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TORONTO, Ont.Working people from across the province will elect new provincial labour leadership tomorrow, November 25, 2009, at the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) biennial convention being held in Toronto this week.
Sid Ryan, the Ontario president of the 250,000 member Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario, is seeking the presidency of the labour federation that speaks for nearly 1,000,000 private and public sector unionized workers who are members of affiliated unions across Ontario.
Under the banner of Make Ontario Work,’ Ryan unveiled a new activist vision for the labour movement as a progressive voice for working people, one that takes a leadership role in building social cohesion and in forging the new economy.
I believe that strong unions and a strong activist federation of labour are needed today more than ever to champion the rights of working peoplewhether they are unionized or not.
With the rise of a low-waged, part-time job economy and aggressive attempts to roll back workers’ wages, benefits and pensions, the future of labour rests in reaching out to unorganized workers, new immigrants and youth. New alliances with community groups advocating for affordable housing, public child care, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, pensions for all workers and to ensure that the benefits of the new green economy are widely shared, must go hand-in-hand with strengthening unity within the Ontario labour movement, says Ryan.
In addition to leading CUPE Ontario for the last 17 years, Ryan currently serves as an OFL Vice-President, and is a Vice-President of CUPE National, Canada’s largest union representing over 590,000 members across Canada.
Nomination and election for all three full-time OFL officers’ positions are scheduled for 10:15 a.m., Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel (123 Queen Street West, Toronto) in the Grand Ballroom.
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For more information please contact:
Stella Yeadon (416) 559-9300
For the Sid Ryan Campaign website, please visit: http://www.sidryanforofl.ca
