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President's Reports

May 2012 President's Report (City of Toronto)

22 May 2012

Dear fellow Local 79 Member:

Several proposals to use some of the 2011 budget surplus in order to protect various City services were rejected by the City’s Budget Committee this month, including a recommendation to continue funding for 16 Youth Outreach Worker (YOW) positions which are being deleted. While the City had decided to delete these YOW positions in the 2012 Budget process, Council also decided to re-evaluate this cut as part of the pending Recreation Services Review. Local 79 made a deputation urging the City to use some of the surplus to provide bridge funding until the expected completion of this review in the fall. Although Local 79 is working hard on our members’ behalf, urging the City to find alternative work for these YOW’s under the redeployment process, they face layoff later this month. This issue should be coming before City Council for further debate on June 6th. Local 79 will soon be asking members to support YOW’s and the services they provide by contacting your councillors.

Mayor Ford’s message to all City staff in April regarding the newly-found surplus ignores the contrived crisis and fails to support your work. Although the Mayor alluded to the City’s finances being back on track due to cost containment – budget experts, and Local 79, have stated for months that the City of Toronto was not in a financial crisis as severe as suggested by the Ford administration. The Mayor should have shown appreciation for front-line workers by expressing support for the programmes and services you provide!

Premier McGuinty added funding for child care in the provincial budget after NDP leader Andrea Horwath made this funding a condition of NDP support. I would like to thank the hundreds of members across Local 79 who emailed and phoned the Premier and MPPs regarding the budget. Your actions helped make a difference!

Although child care funding is now in the budget, we still do not know the exact amount of money earmarked for child care in Toronto, nor do we know what the implications are for child care centres and programs. I have written to the City requesting Local 79’s engagement in the process of allocating provincial funding for child care and I shall provide updates to you on this issue.

Earlier this month, many Local 79 members of the Joint Health and Safety Committees participated in the 13th Annual Joint Health and Safety Recognition event. The participants heard encouraging and supportive speeches from a number of speakers. I had the honour of addressing the participants, and in my remarks I applauded the important work being done by our Local 79 members, and by the City, on our Joint Health and Safety committees. I emphasized that positive outcomes happen when we all work together for the greater good!

The month of May provides several occasions to celebrate the rich diversity of Local 79 and the City of Toronto. May is Asian Heritage Month, Jewish Heritage Month in Ontario, and May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia.

Applications are now being accepted for the Rudy Draxl Memorial Scholarship and the Stan Dalton Memorial Scholarship. These two scholarships for $500.00 each, sponsored by the legal firm CaleyWray, will be 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 3, 2012. 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.

Local 79 invites you to a Spring Dance celebrating Local 79’s 70th anniversary, on Thursday June 14th at the Lithuanian Community House, 1573 Bloor St. West (Dundas and Bloor, Dundas Subway Station), from 6:00 p.m. until midnight. Dinner will be provided, and there will be a reasonably priced cash bar, a band, DJ, spot dances, and prizes. Come and meet other Local 79 members, and have a great time dancing to excellent music. Tickets will cost $5.00 each and you can reserve up to two tickets (no children) by calling 416-977-1629 extension 508 (8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.). Please call between May 22nd and June 7th as the space is limited.

Attention all Local 79 members aged 30 and under! On Saturday June 23rd, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be a Local 79 Young Workers’ Education Day. 

Keep these dates open! Local 79’s annual Summer Picnic will be on July 18th and 19th on Toronto Island. All members are invited to bring their families; it’s one of Local 79’s most popular summer events.

In Solidarity,

Tim Maguire
President, CUPE Local 79

 

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CUPE Local 79, the union representing 30,000 City of Toronto workers, has reached a tentative agreement with the City after months of negotiations. This outcome stands as a direct result of City workers standing up in historic ways for the public services they take immense pride in delivering. City workers turned out in record numbers to demand better, with 90% voting to approve a strike mandate if a fair deal could not be reached. Throughout the bargaining process, members continued to rally around their demands—signing petitions, sending thousands of emails, attending strike schools, attending practice pickets, and signing up for picket shifts in preparation to take action if necessary. Their organization and solidarity led to meaningful improvements in this agreement. For the first time in the City’s history, CUPE Local 79 has achieved an end to minimum-wage jobs. No City of Toronto worker will earn minimum wage for the duration of this agreement, marking a significant step forward in ensuring fairness and dignity in public sector employment. Additionally, while the City’s initial proposed wage increases were not sufficient, sustained pressure from members led to gains beyond the general wage increases achieved. Through negotiations, a majority of Local 79 members will receive additional pay improvements through special wage adjustments. These measures will go a long way in protecting Toronto’s public services and turning the tide on the recruitment and retention crisis that has plagued the public service for years. For the first time, Local 79 has also negotiated a dollar amount increase for lower wage grade workers alongside the percentage increases for all members. This progressive policy helps reduce the income disparity in the workplace that has grown due to successive percentage-only increases. This agreement ensures that the lowest-paid workers see meaningful wage improvements while still securing strong increases for all members. Workers also fought back against a deal that would have forced them to accept a contract already negotiated with another union—a workforce entirely distinct in its make-up, job classifications, and pay scales.
Political staff at City Hall are one of the first points of contact residents have with the City of Toronto. They work tirelessly to serve the public and to ensure the elected person they assist is equipped and supported to do their work. Like Local 79 members and all other working class people in our city, political staff deserve fairness and respect. Solidarity with the brave political staff who organized their workplace at City Hall and congratulations on being one step closer to joining @amapceo!
Thank you to the supporters who came out today for our information pickets outside of Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre and Parkway Forest Community Centre: @fairwagesnow, MPP @alexangilmour, and former MPP @bhutilakarpoche!
City workers and supporters are holding information pickets today outside Cummer Lodge Long-Term Care Home and Don Montgomery Community Centre to call for investment in @cityofto’s public services. Decades of underfunding and understaffing have left essential services—child care, public health, shelters, recreation, long-term care, and housing support—stretched thin. We’re standing up for strong public services that Toronto residents deserve.
The International Women’s Day March Committee has invited CUPE Local 79 to lead this year’s march, which will end at City Hall in support of Local 79 members—City workers whose membership is over 70% women. Local 79 members are proud to stand alongside allies ahead of the final week of negotiations, with a Sunday-at-midnight strike deadline looming. We are fighting for a fair deal for a union made up mostly of women and racialized workers—workers who have been left behind through years of underinvestment. Join us in the streets as we march for equity and respect. This Saturday at 11 a.m. (rally) and 1 p.m. (march) at OISE - 252 Bloor St. W #IWD2025 #FairContractNow
Hundreds of Local 79 members came out on Sunday for our picket making and solidarity skate. We know our bargaining team is doing everything they can to push for a fair deal - but we have to be ready in case the City decides to force us into a strike this weekend.
CUPE Local 79, the union representing 30,000 City of Toronto workers, has reached a tentative agreement with the City after months of negotiations. This outcome stands as a direct result of City workers standing up in historic ways for the public services they take immense pride in delivering. City workers turned out in record numbers to demand better, with 90% voting to approve a strike mandate if a fair deal could not be reached. Throughout the bargaining process, members continued to rally around their demands—signing petitions, sending thousands of emails, attending strike schools, attending practice pickets, and signing up for picket shifts in preparation to take action if necessary. Their organization and solidarity led to meaningful improvements in this agreement. For the first time in the City’s history, CUPE Local 79 has achieved an end to minimum-wage jobs. No City of Toronto worker will earn minimum wage for the duration of this agreement, marking a significant step forward in ensuring fairness and dignity in public sector employment. Additionally, while the City’s initial proposed wage increases were not sufficient, sustained pressure from members led to gains beyond the general wage increases achieved. Through negotiations, a majority of Local 79 members will receive additional pay improvements through special wage adjustments. These measures will go a long way in protecting Toronto’s public services and turning the tide on the recruitment and retention crisis that has plagued the public service for years. For the first time, Local 79 has also negotiated a dollar amount increase for lower wage grade workers alongside the percentage increases for all members. This progressive policy helps reduce the income disparity in the workplace that has grown due to successive percentage-only increases. This agreement ensures that the lowest-paid workers see meaningful wage improvements while still securing strong increases for all members. Workers also fought back against a deal that would have forced them to accept a contract already negotiated with another union—a workforce entirely distinct in its make-up, job classifications, and pay scales.
Political staff at City Hall are one of the first points of contact residents have with the City of Toronto. They work tirelessly to serve the public and to ensure the elected person they assist is equipped and supported to do their work. Like Local 79 members and all other working class people in our city, political staff deserve fairness and respect. Solidarity with the brave political staff who organized their workplace at City Hall and congratulations on being one step closer to joining @amapceo!
Thank you to the supporters who came out today for our information pickets outside of Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre and Parkway Forest Community Centre: @fairwagesnow, MPP @alexangilmour, and former MPP @bhutilakarpoche!
City workers and supporters are holding information pickets today outside Cummer Lodge Long-Term Care Home and Don Montgomery Community Centre to call for investment in @cityofto’s public services. Decades of underfunding and understaffing have left essential services—child care, public health, shelters, recreation, long-term care, and housing support—stretched thin. We’re standing up for strong public services that Toronto residents deserve.

CUPE Local 79

Keeping Toronto at its best is what gets us up every morning. The work is worth it. And so are we.

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