October 22, 2020 is the 20th annual Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day. Each year the day is proclaimed by municipalities and school boards across Ontario and marked in hundreds of child care centres. This year’s theme is “Rising Up!” to acknowledge the importance of collective action in creating a just, publicly…
HAMILTON, ON – Workers at Catholic Family Services (CFS) Hamilton today voted strongly in favour of joining the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The roughly 75 employees include social workers, early childhood educators, counsellors, support workers, cooks, housekeepers, and office, clerical, and maintenance staff. “Workers at CFS Hamilton provide vital services for very vulnerable…
TORONTO, ON – Workers at Community Living Ontario voted yesterday to join the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Community Living Ontario is a provincial association focussed on advocating for the inclusion of individuals who have a developmental disability. CUPE is a leading union in developmental services, with membership in communities across the province. “This…
TORONTO, ON – The Ontario Labour Relations Board today certified the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) as the union for workers at Youthdale Treatment Centres, a youth and family mental health agency operating in Toronto and Magnetawan, Ontario. “This is a strong and dedicated group of workers who are looking forward to having a…
Toronto, ON — CUPE Ontario is disappointed by the Ford Conservative’s announcement revealing a vague strategy to fundamentally redesign the child welfare system—without new funding in a chronically underfunded system, the plan is destined for failure. “Families and service providers are concerned—just last year Ford wanted to cut $28 million from Children’s Aid Societies. If…
Toronto, ON — In the attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19 the Government of Ontario recently introduced restrictions to limit the number of agencies that frontline workers can be actively employed in; however, the government’s actions made workers in developmental services fall through the cracks. The workers, who support people with disabilities, report significant…
(Toronto, ON) – Children’s Aid Societies must acknowledge and take action on anti-Black racism in sector, says CUPE Ontario. “Now more than ever, we must use our collective voice to make real change in Children’s Aid Societies across the province,” says Carrie Lynn Poole-Cotnam, CUPE Ontario Social Services Chair. “As long as employers and powerful…
Millions watched as George Floyd was murdered, and millions more are organizing to stop state-sanctioned violence and abolish racism across the globe. We support the larger movement for Black lives and echo the demands of groups like Black Lives Matter – Toronto who have been calling for racial equality since 2014, and the countless other…
On June 24, CUPE Ontario celebrates Developmental Service Worker Appreciation Day—a day dedicated to recognizing the crucial work done by workers in developmental services to support people with intellectual and physical disabilities. CUPE Ontario recognizes the important role workers in developmental services play in supporting individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, and more broadly, our…
Toronto, ON — Child care centres across Ontario remain closed today despite Ford’s announcement that re-opening could commence. “Premier Ford simply hasn’t given child care centres adequate notice, support, or guidelines – it took emergency child care centres three weeks to prepare for opening, not three days,” says Carrie Lynn Poole-Cotnam, CUPE Ontario Social Services…
