Know your rights: Webinar back by popular demand!

We had our first COVID-19 Know Your Rights at Work online workshop together with the Workers' Action Centre and it was a real success! In fact, in response to the overwhelming demand we'll be running it again. Register now (click here), to join us on Thursday, April 2 at 7:00 pm.

After signing up on our website, you will immediately receive the log-in details for Thursday's webinar. If you have friends and coworkers who may be interested, please invite them on Facebook or share this page with them.

Help everyone get at least $500 in weekly support! 

Collective action works: the fact we even have an emergency fund is a testament to your effort!

As we learned last week, the federal government is simplifying the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to make it available to more people -- in response to public pressure. 

This is progress, but we can't stop mobilizing now. Call cabinet now (click here) to demand these supports for ALL!

There are still two big problems that must be addressed: 

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Will you talk to 2 more people? 

If you have called already, would you help us get 2 more people to make the call? Share this link: 15andfairness.org/covid19_callcabinet

By reaching out personally to 2 other friends, family members or co-workers and asking them to make a phone call, you could expand our reach dramatically. And since you have already made the call, you'll be in a good position to explain how to do it and to walk them through process.

In addition, if you haven't done so already, take a moment to call your member of parliament to deliver the same message. Click here to find your MP. 

We have every reason to believe we can win an EI top up and supports for other vulnerable workers who are currently excluded from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

But it won't happen unless many more of us speak up.

Call cabinet now (click here)! This phoning tool we've set up with the Migrant Rights Network will directly connect you to the voicemail of a Federal Minister so you can easily leave a message.

The Fight for $15 and Fairness continues to call for 21 paid emergency leave days for all workers (7 paid days permanently and an additional 14 paid days during pandemics) and for a dramatic improvement in access to -- and the amount of support provided by -- Employment Insurance. The full list of permanent and emergency measures necessary to protect workers can be accessed here in English and accessed here in French.

-- the Fight for $15 & Fairness Team

Thanks to many people like yourself speaking out, the federal government announced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) on Wednesday. At $2,000 for a month ($500 per week), this income support for COVID-19 is better than what was previously announced and will have a much simpler application process. 

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While this is a positive step, critical improvements are still needed to make sure everyone can access this minimum support. Too many of us who are already receiving Employment Insurance (EI) benefits get much less than $500 per week and it's not at all clear whether those of us who've been forced to work cash jobs will have any access to these supports. 

Fortunately, it's not too late for our elected representatives to extend these protections to all: Click here now to phone them.

The federal ministers who make up the Cabinet are currently deciding who will be eligible for these minimum income supports. If we act immediately, we can influence the program design. Please take a moment right now to speak to a member of the cabinet, to make sure everyone who needs it receives at least $500 in weekly benefits ($2,000 per month).

Together with our friends at the Migrant Rights Network, we've created a tool that will allow you to phone a member of the Cabinet with just one-click. Simply type in your phone number, and the system will dial and connect you directly to the voicemail of a Federal Minister. Visit our website now to take action: www.15andfairness.org/covid19_callcabinet As you complete the action, you will be given some example speaking points to support you.

During this pandemic we know that we can’t protect anyone without protecting everyone. Make your call now! Join us in urging the Cabinet to ensure this income support is available to ALL regardless of immigration or past employment status.

To read our full response to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit announced on Wednesday, click here. 

The Fight for $15 and Fairness continues to call for 21 paid emergency leave days for all workers (7 paid days permanently and an additional 14 paid days during pandemics) and for a dramatic improvement in access to -- and the amount of support provided by -- Employment Insurance. The full list of permanent and emergency measures necessary to protect workers can be accessed here in English and accessed here in French.

-- the Fight for $15 & Fairness Team

We are calling for immediate Health Emergency Labour Protections to cope with the devastating impacts of COVID-19, click here to sign our Canada-wide petition. These supports are the only way all of us will be able to follow the public health advice to contain the spread of coronavirus.

But most provincial and federal leaders are failing us.

Not a single provincial government has moved to ensure that employers provide 21 paid emergency leave days for all workers -- 7 paid days as a permanent measure and an additional 14 paid days during pandemics like COVID-19. Without paid leave days, too many of us are forced to choose between losing pay and going to work sick. In ordinary times, this is a terrible situation. But during COVID-19, it is a public health disaster. 

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That’s why we’re demanding H.E.L.P.:   

• 21 paid emergency leave days
• An immediate, non-repayable emergency fund 
• Greater access to Employment Insurance
• No worker left behind

Sign our petition now, click here. Your email will be sent to Prime Minister Trudeau and your local provincial or territorial leader. 

Remember, those of us who are least likely to have paid leave also prepare and deliver food. We work in malls and grocery stores. We clean offices and public buildings. And we care for seniors as personal support workers and in long-term care homes. We care for children as education workers, early childhood educators, and as live-in care workers without full citizenship status.

Those of us who are federally-regulated, staff airports, drive buses and handle money at banks.

We all need protection!

Too many of us have neither paid leave nor EI. Ordering closures without income supports when we lose hours -- or our jobs -- will turn the current health emergency into an economic crisis. The Quebec government showed real leadership by announcing a living allowance of $573 for workers who need to self isolate. The federal government must also step up now to create a non-repayable emergency fund for workers who are directly or indirectly impacted by COVID-19 and to enhance Employment Insurance.

As we heard from Canada’s Chief Medical Officer, the window for containing the virus is closing. Every hour we delay in making it possible for all of us to stay home when sick, or practice social distancing, is an hour in which COVID-19 will spread. To read our full set of Health Emergency Labour Protections, click here.

We need to work together to get H.E.L.P. Send the email now. There’s not a second to lose.

Three crucial struggles need our urgent solidarity. In each case, what we do over the next few days will shape the legacy we leave for future generations.

Support Ontario educators - Feb 21!

On Friday, February 21, 200,000 educators across Ontario will be taking strike action to defend quality public education AND decent jobs in our communities.

This is historic - with all four educators' unions taking action on the same day. 

Having exhausted all other options to protect public education, these dedicated people have no choice but to withhold their services. There can be no business as usual when our kids' education is on the line. The bigger the turnout on Friday, February 21 the better the chances we have of pushing back against the Conservative government's attacks on public services and workplace protections. 

What you can do:

1. Visit an educators' picket line or action in your local community. On Friday, if you're in Toronto, join the Community Solidarity Rally at Queen's Park, which begins at 11:00 AM (click here for more details). Download and print this placard to bring with you.
2. Call or email your local Member of Provincial Parliament. Let them know you support educators and demand the government reverse the cuts.
3. Show your support on social media. Follow #OntEdStrike and #CutsHurtKids. (If you also include #15andFairness it will be easier for us to retweet you!)

Solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en

Solidarity actions are continuing across Canada over the next few days. In Toronto, there will be an Indigenous-led round dance at Queen's Park on Saturday, February 22 at 12:00 noon. To RSVP and share on Facebook, click here. 

To find solidarity actions in your community, this Facebook link is currently the best link we have (click here). Please note: the Feb. 16 date in this link is actually a start date, and solidarity is ongoing, so don't be confused. Once you've clicked the link, be sure to scroll down to find your town or area. If you don't see something in your area, ask around. Organizers are scrambling to centralize information, so be patient if an event is not yet listed. 

Mainstream media reports the RCMP has announced they will be withdrawing from Wet'suwet'en territory. While this may seem like concession, as CBC reports, the RCMP's offer is only a partial withdrawal and it is contingent on the Wet'suwet'en allowing some access to Coastal Gas Link (CGL). It will be up to the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs to respond, but the crucial issue for allies is to keep building solidarity. The only reason the RCMP are even making this gesture is due to the determination of the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs, frontline Land Defenders, and all those rising in solidarity across Canada. 

Let's be clear: there can be no nation-to-nation talks with the Canadian government so long as the Wet'suwet'en are under any threat of violence from either the RCMP or the Canadian military.

Wet'suwet'en territories are unceded. This means Indigenous title has never been extinguished and Canada has no legal or moral authority on Wet'suwet'en territory. Non-Indigenous allies have an obligation to stop Canada from illegally invading Wet'suwet'en soveriegn territory. To learn more, click here.

Get on a bus Feb. 22! The People vs Conservative Cuts

Buses are departing from across Ontario this Saturday morning for a demonstration in Niagara Falls at 10:30 am.

This demonstration - led by the Ontario Federation of Labour - coincides with the Conservative Party convention. We must send a strong message to this government that Ontario says NO to the cuts to our public services and NO to the rollbacks of our workplace rights. Click here to find a bus leaving from your community. Please follow the instructions on the page to RSVP for your local bus to secure a seat. 

Thank you all so much for your incredible support for educators, for decent jobs, for public services, for climate justice, and for Indigenous sovereignty.

We especially thank you for understanding that we will never win decent work for all of us if we don't link our struggles for justice in the here and now. 

See you in the streets!

This Valentine's Day, we urgently need your help on a case of wage theft. 

2 years ago, Isabelle and Nia filed claims at the Ministry of Labour when they realized their paychecks were not adding up. After investigating, the Ministry ordered Mankind Grooming to pay Isabelle $4952.99 and Nia $4036.87 in wages. 16 months later, Mankind still refuses to pay the workers in full and the Ministry has done little to enforce their legal order.

This Valentine's Day, show your love <3 for workers and demand justice.

CALL NOW: Tell Anka Miron, the owner of Mankind Grooming, to pay Isabelle and Nia in full! Dial: 416-551-1113 Click here to read the Toronto Star article with more details on Mankind Grooming's shameful case of wage theft.

No worker should have to wait 2 years to be paid. Isabelle and Nia are owed thousands of dollars, and deserve justice now.

Mankind is just one example of what Doug Ford's "Open for Business" Ontario means for workers. Since coming to office, the Ford government has reduced fines for law-breaking employers, frozen the hiring of Ministry of Labour inspectors and gutted legal protections for workers.

Please call 416-551-1113 now to help Isabelle and Nia get justice. Let's send a message to every employer in Ontario, we won't let them get away with wage theft.

Since the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Canada, the advice from public health officials has been clear: stay home if you are sick. But, for millions of Ontario workers who had their paid sick days taken away by the Ford government just one year ago, this is not an option. 

Without the critical protection provided by paid sick days, the fear of the virus is spreading faster than the virus itself. The panic and misinformation is especially fanning racism and xenophobia, putting the livelihood of workers at Chinese Canadian establishments at risk.

Today, in a Toronto Star exclusive, health providers are calling for emergency government action to protect workers and the public. Click here to read and share the full story.

We need real government leadership to:

• Implement 7 paid sick days for all workers!
  No one should be forced to make the impossible choice between paying rent and staying home when sick without pay. Lack of paid sick days means we force millions of workers into an impossible situation, and place them and the health of their families at risk.

• End the requirement for workers to submit doctor’s notes when they use sick days.
  At this time of over-crowding, Ontario’s health care system does not need those suffering from colds and flu to be filling emergency or clinic waiting rooms, risking complications for themselves or contagion for others. Sick notes are a costly barrier to workers needing sick days, and a burden on our health care system.

• Create an emergency, non-repayable funding package for workers experiencing loss of income due to the direct or indirect consequences of coronavirus.
  During the SARS crisis, we saw how workers in the service, health, grocery, and hospitality sectors were particularly hard hit by misinformation and racism. This meant job loss or reduced hours at work. All levels of government must come together to create this emergency fund to protect workers, especially Chinese Canadians who are being disproportionately affected.

Click here to read full text of the open letter.

After taking office, the Ford government wasted no time in scrapping our paid sick days and reducing up to 10 job-protected sick days to 3, despite majority public opposition and against the advice of medical professionals.

Now, with the safety of our communities on the line, Premier Ford must act just as quickly to bring back the public health tools we need to protect us.

Ontarians deserve nothing less.

Canada's parliament resumed this week. Now's the time to step up the pressure on our federal Members of Parliament to immediately implement the promised $15 federal minimum wage -- and index it annually to cost of living increases.

Workers needed a $15 federal minimum wage five years ago. We shouldn't have to wait even one more day for the government to make good on its election promise. 

What can you do?

• Click here to send an email to the Prime Minister, federal Minister of Labour, and opposition party leaders. (Many thanks to the Canadian Labour Congress for setting up this tool.)

• Share (or re-share) this graphic on Facebook! Or on Twitter! 

• Drop by the constituency office of your local MP to let the staff or the MP know you want immediate action on decent work and wages. To find your federal MP, click here. Better yet - download and print this beautiful window sign and bring it with you. Take a picture with the staff or the MP then ask them to display the sign on their window or door. Share the picture on social media and tag us. Twitter: @FairWagesNow or use #15andFairness so we can retweet you! 

We have a really good chance of winning a $15 federal minimum wage for workers in federally regulated sectors like banking, airlines, transportation, telecommunications, and more -- but only if we mobilize to get it. Make no mistake: the big business lobby is working hard behind the scenes to delay and discourage federal action. To win, we need to need to make our voices heard. There's not a moment to lose!

Let's stay organized in 2020!

January has flown by, but we are already organizing in communities and workplaces across the province. Click here to see and RSVP for events coming up in your community. For the listings on Facebook click here. And of course, if you don't see an event near you, consider hosting one! Email us for help getting started. 

2019 has been an incredible year of resistance! Despite the Ford government's ongoing attacks on our rights at work, we protected important gains. We even made strides on the Canada Labour Code! Please consider making a donation to continue this important work! (click here).

Together, we preserved important wins for Ontario workers, including:

• A $14 minimum wage. This translates to a 27% increase from $11.00 when we first launched the campaign.
• Annual cost-of-living adjustments. Starting in 2020, the minimum wage will be adjusted on October 1 each year to keep up with inflation.
• Job-protected emergency leave for sickness & bereavement. 1.7 million workers can no longer be fired for taking an unplanned day off.
• Better rules against misclassification. Now, it's harder for employers to pretend their workers are "self-employed" to keep them from accessing protections under the Employment Standards Act. 

Over 2019, we continued the fight to protect workers against bad bosses. When a 5th temp worker was killed at Fiera Foods in September, we launched a targeted campaign demanding Premier Doug Ford implement an existing law to protect temp agency workers. Section 83(4) of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act is a previous win that makes companies using temp agency workers liable under WSIB when temp agency workers are killed or injured on the job. When enacted, this law will save lives! 

Following the broad public support we built in Ontario for our demands, nearly 1-million federally-regulated workers across Canada got new rights! 

• The Canada Labour Code now includes 3 paid sick days (a first across the country!) and better scheduling rights. The right to equal pay for equal work and stronger enforcement rules will kick in next year.
• PLUS: A $15 federal minimum wage - indexed to inflation - has been promised for 2020! For the thousands of federally-regulated workers earning a minimum wage of less than $12/hr, this wage increase will make a huge difference. Let's keep up the pressure to make sure the government implements this promise right away!

2019 was a tough year, but we built resistance -- and solidarity.

We joined forces with the Migrant Rights Network to push back against the politics of division. This was especially important during the federal election, when white supremacist leaders like Maxime Bernier tried to use racist and anti-immigrant politics to win votes. Instead he lost his seat!

Finally, as a testament to everyone's hard work, Now Magazine readers chose the Fight for $15and Fairness as the "Best Campaign of 2019"!

This award goes to you and thousands of other supporters who fuel this campaign with their time, energy and donations!

Chip-in now to help us build on this momentum: click here

Thank you again for all you've done to make 2019 a successful year.

It's clear we'll need to keep fighting in 2020 to protect what we have and take on bad bosses everywhere. 

We wish you and yours the very best for the holidays and for the year ahead.

Instead of implementing life-saving legislation, Premier Ford had 8 people arrested last month. At the time, we were occupying Ford’s office in response to the 5th temp agency worker death at Fiera Foods, the notorious industrial bakery in Toronto.

NEW VIDEO: Share on Facebook -- Share on Twitter

Ford’s Conservatives have been busy trying to change the channel on the death of Enrico Miranda, who was the 2nd temp worker to die at Fiera Foods under Ford’s watch.

We urgently need Premier Ford’s signature on Section 83(4) of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act to stop companies like Fiera Foods from treating workers’ lives as disposable. This existing legislation, when enacted, will make companies financially responsible under WSIB for the death and injuries of temp workers -- a more deterrent penalty than the current one-off fines under the Occupational Health and Safety Act which Fiera seems to ignore.

**SCROLL DOWN**
TO JOIN US AT AN UPCOMING ACTION

Now with the Ontario Legislature back in session, NDP MPPs (including Wayne Gates, Catherine Fife, Jessica Bell, Tom Rakocevic and Lisa Gretzky) have been demanding urgent action on a daily basis to protect temp agency workers. Shamefully, Premier Doug Ford and Labour Minister Monte MacNaughton have offered no response on why they are delaying.

With your help, we pressured Fiera Foods to show their workers some respect. Now let’s get Ford to do the same! When Enrico Miranda was killed, Fiera refused to stop production. But when we held a rally outside the factory to call for justice, they cancelled workers’ shifts without pay. Thanks to our public shaming campaign, the company has now paid workers for these shifts (a first), apologized to them for not stopping production (also a first) and even held a moment of silence. 

To ensure the safety of Fiera Foods workers, and every temp agency worker across Ontario, we must keep up the pressure! Temp workers are twice as likely to get injured on the job because of an ongoing loophole in our laws, which Ford can close with the stroke of a pen. Learn why Section 83(4) is so crucial by reading this excellent op-ed in Maclean’s by Deena Ladd, who is one of the 8 people who got arrested while demanding Ford’s signature.

Thanks for your ongoing support! Please join us at an upcoming action to keep building pressure! Can’t join in person? Call Premier Ford now 416-325-1941, to demand his signature on Section 83(4).

Thursday, November 14th
BEAMSVILLE, Communities not cuts rally
11 AM | 4961 King St
Click here to RSVP on Facebook

Thursday, November 14th
ETOBICOKE, Rally at Doug Ford's office
12 PM - 2 PM | Doug Ford's constituency office
Click here to RSVP on Facebook

Monday, November 18th
TORONTO, Flu Fighter Outreach in support of Paid Sick Days
12 PM - 1:30 PM | South-west corner of University Ave and College
Click here to register or share on Facebook

Tuesday, November 19th
TORONTO, Organizing Meeting
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM | 720 Spadina Ave Unit 223
Click here to register or share on Facebook

Tuesday, November 19th
OTTAWA, Organizing Meeting
6 PM - 7:30 PM | Centretown Community Health Centre
Click here to register or share on Facebook

Wednesday, November 20th
ETOBICOKE, Know Your Rights Workshop
6 PM - 8 PM | LAMP Community Center RM 301
Click here to register or share on Facebook

Thursday, November 21st
NORTH BAY, Know Your Rights Workshop
12 PM - 6 PM | 222 McIntyre St W,  Unit 105
Register by contacting 1-866-470-2173 or send an email to helpline@sudburyworkerscentre.ca. For more info click here.

Saturday, November 23rd
SCARBOROUGH, Know your Rights Workshop
12:30 PM - 2:30 PM | Scarborough Civic Centre. Committee Room 1
Click here to RSVP or share on Facebook

With the federal election wrapped and a new batch of MPs representing us in Ottawa, we now have even more opportunities to advance a decent work agenda federally. But of course, nothing is ever certain; if we want to take advantage of the new political terrain, we'll have to keep fighting for our rights and - crucially - for unity. To see why, it's worth taking stock of what we accomplished together during the past election.

New possibilities

Thanks to all of you, the majority of elected Members of Parliament support a $15 minimum wage – and by 2020 no less! A $15 federal minimum wage will be crucial for airport workers, bank workers and many others – especially in provinces where the minimum wage hovers around $11.00 an hour. We should move quickly to remind MPs of this promise. If implemented, a $15 federal minimum wage will make a big difference in the lives of federally-regulated workers and build the confidence of everyone fighting for a $15 minimum wage across Canada and the United States.  

Second, we won important improvements to the Canada Labour Code before the federal election – but not all of the changes have taken effect. Now, with some continuity in government, we can continue the fight to protect, implement, and strengthen these new provisions.

Third, we are still waiting on the report from the Expert Panel on Modern Federal Labour Standards. The report will make recommendations to further strengthen the Canada Labour Code. We don’t yet know what the recommendations will be, but we should be ready to respond as soon as the report is made public.

Challenging racism & xenophobia

Across Canada, we are united in our desire for decent work, universal public services, and justice for all. 

That’s why politicians and the corporate lobbyists try to divide us, by finding ways to get us to turn on each other. The foresight and intervention of the Migrant Rights Network continues to be a crucial part of the fight to challenge racism and strengthen our unity. All of you who worked so hard to bring the Unite Against Racism message to the federal election and who are doing the work of centring Indigenous leadership and building concrete solidarity, deserve a major shout out. This effort helped to push back against the xenophobia and open racism that pervaded the federal election and we should feel good that Maxime Bernier, leader of the far-right, anti-immigrant People’s Party of Canada, lost his seat.

Sign up to become a Migrant Rights champion:
Let's continue pushing back against racism and xenophobia

Mobilizing matters

There's no doubt the inspiring climate strikes across Canada on Sept. 27 were decisive in shifting the ground in a progressive direction. Hundreds of thousands mobilized in one of the largest week-day protests in decades!

In Ontario, $15 and Fairness supporters like you, brought the decent work lens to the conversation around climate. We also helped amplify the work of the Migrant Rights Network and built solidarity with Indigenous communities. We want to be sure that no worker is left behind as we retool the global economy to reduce carbon emissions, decrease toxic waste, and invest jobs that will heal and nurture people, plants and animals. Thanks to your work, “climate” became a top issue at the ballot box while concerns around “immigration” were cut in half. 

Minority government: More risk, not less

With a minority Liberal government, we can expect that Members of Parliament will be pushed and pulled between those who advocate for corporations and those who advocate for workers and the planet. Pitting us against each other is the go-to strategy of the super rich to keep their power. That's why it's still critical that you speak to your friends, and co-workers about income inequality, climate change, migrant rights, and racism. Sign up now to become a Migrant Justice Champion (click here) and educate your community! Once you sign up, the Migrant Rights Network will connect you with resources so you can lead conversations and facilitate workshops where you are.

Thanks for everything you do!
Together, we will win decent work for ALL.