COVID-19 outbreak at the Essex-Windsor paramedic service. Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is reporting that ten paramedics from the service have contracted COVID-19. “Prior to the pandemic we were often operating in a code yellow or code red…
ONEIDA NATION OF THE THAMES, ON – The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is pleased to announce the settlement of a first collective agreement by arbitration for employees of Oneida Nation of the Thames Emergency Medical Services. This is the first contract between the union and a First Nations paramedic service in Ontario. The…
Fill out the form to send your MPP, Premier Doug Ford, and Minister of Health Christine Elliott the message below. I’m counting on you to support Bill 191, Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (Presumption Respecting COVID-19), 2020. Bill 191 would add a presumption that COVID-19 is an occupational disease for essential workers who test…
