Earlier this month, more than 200 organizers from across Ontario met in Toronto for the annual $15 & Fairness Provincial Strategy Meeting (check out the photos here). This strategy meeting was not only the biggest one we had so far, but it was also an incredibly important one. With the Ontario provincial election scheduled for June next year, 2017 is our window to win fair wages and decent working conditions.
We know this is not going to be an easy battle, with corporate lobby groups already pushing back. However, the public support is with us! A recent Forum Poll showed 70% of voters in Toronto support a $15 minimum wage! In fact this sentiment is shared well beyond Toronto. Just last fall, another Forum poll showed more than two-thirds of Canadians backed a $15 minimum wage. Some journalists are speculating that $15 & Fairness will be a key issue in the Ontario budget expected on April 27.
At the provincial meeting, we heard directly from organizers mobilizing from North Bay to Windsor. The response they are getting on the streets to $15 & Fairness is overwhelmingly positive. However, this support in itself will not win the legislative changes that Ontario workers desperately need. We must organize this sentiment in every community, in every workplace and every campus.
That‘s why we need each and every one of you right now. Like Kendall Fells, the National Organizing Director of Fight for $15 in the US, told us at the Strategy Meeting: “Politicians go whichever way the wind is blowing; let us be the wind.”
Click here to watch the live-stream of the Public Forum section of the 2017 Provincial Strategy MeetingUPCOMING EVENTS: Join one near you!
There are numerous actions and events being organized across Ontario! If you don’t see an action in your area, let us know how we can help you get one going!
Saturday, April 15
LONDON
$15 & Fairness and Make It Fair Joint Outreach Action
1:00PM – 2:30PM | Rexall Drugstore Dundas & Richmond | Click here for a map
Ontario workers are struggling to get by. More and more decent jobs are being replaced by low-wage and precarious work – but workers still need a $15 minimum wage. We’ll be tabling with information on the $15 and Fairness campaign, as well as some other important issues currently facing Londoners.
To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
Wednesday, April 19
KINGSTON
Petitioning Blitz
5:00PM – 6:00PM | Barrack & King| Click here for a map
Join us at the Food Basics/LCBO at Barrack and King for a $15 and Fairness petition session in downtown Kingston. We will have flyers, posters, buttons, and a table set up. Everyone is welcome, come and try it out!
To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
Saturday, April 22
TORONTO
Panel Discussion – How we won $15 & Fairness at York
2:45PM – 4:00PM | University of Toronto, Multifaith Centre, 569 Spadina Avenue | Click here for a map
This panel is taking place as part of Marxism 2017: One solution, revolution. The discussion will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the recent food service workers victory at York University. The panelists include: Nigel Blair, York food service worker & bargaining team member, UNITE HERE Local 75, Melissa Sobers, food service worker & member of UNITE HERE Local 75, Alia Karim, York student & member of $15 & Fairness-York, and Pam Frache, the provincial coordinator of Fight for $15 & Fairness.
To RSVP & share on Facebook, click here.
Sunday, April 23
TORONTO
Panel Discussion – Precarious Employment: Exploring Strategies for Change
7:00PM – 9:00PM | Darchei Noam Social Hall | Click here for a map
With recommendations for labour law reform about to be released, we are in a critical time to weigh in on this important subject which affects all of us, our children and the future. The moderator for this event is Elliot Siemiatycki, Policy Advisor on Workforce and Economic Development. Panelists include: Deena Ladd from the Workers’ Action Centre, Andrew Cash from Urban Workers Project and Rabbi Shalom Schachter from the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition.
Tuesday, April 25
TORONTO
Toronto-Wide Organizing Meeting
5:30PM – 8:00PM | 720 Spadina Ave, Suite 223 | Click here for a map
Join us for our next city-wide Fight for $15 and Fairness organizing meeting! We know we have the majority with us, but we need to organize this sentiment and put pressure on our MPPs to make sure we get the legislative changes we need in 2017!
To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
AT A TELEPHONE NEAR YOU!
Faith Caucus for $15 & Fairness
7:00PM – 8:00PM
More than 125 faith leaders from across Ontario have signed the $15 & Fairness statement, calling on the Ontario Government to bring in sweeping changes to labour laws. Join this teleconference to help us plan the next steps for publicly unveiling this important statement.
To join the teleconference please send us an email by clicking here. Please don`t forget to include your phone number so that we can call you.
Friday, April 28
TORONTO
Mayworks Film Screening – A Day’s Work
7:00PM – 8:30PM | Carlton Cinema Auditorium 9| Click here for a map
This screening is organized by the Workers’ Action Centre and opens the festival on the National Day of Mourning that marks the passing of those who have been killed on the job or who have died as a result of workplace accidents and illness. After the screening there will be two short presentations by workers who have been active in the Fight for $15 and Fairness campaign.
To RSVP & share on Facebook, click here.
Saturday, April 29
ACTIONS THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA
Peoples Climate Movement – Toronto March
12:00PM – 2:00 PM | Allan Gardens | Click here for a map
Plans are underway by labour, environmental, Indigenous, and social justice groups for a People’s Climate March in Toronto. This will form part of a North American Day of Action initiated by the People’s Climate Movement. The U.S coalition is calling for a massive march in Washington D.C and sister marches across the world, and the Toronto organizing groups have coordinated with the Climate Coverage in Vancouver and other orgs across the country. We are organizing the march to be the anchor event to a week of education and mobilizing in April and a week of actions in May.
To RSVP & share on Facebook, click here.
Sunday, April 30
TORONTO
Mayworks Multi-Art Event – Journey to Belong
2:00PM – 4:00PM | Alliance Francaise de Toronto – Centre culturel | Click here for a map
Journey to Belong features the drag performance Sarap, the short film The Sunflower Man, and the visual exhibit My Journey on the “Pathway”. These bold and beautiful works are brought together for their common thread of migrant activism, their shared investigation of the power of art to empower, express, and create change, and their connection to our deep desire to belong. Following the presentations is a panel discussion facilitated by Monica Gutierrez and featuring Patrick Salvani, Heryka Miranda, Juan Kuis Mendoza de la Cruz, and Kara Manso.
To RSVP & share on Facebook, click here.
Monday, May 1
MISSISSAUGA
MAY DAY International Workers’ Day YYZ
1:00PM – 2:30PM | Toronto Pearson International Airport | Click here for a map
Join us at Canada’s largest workplace, Toronto Pearson International Airport, to celebrate our achievements as co-workers. Together we power this huge workplace, sending people and their belongings across the country and out into the world. Our work also helps to welcome millions of travellers to Toronto and Canada. Last spring thousands of you signed the TWAC “$15 and Fairness” petition calling to end poverty wages and improve working conditions. Let`s keep building this movement.
To RSVP & share on Facebook, click here.
Wednesday, May 3
TORONTO
Mayworks Film Screening – A Day’s Work
6:00PM – 8:00PM | Driftwood Community Centre Room 6 | Click here for a map
This screening takes place during the Jane Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP)’s annual celebration in honour of International Workers’ Day. A post-screening discussion will emphasize the campaign for Workers’ Rights in the Jane-Finch community, especially for those who have been working through temporary employment agencies. Panelists include residents and activists, who will speak on the problem with temp agencies and how we can hold them accountable.
To RSVP & share on Facebook, click here.
Saturday, May 13
OSHAWA
Oshawa Fight for $15 and Fairness Planning Meeting
3:30PM – 5:30PM | United Steelworkers of America | Click here for a map
Join members of We Are Oshawa to help plan out the next phase of the Fight for $15 and Fairness campaign in Oshawa. Meeting starts at 3:30PM at the Steelworkers Hall (115 Albert St). All are welcome and the meeting is family-friendly!
To RSVP & share on Facebook, click here.