Action items from October organizing meeting!

October 25, 2024

✊🏿 Migrants need rights, not cuts

Diana Da Silva from the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) explained how Prime Minister Trudeau is caving to Conservative, racist rhetoric scapegoating migrants. Instead of expanding permanent residency to undocumented and migrant workers, the Federal government is moving to cut immigration that would shut out 775,000 people who keep our economy going.

If you are part of a group or union, MWAC is looking for organizational endorsements for their open letter calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to stop these immigration cuts.

And if you haven't yet done so, please send a letter to the Federal government telling them migrants need rights not cuts.

🩺 Healthcare for ALL

Mauriene Tolentino, from the Health Network for Uninsured Clients, let us know about a new report showing the harsh impact the lack of healthcare has had on migrant workers. It will be launched next week, so stay tuned!

Advocating with MPPs

If you are a healthcare worker, the Decent Work and Health Network is hosting a workshop on how to push politicians to support Healthcare for All on October 28 at 6pm.

Support South Riverdale Community Health Centre workers

On Sunday, October 27 at 10:30 am, we’re postering to support the staff at South Riverdale Community Health Centre. These frontline workers are bargaining for decent work, livable wages, and fair health benefits. Join us in putting up posters around the area to show community solidarity with our essential health workers. 

Here are the Support Health Workers posters we’ll be using:

On Sunday, we will bring all the posters and supplies for postering, but if you live in the area and can't come on Sunday, feel free to print and post your own copies in the neighbourhood! You can also drop by 720 Spadina Avenue (outside Suite 223) any time between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm to pick up copies of the posters. 

💸 Wage Theft and Bad Bosses

Ella Bedard, a frontline organizer with the Workers Action Centre, discussed the Ford government's latest round of smoke and mirrors when it comes to protecting workers from wage theft. Despite the name, the Working for Workers Act 5 does nothing to enforce laws against wage theft. As a consequence, Premier Ford continues to let bad bosses off the hook.

Wage theft is a widespread and growing problem. Wage theft happens when employers misclassify workers as independent contractors instead of employees. When this happens, workers are denied their rights under the Employment Standards Act and lose access to other legal entitlements such as Employment Insurance (EI), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and more. 

Wage theft also happens when employers:

  • Don't pay workers for all the hours we work;
  • Pay workers less than the full minimum wage;
  • Make illegal deductions from workers' pay; or
  • Fail to pay overtime pay, public holiday pay, or vacation pay in accordance with the the law. 

Sign up now to fight wage theft.

📚 Ontario college faculty bargaining

Sean Lougheed, member of the bargaining team for the academic workers at the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT), reported on current bargaining, where the employer has tabled huge concessions that will undermine high quality teaching, short-change students, increase precarity for faculty members, and reduce the number of good jobs in our communities.

In a recent vote with an historic high turnout, almost 80% of workers voted for a strike—if necessary—to reach a fair agreement. Supporting college workers means supporting good jobs in our communities and ensuring adequate public funding so that post-secondary education is not funded by massive user fees (tuition fees) for domestic or international students. 

👶 Child Care & Children’s Aid Workers

Brynne Sinclair-Waters reported on how, in the middle of the current affordability crisis, childcare workers of  the Learning Enrichment Foundation (LEF) has cut the wages of their childcare staff in 25 of their locations by $2 an hour. Help us protect child care workers wages by sending an email now to LEF to tell them to reverse these cuts.  

📅 2025 Organizing for Power Assembly 

SAVE THE DATES: Friday, April 4 to Sunday, April 6

Join us in Toronto for the 2025 Organizing for Power Assembly. We'll be meeting at the Toronto Metropolitan Student Centre, sharing skills, knowledge and strategies to so we an take on bad bosses in the workplace and elect decent work champions in the upcoming provincial and federal elections. RSVP now to the Organizing for Power Assembly, then think about who else from your workplace or community should be there with you!