Premier urged to look at real threats to Ontario hospital viability and staffing crisis; high workloads, chronic understaffing, high infection risks and violence

COVID-19, Health Care

TORONTO, ON – Responding to a recent letter from Premier Doug Ford asking for input, two of Ontario’s largest health care unions are urging him to move beyond the excuse of vaccination mandates and acknowledge the real reasons why there is a growing and critical shortage of nurses, personal support workers and other hospital staff…

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Advocates call on Premier Ford to include decent work, expansion of non-profit spaces in Ontario’s child care agreement with the federal government

Child Care, Social Services

Toronto, ON – The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC), and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) echo calls on Doug Ford to sign a bilateral child care agreement that puts decent work at its core and includes a moratorium on the expansion of for-profit…

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“The resilient flame of resistance shines on”: CUPE Ontario’s statement for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

Governmental, Solidarity

It’s been said so many times it’s become cliché: the pandemic exposed the deep inequities running through our communities from the local to the global. But unlike other clichés, this well-worn phrase must be recognized as an important truth, deserving attention and urgent action. Nineteen months into this crisis, and after multiple waves of this…

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Image shows the inside of Sunnyside, a long-term care home, with bright green walls and a large wooden sign that says "Life is Beautiful." A few of the home's residents are in the photo's background.

Ontario LTCs brought in entry-level assistants during the pandemic. Will they play a role in nursing homes’ future?

COVID-19 media stories, CUPE Ontario in the Media

As nursing homes prepare for the end of pandemic emergency orders, operators want a permanent role for new, low-paid workers. But advocates like CUPE Ontario’s Candace Rennick question the use of inexperienced staff with vulnerable residents, saying it is a “very sad policy choice.” Called “resident support assistants,” the entry-level job was approved by a…

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CUPE Local 416 reaches tentative agreement with Toronto Parking Authority

COVID-19, Municipal, Social Services

Toronto, ON— Workers at Toronto Parking Authority, who are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 416, have reached a tentative agreement and avoided a possible lockout or strike. “Our expressed goal at the bargaining table is to protect Toronto’s critical parking infrastructure that we need now more than ever as we…

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Image shows Doug Ford at a press conference smiling at the camera.

Doug Ford’s Government Quietly Cut Over $100 Million for Protecting School Children From COVID-19

COVID-19 media stories, CUPE Ontario in the Media

The line item, the FAO notes, which covers “funding to support the implementation of public health protocols in schools” received $702 million in 2020-21. This year, the province is budgeting $569 million in 2021-22,. That’s a reduction of about $133 million. At the same time, according to the report, local school boards have spent $391…

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Anaya Toelly, Stephanie Kocielski and Betty Yakimenko have family members at Madonna Care Community in Orleans, Ont., which experienced a COVID-19 outbreak early in the pandemic. They recently attended a rally in Ottawa to raise awareness about a number of issues with the long-term care system. (Jean Delisle/CBC)

As the COVID-19 pandemic began, long-term care staff were voicing concerns to Ontario’s Ministry of Labour

COVID-19 media stories, CUPE Ontario in the Media

“There was no real sense of urgency or understanding or acceptance of how critical the situation actually was. And in the case of Madonna, you know, that situation proved to be fatal — not just for workers, but for … several residents as well,” said Candace Rennick, a former PSW and an executive with CUPE…

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CUPE city and community care workers deliver Thanksgiving dinners amidst increasing food insecurity in Windsor

COVID-19, Municipal, Social Services

WINDSOR, ON – Over 600 Thanksgiving gift hampers will be distributed to individuals and families in need in Windsor this Friday as part of a charity drive by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in partnership with the Windsor-Essex Food Bank Association. The hampers have been packed by municipal and community care workers represented…

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Whitby city workers’ union donates to Durham food program, calls for systemic changes to address affordability crisis

COVID-19, Municipal

WHITBY, ON – Emphasizing the needs of vulnerable community members, CUPE Local 53 has donated $2,000 to the Feed the Need program in Durham Region as food bank demand rises through the pandemic. “Our union members have always believed that we should help the most marginalized members of our community,” said Rob Radford, president. “We…

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