Look how far we've come. Let's win decent work for all in 2022!

Thanks to you, we’ve made a huge difference in the lives of workers across Canada. Winning a higher minimum wage and paid sick days helps close the racial and gender wage gap, and save lives.

We are so proud of what we have accomplished together.

Federally-regulated workers

Here's what's we've improved for workers in sectors such as trucking, banking, airlines, telecommunications:

• As of December 29, there will be a federal minimum wage for the first time in 25 years. At $15 an hour, tens of thousands of workers will get a long-overdue wage bump. And because we won annual cost of living (COL) adjustments, federally-regulated workers will get their first COL adjustment three months later on April 1, 2022.
  
  
• Paid sick days legislation will come into effect in 2022. Under the new legislation, workers in federally-regulated sectors employed for 30 days will have access to 3 employer-paid sick days and will earn an additional 7 at the rate of 1 day/month over the course of the year.  

We have also made progress at the provincial level where most workers are protected by Employment Standards legislation. Here are some highlights:

British Columbia

• 5 permanent, employer-paid sick days come into effect on January 1, 2022.

New Brunswick

• In 2022, the minimum wage in New Brunswick will rise from $11.75 to $13.75, with a $1 wage bump on April 1 and another $1 increase on October 1.

Ontario

This year, we forced Doug Ford's Conservative government to backtrack on some anti-worker policies.

• Premier Doug Ford cancelled the $15 minimum wage in 2018. But this year, we pushed him to change course to restore the $15 minimum wage and eliminate the sub-minimum wage rate for liquor servers. (Liquor server wages will increase by 20% from $12.55 to $15 an hour.) These changes take effect on January 1, 2022, and as a result, about one million workers will get a raise. 
  
  
• Despite Ford cutting 2 paid sick days as one of his first acts in government, we forced him to introduce a 3-day paid sick leave scheme for COVID-related illnesses that will be extended (for the second time) to July 2022. 

We hope you feel proud and inspired. 

Getting this far has taken hard work and solidarity. But we have so much further to go. We still need a $20 minimum wage and at least 10 employer-paid sick days. And with the Omicron variant spiking, we are redoubling our effort to reinstate Canada Emergency Response Benefits at $500 per week. Click here to send an urgent email to your Member of Parliament.

But the more progress we make for decent work, the more the big corporations - with all their money - will fight us. To beat back the big business backlash, we need an army of local leaders who can turn the sentiment for decent work into a powerful movement.

Will you make a contribution to the Justice for Workers Fighting Fund?

Justice for Workers has an ambitious agenda for 2022 and we want to hit the ground running:

• We want to train leaders in every region of the province to organize in every workplace, in every language, and in every community.
• We want to make sure every local organizer has the tools and resources for conducting those crucial organizing conversations with co-workers and community members. 
• We want to make sure that every decent work household has a door, window or lawn sign supporting a $20 minimum wage, 10 paid sick days, equal pay for part-time, contract and temp workers, and more.
• And we want to elect decent work champions in every riding in the province.

Become a monthly donor:

• $25 for 12 months will give us the resources to offer a one-day training to a local leader -- and $50 per month would let us train two!
• $15 for 12 months will give us the resources to fund and distribute 9 lawn signs. 
• $5 for 12 months allows us to provide 12 clipboards and petitions to local activists.
• $1 every month helps pay for crucial infrastructure like our website and social media platforms. 

Interested in making a one-time donation? 

• $500 will cover the cost of an essential organizing kit for a local Justice for Workers chapter. A  kit includes: a portable table and custom-sized mesh tablecloth, a banner, clipboards, placards, stickers, buttons, as well as posters, leaflets, and fact sheets.
• $300 covers the cost of a smaller organizing kit, including a portable table, custom mesh tablecloth, clipboards, and buttons. 
• A $5,000 donation would allow us to put an organizer in the field for one day a week for six months.

In fact, if every worker in Ontario gave just a single dollar every month, we would have a fighting fund big enough to out-organize even the most expensive corporate campaign. Every single cent we receive makes a world of difference in our ability to organize and fight for decent work and wages. No amount of money is too small!

Thank you again for everything you have done this past year to make work better for so many of us. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season. Please take care, stay safe, and squeeze in some much-needed rest and relaxation too; 2022 is going to be a big year for all of us!

Happy holidays and all the best for the year ahead!