We are still awaiting the first report of the Ministry of Labour’s Changing Workplaces Review which is intended to modernize the laws that govern our work and workplaces. The first or “interim” report was originally promised for February 2016, and has been delayed every month since then. Our most recent information suggests it will be released this week, but we can’t know for sure. We will keep you posted, so watch your inbox for news.
For those of you just joining our campaign, the interim report will summarize the issues and solutions highlighted by those who made deputations during last year’s formal consultation process. We have been calling for changes to the Employment Standards Act and Labour Relations Act that will better protect workers and curb employer practices that undermine our working conditions. Importantly, the report will give us a chance to make sure our issues were heard loudly and clearly as we organized across the province to raise $15 and Fairness demands during the consultations.
Fortunately, the ongoing wait for the Changing Workplaces Review interim report hasn’t dampened our organizing energy! Across Ontario, we are using our time to spread the word, get more people involved and build a strong campaign for decent work. As a result, there is growing momentum for the Fight for $15 and Fairness. Local networks are using the good weather and high spirits to get active. Here are just a few examples:
- Migrant workers are organizing for fairness and need your support on this petition;
- A Windsor-Essex Fight for $15 & Fairness planning meeting drew over 25 people;
- Mississauga library workers (more than half of whom are part-time workers) took strike action to win a $15 minimum wage, fair scheduling, paid sick days and more;
- Ottawa’s Fight for $15 and Fairness network organized MPP letter-writing and outreach blitzes;
- The Decent Work and Health Network brought health providers together to fight for $15 and Fairness as a social determinant of health;
- In Toronto students, community and labour activists held successful canvasses, public forums and organizing meetings; and
- Just this past Sunday, the Toronto Star endorsed a key $15 and Fairness demand – that workers should not be allowed to be fired without just cause.
Over the next few weeks, the action continues throughout the province, from Windsor to Sudbury. Please scroll down to find an event or action in YOUR community:
July 28, 2016 – Brampton
6:30 pm to 9:00 pm | 1100 Central Park Drive
(Greenbriar Recreation Centre click here for a map)
Join community members and the Peel Regional Labour Council at a community forum to talk about what we can do to curb the growth of temp agencies, to ensure all workers are paid at least $15 and hour, to demand fair scheduling and decent hours and make it easier for us to join unions. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
July 28, 2016 – Sudbury
5:00 pm to 6:30 pm | 74 Mackenzie Street
(Greater Sudbury Public Library click here for a map)
Join labour and community allies in Sudbury at an organizing meeting to plan upcoming local actions. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
July 28, 2016 – Windsor
6:00 pm | University of Windsor – Room 203 Toldo Health Education Centre
(Anthony P. Toldo Health Education Centre click here for a map)
Join students, staff, faculty, labour and community allies to talk about our next steps and actions to bring people together to fight for $15 and Fairness. Let’s plan for a Windsor-Essex wide conversation about our jobs, our communities and our futures. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
July 30, 2016 – Oshawa
1:00 pm to 5:00 pm | 115 Albert Street
(United Steelworkers Hall click here for a map)
Join We Are Oshawa – a labour-community network – to canvass for $15 and Fairness! In the past two weeks, we have collected more than 500 signatures and hope to reach 1,000 by August! Meet us in the parking lot of the Steelworkers Hall. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here. For more information about We are Oshawa, visit:www.weareoshawa.ca.
August 2, 2016 – Toronto
5:30 pm snacks | 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm meeting | Suite 223 – 720 Spadina Avenue
(Workers’ Action Centre office click here for a map)
Join students, community and labour activists for the next Toronto-wide Fight for $15 and Fairness organizing meeting! We’ve got lots to plan for, including: summer outreach blitzes, the anticipated Scarborough-Rouge River by-election, the August 28 skills-sharing workshop, post-secondary students’ orientation week, the Labour Day Parade (thank you OPSEU Region 5 for hosting our contingent), and the October 1 mobilization for decent work! To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
August 6, 2016 – Ottawa
1:00 pm | Elgin and Albert Street
(Meet at the Oscar Peterson Statue click here for a map)
Join the Fight for $15 and Fairness for our second afternoon of petitioning. We’ll meet at the Oscar Peterson statue at the corner of Elgin and Albert streets and fan out around Rideau Mall! To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
August 9 to 14 – World Social Forum
World Social Forum | Montreal, Québec
The World Social Forum (WSF) is a weeklong global conference that brings together social movements from around the world. There will be a number of workshops focusing on the Minimum $15 / Fight for $15 movements in North America. Ontario’s Fight for $15 and Fairness campaign is co-presenting a workshop on August 12. To find more WSF information and share it on Facebook, click here.
August 11 – Scarborough
5:30 pm to 7:00 pm | Corner of Finch Avenue East and McCowan Road
(Canvass & Outreach Blitz click here for a map)
Join us at the intersection of Finch Avenue East and McCowan Road (near Woodside Mall) from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. We’ll be talking to others in our community of Scarborough-Rouge River about how they can vote for $15 & Fairness in the upcoming by-election. The Ontario government is currently reviewing the labour laws that govern our workplaces. This presents a real opportunity to improve working conditions for every worker in Scarborough-Rouge River and across Ontario. The next Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for our community can help change the laws that will make work better for all of us. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
August 13 – East Toronto
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm | Corner of Pape and Danforth
(Canvass & Outreach Blitz click here for a map)
Toronto East-Enders are gonna make some noise! Join us in the neighbourhood to spread the word and help build the Fight for $15 & Fairness movement. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
August 20 – West Toronto
12:00 noon to 2:00 pm | Corner of Queen and Jameson
(Canvass & Outreach Blitz click here for a map)
Toronto West-Enders have been taking to the streets to spread the word and build a movement in the Fight for $15 & Fairness! Our June and July canvasses at Dufferin station were a huge success (collecting over 750 signatures on the petition!), so we’re doing it again! And, this time we’re taking the campaign to Parkdale. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
August 28 – Toronto
12:30 pm registration | 1:00 pm to 5:30 | Location TBA
(Skills-building / Skills-sharing Workshop)
Save the date! The Toronto Fight for $15 & Fairness network is planning a skills-building / skills-sharing workshop. Would you like to share your success stories in getting new people plugged into the campaign in your community? Would you like to have a few more snappy answers to tricky questions about wages and the economy? Do you want to know more about using social media to build the campaign? Have you persuaded your MPP to read and submit petitions to the Ontario Legislative Assembly? Are you bursting with creative ideas for actions and outreach? Then save the date so we can pool our collective knowledge and get ready to kick into high gear in September. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here.
September 5 – Labour Day
Picnics and Parades! Join a Labour Council event in your community
Labour Day is a fantastic time to connect with unionized workers and their families to raise awareness about the Changing Workplaces Review and to get organized to Fight for $15 and Fairness and to Make it Fair for everyone. To find a Labour Day event in your community, click here and scroll way, way down for Ontario listings.