What an incredible Day of Action we had on Saturday, September 15, to kick off the "15 Week Countdown" to $15 minimum wage! Hundreds of people came out to do outreach in over 20 cities across Ontario, extending our reach to thousands of new supporters! Bravo to everyone who participated in the day of action on the streets or online. If you haven't done so already, add your voice now by sending an email to Premier Ford and your local Member of Provincial Parliament (click here).
Click here to see more photos from September 15 Day of Action
There is no doubt that Labour Minister Laurie Scott's op-ed in the Financial Post suggesting that her government is preparing to cancel the $15 minimum wage was a big disappointment for many Ontarians, including almost half of Conservative voters, who support the wage increase. But let's be clear: publishing an opinion piece in the Financial Post on a Friday afternoon, is not the mark of a government confident in its actions. Were they confident to cancel our $15 minimum wage, it would have been announced at a multi-media news conference with Premier Ford at the centre. Indeed, this op-ed is more of a trial balloon for the public and a pacifier for the corporate elite.
What we do right now matters. There's not a moment to lose. Call or email Premier Ford, and ask your friends, neighbours, and coworkers to do the same.
Click here to send an email to Premier Ford and your local MPP
As it stands, the law says: 1.7 million of us are poised to get a $15 minimum wage on January 1. Millions more will benefit from the fairer scheduling rules that are also coming on January 1. For the first time in our lives, all of us have paid sick days and job-protected emergency leave. The new equal pay for equal work rules that prevent wage discrimination based on part-time or temporary employment contracts have made life-changing differences for so many of us -- including workers of colour, newcomers and women. We have come this far by fighting for every inch of progress.
It is crucial that we keep up the momentum to demand public accountability from our elected officials. Despite the 66% public support for the $15 minimum wage, the special interest groups representing the 1% are pulling out all the stops to take away $15 minimum wage, paid sick days, and our other new workplace rights.
But WE can still stop them. Every email we send to our MPP (send an email now), every conversation we have with our friends and coworkers, every #15andFairness lawn sign or banner (order now) we display outside our home, community centre, labour council or place of worship makes a world of difference.
In the days ahead, we have many actions coming up from Hamilton (Sept. 24, click for details) to Brantford (Sept. 25 & 26, click for details), Kingston (Sept, 28, click for details) to Aurora (Sept. 29, click for details). And if you are based in Toronto, please join us at next week's Volunteer drop-in on Monday, City-wide Organizing Meeting on Tuesday or Phonebank on Wednesday. An incredible number of people are joining our campaign every day. We need all the help we can get to follow-up with them, and connect them with local actions. Click here to see the full list of upcoming events.