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Across Ontario on November 20, CUPE members working in social services wore blue ribbons to mark National Child Day.
But some CUPE members didn’t stop at sporting ribbons: representatives from CAS, community agencies and child care locals took part in a day of political action and lobbying against service cuts in their sector.
They began the day at the 519 Community Centre in downtown Toronto; Aubrey Gonsalves, President of CUPE 2316 (Toronto CAS), was one of the hosts. CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn welcomed members and briefed them on the successful lobby day he and his team held on 18 November at Queen’s Park.
The day was a rare opportunity for CUPE members from different workplaces to share experiences and find creative ways of building links and solidarity among members.
Members took part in group discussions of the challenges facing social services and the effects of cutbacks in children’s aid services, child care and community agencies. Those exchanges led to discussions of the knock-on effect of cutbacks on workers, children, youth and families. Together, members examined ways of tackling issues of cutbacks and underfunding through their locals, communities and elected representatives.
“We can find ways to support each other more,” said one member who works in child care. “For example, my sister in CAS may not be able to sit on the board of a group home, but as a mother and a concerned citizen, I can. And then I can take forward CUPE’s concerns [in that forum].”
In the afternoon, the group took their message to Queen’s Park.
CUPE members met Conservative and New Democrat MPPs individually to awareness of the impacts of the Liberal government’s cutbacks in social services; they also distributed the distinctive National Child Day ribbons and were introduced from the floor of the legislature as they sat in the visitors’ gallery. Cindy Forster MPP received unanimous consent for her motion for MPPs to wear the blue ribbons in the legislature in recognition of National Day of the Child.
But the highlight of the visit may well have been a lesson in lobbying delivered by Peter Tabuns MPP. His top tips: be concise (three points good, two points better), tell a story that illustrates the problem, leave behind a one-pager of facts and figures, and make contact regular but not frequent.
“I feel much more confident now about approaching an MPP with my concerns,” concluded a newly minted CUPE lobbyist.
