Please Click Here to find recent news, events and information from CUPE Ontario.
The unveiling of the McGuinty budget at Queens Park was prefaced by a noisy, mass rally of striking 
Durham school board workers organized by Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 218, CUPE Ontario and the Ontario Regional Office to protest the underfunding of school operations.
To songs and chants led by CUPE Ontario Secretary Fred Hahn and singer Faith Nolan, the boisterous rally drew supporters from CUPE Local 4400 and coverage from a host of TV and radio media.
Despite our repeated attempts, Premier McGuinty and Education Minister Kathleen Wynne are ignoring the fact that school support workers have continued to be underfunded and overworked to the detriment of students and the health and safety of our schools, said CUPE Ontario President Sid Ryan. These funding flaws will continue to fuel problems at school board bargaining tables across the province until the McGuinty Government fixes the faulty funding formula.
Twenty-one hundred members of CUPE Local 218 at Durham Public School Board went on strike on Wednesday, March 21st. They include Educational Assistants (EAs), office, clerical and technical staff, and custodial and maintenance workers.
The snap decision to organize the rally was a team effort by Local 218 president Donnie Bryans, CUPE Ontarios Sid Ryan and Ontario Regions Brian Atkinson and Randy Millage. Within hours 30 buses were booked, and CUPE Ontario staff had pulled together musical talent, sound systems and a truck, as well as a permit for the Queens Park lawns. Despite a continuous downpour, the music and speakers continued for several hours and was audible in the legislature just hours before the provincial budget was tabled.
