“What I saw here today was a ray of hope,” Local 79 President Tim Maguire told the City Hall Press Gallery.  “Councillors are responding to the public support for the services our members provide.”

Decency and fairness won the day at City Council on April 11, 2012 after months and months of hard work by Local 79, cleaners, the Toronto and York Region Labour Council’s campaign Justice and Dignity for Cleaners, and City Councillor Ana Bailão.

 Councillor Bailão spoke out on contracting out cleaning jobs with compassion at Council Committees, and it was through her diligent efforts that City Council had a thoughtful second look at the long term effects and potential liabilities of contracting out cleaning jobs.

 Contracting out City cleaning jobs was on Rob Ford’s wish list from the moment he became Mayor.  He got stopped in his tracks by a host of City Councillors who voted for fairness, living wage jobs and respect for City workers who deliver the services.

 Local 79 was proud to support our cleaners in the months we spent fighting for their jobs.  They talked to Councillors, made deputations at Committee after Committee at City Hall, held press conferences and most importantly they told their stories.  They won over a resounding majority of City Councillors and helped stem the tide of Ford’s headlong rush “to privatize and contract out everything that’s not nailed down”.

 “Every meeting, every call or letter to a Councillor, every advertisement, and news article made a difference,” said President Tim Maguire after the vote.  29 Councillors voted to support decent jobs for families and communities in the City.

 “What I saw here today was a ray of hope,” Tim Maguire told the City Hall Press Gallery.  “Councillors are responding to the public support for the services our members provide.”

 This win, for some of the most vulnerable workers here in the City, is a major setback to Ford’s privatizing agenda.  Council has control over future outsourcing of jobs and services – not the Mayor.

 Congratulations – well done!