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NEWMARKET, Ont. CUPE 905, representing almost 3,000 workers at the Regional Municipality of York, had an overwhelming turnout at a bargaining update meeting held in Newmarket on Wednesday, June 2.
Unit Chair Doug Sheppard told an overflow, standing room only, crowd that solidarity was of prime importance.
We must send a message to our employer that we insist on bargaining a fair contract. It’s up to council to tell their bargaining team to come to the table and bargain seriously. So far they are dragging their heels.
Members of CUPE 905 lined up around the block in a fierce downpour to attend the meeting. To bring members in from the rain, the local stopped the signing in process after 200 members had entered the union hall in Newmarket.
CUPE 905, Regional Municipality of York, represents workers in water, waste water, long term care, roads, public health, community services, social services, paramedics, administration workers and I.T.
There are a number of issues on the table, Sheppard told the crowd. However, nothing will be resolved if the employer doesn’t come to the table. The message is clear. Council has to send their team back to the table with a mandate to really bargain a fair settlement.
Following a call from the floor the audience gave a unanimous show of hands to call for conciliation if the next round of bargaining at the end of June has not moved the employer genuinely closer to a fair settlement.
There are 249 senior managers at the Regional Municipality of York on the provincial Sunshine List those who earn $100,000 or more a year. The highest paid earns slightly higher than $263,000 plus taxable benefits. Raises for senior managers have been up to 27 per cent over the past year.*
Following the meeting one member commented: In the 11 years I’ve been a member and attended meetings, this is the best meeting I’ve ever been to. Everyone was on one side. The sense of solidarity was great.
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*The source is the Ontario Ministry of Finance http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/publications/salarydisclosure/2010/
For further information, contact:
Doug Sheppard Lorne Trevors Wendy Forbes
Unit Chair CUPE National Rep. CUPE Communications
905-955-6130 416-271-6086 416-892-8716
