“Library workers make libraries great”: Markham and New Tecumseth library workers celebrate Library Week

MARKHAM, ON – Public library workers in Markham and New Tecumseth, members of Local 905 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and their supporters, are celebrating Ontario Public Library Week with the message that great libraries depend on great workers. “We’re very proud of the relationship we have developed with our patrons in…

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CUPE Ontario joins early childhood educators and child care workers in calling on municipal candidates to be “Champions for Children”

  Today (October 16) is Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day in Ontario. Coming just days before the municipal election, educators and their supporters are calling on municipal and school board politicians to join them as “Champions for Children” by committing to three big ideas to build a better child care system…

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Join CUPE library workers across Ontario for a celebration of Library Week at a branch near you

TORONTO, ON – Across Ontario, library workers are extending an invitation to the public to join them this coming week for a celebration of Ontario Public Library Week.   Library workers, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), will hold celebrations in communities across Ontario, highlighting the important role libraries play in enhancing…

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World Mental Health Day

  Today is World Mental Health Day, observed on October 10 each year to encourage mental health awareness, education, and advocacy against social stigma. Today is an opportunity to thank CUPE members working on the front lines as social service workers delivering mental health recovery and wellness programs that benefit thousands of Ontarians. It is…

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Hospital’s closing century-old laundry and killing jobs is out of step with municipal candidates’ push to boost local economy

  PEMBROKE, ON – Candidates vying for seats in the coming municipal election who are talking up local economic development and jobs are on the right page, say staff trying to keep the area hospital from closing the in-house laundry and axing five full-time local jobs. However, they add, the Pembroke Regional Hospital is remarkably…

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PC cuts to hospital surge beds follows cuts to mental health and addictions: PC health policy becomes clear despite attempt to dress bed cuts as new beds

  TORONTO, ON – As Ontario’s already overcrowded hospitals hit the fall flu season, a PC government announcement that slashes surge beds and funding by more than half, is “deceptive, misleading and very concerning,” says Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions. Last winter, the predecessor Liberals announced $187 million for 2018-2019…

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Orange Shirt Day

September 30 is Orange Shirt Day, which raises awareness about the residential school system and its traumatic, inter-generational impact on Indigenous peoples in Canada. On this day, we reflect on the legacy of residential schools, which were the primary instrument in a policy of cultural genocide instituted by the Canadian government. Orange Shirt Day was…

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PCs’ guns for hire report makes it more certain that at least 3,500 Ontario hospital beds and 16,500 staff will be cut

  TORONTO, ON – Far from delivering a “line-by-line” accounting of provincial funding, the PC government’s $500,000 Ernst and Young (EY) report on the province’s finances “is gun for hire advocacy for downsizing public services, the sale of profitable provincial assets, user fees, means testing and increased privatization,” says Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario…

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