Dear CUPE Ontario members,
Without Ontario’s labour movement, many of the advances our province has made toward becoming a more prosperous and fair society would not have happened. This Labour Day, we remember with gratitude the work of generations of trade unionists to advance the rights, working conditions and public services we enjoy today.
But many of these gains are under attack by Conservative governments across Canada, impacting not only union members like us, but our families, friends and our communities.
Here in Ontario, the Ford Conservative government has introduced Bill 124, which infringes on our collective bargaining rights, guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedom. It forces workers to accept contracts that don’t keep pace with inflation and it sets the stage for more attacks on working people. The bottom line is Bill 124 will not only hurt workers and restrict them from providing for their own families, it will also be yet another reason Ontario will see massive cuts across the province in education, health, colleges and universities, our social services, and in our municipalities. It will seriously impact workers but equally important, it will impact our quality and standard of living.
That is why CUPE Ontario’s is fighting against Bill 124 as part of our Communities, Not Cuts campaign that will resist this legislation, not only for our members and workers, but for everyone, in every community across the province. “Communities not Cuts” is not only about stopping the Ford Conservative government from making Bill 124 a reality, it is about fighting the cuts to public services in our communities and engaging our members, local activists and communities to fight alongside us!
CUPE Ontario will continue our commitment to restoring fairness and opportunity for all Ontarians. There is much to be done on many fronts—from protecting our bargaining rights, to supporting workers fighting for a living and fair wage, to improving workplace practices, to making work sites safer, to improving access to quality public services, to fighting every day to protect our fundamental rights and freedoms in this province.
CUPE Ontario will continue to defend the rights and freedoms that the labour movement helped to build and strengthen in this province. The freedoms that working people and families have today in Ontario. Remember that Labour Day and the labour movement is not just about workers but it’s about all of us. Together, we can build an economy and a province that supports everyone.
In solidarity with our workers, our members, families and friends, CUPE Ontario wishes everyone a happy and safe Labour Day.
