Dear Fellow Local 79 Member:
Councillor Anthony Perruzza vigorously supported the City’s front-line workers during a recent session of City Council when he stated that the Service Review Program process set up by Mayor Ford, which includes a Core Service Review, Service Efficiency Studies, and a User Fee Review, is totally flawed and bound for failure. Local 79 has formally thanked Councillor Perruzza for his clear-headed view of the current agenda at City Hall and for supporting the people who work for our great City.
Local 79 believes that the public services provided by the employees of the City are essential and integral to the maintenance and enhancement of the City and the well being of all of the City’s diverse residents. We know that these high quality services are delivered efficiently and effectively by City employees. The City’s questionable decision to speed through this review, spending millions in consultant fees, makes absolutely no sense!
Mothers for Child Care: Child care advocates in Toronto recently formed a group called Mothers for Child Care. Their goal is to build support for publicly funded, not-for-profit, accessible, quality child care in Toronto; advance the voices and concerns of mothers; and put child care issues on the public agenda. Mothers for Child Care was launched on May 8th, Mother’s Day, and will begin a six week investigative tour and survey of child care resources. The Task Force will report back with its findings on June 17th, Father’s Day. I strongly urge all Local 79 members to go to the website www.mothersforchildcare.ca and please complete the survey.
Local 79 has a strong commitment to supporting and pursuing learning opportunities for our members. In cooperation with the Ontario Literacy Coalition, Local 79 approached the City and we are now working jointly on the delivery of literacy training for cleaning staff in the Facilities and Real Estate Division. Literacy is about many different learning skills; communication, hands on skills, computers, customer service, to name a few. This is an excellent opportunity for Local 79 members to receive additional training, Local 79 has also engaged in this initiative with Toronto Community Housing Corporation and Bridgepoint Hospital.
May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada. Since its inaugural celebration in Toronto in 1993, cities across Canada, including Halifax, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, have been holding annual festivities during the month of May to recognize Asian Heritage Month. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the rich diversity of Local 79 and the City of Toronto.
International Day Against Homophobia will be held on May 17th and this year’s campaign theme is Same-sex Couple – A Story of Love. According to the campaign website, the purpose of this year’s campaign theme is, amongst other things, to inform people that, legally, same-sex couples have the same rights as opposite-sex couples; and to spread the idea that societies embracing sexual diversity are societies that welcome diversity in all its forms.
Applications are now being accepted for the Rudy Draxl Memorial Scholarship and the Stan Dalton Memorial Scholarship. These two scholarships, first established in 2004 and sponsored by the legal firm CaleyWray, are for $500.00 each. Both are awarded on the basis of written essays submitted by the applicants.
The theme for the Rudy Draxl Memorial Scholarship is “Why is a Union Necessary in the City of Toronto, TCHC or Bridgepoint Hospital?” The theme for the Stan Dalton Memorial Scholarship is “Why is a Steward a Positive Addition to the Workplace?” Essays must not exceed 2,500 words and the submission deadline is August 5, 2011. Please send your request for an application, in writing, to the Education Committee, c /o the Local 79 office. Please include your name, address, home and work telephone numbers, employer, division, and employee number in your request.
Keep these dates open! Local 79’s annual Summer Picnic will be on July 20th and 21st at Wild Water Kingdom. All members are invited to bring their families; it’s one of Local 79’s most popular summer events.
In solidarity,
Ann Dembinski
President
