CUPE Ontario and AMO make joint appeal for funding of municipal governments

(TORONTO, ON) – The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) have joined forces in a first-ever joint letter to the Premier and the Minister of Municipal Affairs seeking urgent financial help for struggling municipal governments. The President of CUPE Ontario, which represents 80,000 municipal employees, Fred…

CUPE Local 1883 delivers a solidarity coffee break to frontline workers in the Region of Waterloo

WATERLOO, ON – Members of CUPE Local 1883, representing over 850 workers with the Region of Waterloo, will deliver coffee and cookies to frontline workers at various locations today. Members of Local 1883 have been redeployed into various frontline posts throughout the region to help respond to community needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Local members…

Hospital staff protest today as morale crisis over pandemic pay deeply divides workforce

TORONTO, ON – Today for the first time during the COVID-19 crisis Ontario health care workers are openly protesting provincial government decisions they say divide the workforce into those who are front-line heroes and those whose vital contribution goes completely unrecognized. Outdoor protests by hospital staff represented by Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) are…

Lack of PPE makes homes for people with developmental disabilities the next hotspots for COVID-19 outbreaks: CUPE

TORONTO – Without adequate PPE and protocols, developmental services residences will become the next major sites of COVID-19 cases in Ontario, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 8,000 workers at 64 residences across the province. The union is demanding the provincial government provide proper protections for people with developmental disabilities and…

Paying it forward: CUPE education workers step up to support public and colleagues hard hit by COVID-19

TORONTO, ON – Education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Ontario are gearing up to help friends and neighbours whose lives and workplaces have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. CUPE school board leaders have strongly endorsed the provincial government’s “community involvement” initiative, paving the way for the union’s education…

Military and hospital teams won’t stop long-term care nightmare; test, identify and relocate residents’ with COVID-19, union asks

TORONTO, ON – The crisis in congregate living environments, like long-term care, can be solved by following the strategies of nations which are more successful: aggressive testing of all residents and staff and the relocation of those with COVID-19 to specialized facilities, CUPE said today. A limited number of military personnel will bolster hospital staff…