Dear Fellow Local 79 Member:

The Municipal election on Monday October 25th is vital for the City of Toronto and for Local 79. We need City Councillors and a Mayor who will ensure that the City of Toronto will continue to provide all the services the citizens of Toronto expect and our members help deliver. The services we provide are at stake from candidates who are openly proposing contracting out and privatization. Local 79 needs supportive voices on City Council, so it is crucial for you to vote for candidates who are committed to keeping public services in public hands and who value the work we do.

Local 79 members working in the City of Toronto and Toronto Community Housing Corporation must be highly commended for their extraordinarily well-coordinated team effort to ensure the welfare of tenants displaced as a result of the fire at 200 Wellesley St. E. Toronto Community Housing crews were in the building working 24 hours a day to clean up and make essential repairs to the fire alarm system, etc., so that residents could return home as soon as it was safe to do so. Local 79 TCHC and City members worked tirelessly to ensure that the residents were re-located and then returned to their homes when permitted. Residents continue to move back in phases, as apartments are ready. In addition, City staff from E.M.S., Shelter, Support and Housing, Employment and Social Services, Public Health, and, Toronto Animal Services, were on site to assist residents. As you have done so many times before, you demonstrated your dedication to the residents of Toronto. You proved once again that you go well beyond your job responsibilities to ensure the comfort and safety of the people who need your help!

October 27, 2010 is Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day. “I Specialize in Early Learning’ is the theme of the 10th Anniversary of this year’s Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day. In this transitional year for full day kindergarten for four and five year olds, there is a growing awareness of just how important early learning is for children. Local 79 would like to acknowledge and applaud the commitment and contributions that all our members, who are child care workers and early childhood educators, make to the children in Toronto, their families and their communities. Congratulations – you do such an important job, so well!

Local 79’s Inaugural Golf Tournament, held on September 29th, was a huge success! The weather cooperated and by all accounts participants enjoyed a great day of golf and fun. This enjoyable tournament will now be held on an annual basis.

Attention all CUPE Local 79 “shutterbugs”! Local 79 is launching a photo contest open to all CUPE Local 79 Members who work in the City of Toronto, Bridgepoint Hospital and Toronto Community Housing Corporation. The contest will run from November 1, 2010 to February 1, 2011. There will be cash prizes awarded in three different categories and a grand prize for best picture overall. Pictures will be subject to a “blind” judging by several local photojournalists. By the end of October, complete contest rules will be posted on our website at www.cupelocal79.org. Information will also be distributed in workplaces. I look forward to seeing the photo talent of our members. Best of luck to all those who enter.

October 18th is Persons Day, an occasion to celebrate victories and reaffirm a commitment to achieving full equality for all women in Canada. On this day in 1929, women were finally declared “persons” under Canadian law. The historic legal victory was due to the persistence of five Alberta women — Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards. It took until 1960 for all Canadian women to have the right to vote.

A number of Local 79 members recently participated in the talent show which helped launch the City of Toronto’s 2010 United Way fundraising campaign. Local 79 already knows that our members are the best municipal workers in Canada; now we can boast that we have very talented musicians in our midst! The entertaining performances were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone attending the launch, and Local 79 is extremely proud of our members who participated, and the extraordinary talents that they displayed. The funds raised every year by the United Way campaign are used to help improve lives and build stronger, more vital neighbourhoods across Toronto. Congratulations to Sister Shelly-Anna Costa for her well deserved win and to all Local 79 members who participated!

In Solidarity,

Ann Dembinski
President