The Fight for $15 and Fairness has had a fantastic summer of organizing and mobilizing in communities across Ontario, from Windsor to Thunder Bay! We organized in our workplaces, communities and campuses, drawing hundreds of people to forums, outreach blitzes and skills-sharing events. Labour Day celebrations across Ontario provided a critical platform to raise the issue of decent work and wages for all of us.

And we are starting to win
Mississauga Library workers (members of CUPE 1989) won a $15 minimum wage for their lowest paid members, but only after 18 days on the picket line. This milestone is a crucial down-payment on a $15 minimum wage for all workers. And it shows how hard we are going to have to fight to make decent wages and working conditions a reality for all workers.

The Changing Workplaces Review Interim Report (released July 27) summarizes the issues raised during the formal consultation process last year. And it is clear that our movement’s vision has been heard. But so too have the views of employers. That’s why we need to mobilize in every corner of the province to ensure that our demands come forward as final recommendations (expected in early 2017).

But the fight has only just begun
The big business lobby is getting organized. Already it has launched a well-financed campaign to oppose any changes that would benefit workers. It’s not accidental that big business — the companies most likely to offer low-wage work — say that any improvements in our working conditions will ruin the economy. It’s simply not true — but it sounds scary. We need to redouble our efforts to dispel this myth by talking about the fight for $15 and fairness with our friends, neighbours and co-workers.

Mobilizing for October 1 to 7 is crucial
Big business may have the money, but we are the majority. That’s why the October 1 Rally for Decent Work — and the whole Decent Work Week from October 1 to 7 — is so important for our movement. We need to show our elected representatives that we expect change.

We need YOU! 
Whether you are a worker, retiree or student experiencing precarious employment; whether you are a parent, grandparent, cousin or sibling; whether you work part-time or full-time, or are in a temporary or casual contract; or whether you are in a union or not — we need you!

The Ontario Legislative Assembly will resume on Monday, so now is the time to take the Fight for $15 & Fairness to the next level:

What can you do right now?

• Pledge to attend the October 1 rally at Queen’s Park.
• Plug in to organizing networks in your community (please scroll down for more details on upcoming activities) and help your neighbours and co-workers spread the word.
• Collect signatures on this petition and deliver them to your local Member of Provincial Parliament.
• Download these campaign materials and distribute them in your community, workplace, campus or place of worship.
• Follow the campaign on social media: Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, invite your friends and organizations to endorse the campaign.
• Donate money to the campaign. We hate to ask for this, but the demand for campaign materials and staff resources are far outpacing our revenue. Please make a donation today. No amount of money is too small (or too large)! We make excellent use of every penny we receive. NB: contributions to the Fight for $15 & Fairness are managed by the Workers’ Action Centre, and are used strictly to develop and produce Fight for $15 & Fairness campaign resources, hold special campaign events and/or maintain FF15&F communications infrastructure. All online donations go to the Fight for $15 & Fairness.

TODAY! September 10
London

10:00 am to 9:30 pm | Western Fair
(Click here for a map)
Join workers, community members and students for this outreach event at the Western Fair. Volunteers are scheduled and needed all day. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.

East Toronto

2:00 pm to 4:00 pm | Corner of Carlton St. & Sumach St.
(Click here for a map)
Come out to this petitioning and leafleting blitz. After meeting up at the corner of Carlton and Sumach, the crew will head over to the Cabbagetown Festival.
To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.

September – October: Support Migrant Workers

Justice for Migrant Workers and the Harvesting Freedom Campaign will be embarking on a historic, month-long caravan that began in Leamington, Ontario on September 4, 2016 and will travel to its final stop in Ottawa on October 2. To learn when they are coming to your city and spread the word, check out the Facebook event page by clicking here. Click here to join the Migrant Worker contingent for October 1.

September 12 – Toronto (Latina organizers)

6:00 pm to 8:00 pm | 720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 223
(Workers’ Action Centre office. Click here for a map)
Join Coalicion Abya Yala and the Spanish-speaking organizers of Fight for $15 & Fairness to plan and strategize for the October 1 rally.
To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.

September 13 – York University

2:00 pm to 3:00 pm | Student Centre Room 430
(Click here for a map)
Student and community members are welcome! Come out and help plan the upcoming day of action on October 1 and an on-campus workshop on September 28.
To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.

September 13 – Ottawa

6:30 pm to 8:00 pm | 377 Bank Street
(CUPW STTP National Office Click here for a map)
Join Ottawa organizers to lay the groundwork for local actions in October.
To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.

September 17 – Oshawa

12:00 Noon to 4:00 pm | 115 Albert St.
(Steelworkers Hall parking lot Click here for a map)
Join the literature drop to promote the Fairness Forum happening on September 21! We will be targeting homes where one or more people have signed the petition for the Fight for $15 and Fairness campaign.
To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.

September 17 – West Toronto

12:00 noon to 1:00 pm | Corner of Dundas St. & Bloor St
(Near Dundas West Station Click here for a map)
The summer canvasses at Dufferin station and in Parkdale were a huge success (over 950 signatures on our petition!), so we’re doing it again. And, this time we’re taking the campaign to Dundas West station! Come out and bring a friend:) We’ll have petitions and leaflets ready to go, and together we’ll talk with passerbys about the fight for decent work for all.
To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.

September 20 – Toronto

5:30 pm to 8:30 pm | 720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 223
(Workers’ Action Centre office. Click here for a map)
Join students, community and labour activists for the next Toronto-wide Fight for #15andFairness organizing meeting! We’ll be in the home stretch of organizing for the big October 1 demonstration in the Fight for $15 and Fairness!
To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here

September 21 – Health Providers

5:30 pm to 8:00 pm | 155 College St. 6th Floor Auditorium
(Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Click here for a map)
Titled ‘Health and Social Justice: Pathways to Advocacy on the Social Determinants of Health’, the event will showcase four speakers, each representing a different health advocacy campaign and issue. They will speak about their own personal journey to becoming health advocates, what each campaign is advocating for, how to get involved and much more!
Register for the event here | Spread the word on Facebook by clicking here

September 21 – Oshawa

6:30 pm to 9:00 pm | 81 Gladstone Ave.
(Valleyview Community Centre Click here for a map)
“We are Oshawa” is a labour-community network that is building momentum for the Fight for $15 and Fairness. Join the Fairness forum to discuss the strategies we’re using to improve working conditions and lift all workers in Ontario out of poverty.
To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.

September 22 – Toronto Rising for Fairness

6:00 pm  | 427 Bloor Street West.
(Trinity St. Paul’s United Church Click here for a map)
Show your solidarity with hospitality and food service workers — members of UNITE HERE Local 75 — who are standing up for fairness and decent wages in Toronto. We will need a powerful labour-community movement to force these multi-national developers, hotels, fast food and restaurant chains to make it fair.

OCTOBER 1 – QUEEN’S PARK!

OCTOBER 2nd to 7th Decent Work Week

Stay tuned for more details!