OPSEU/SEFPO

Crisis in Corrections, OPSEU in the News

OPSEU/SEFPO Corrections in the News: Jail overcrowding, mental health and contraband

OPSEU/SEFPO Correctional Bargaining Unit leaders spoke with numerous media outlets over the past week regarding Ontario’s overcrowded, understaffed jails which are forced far beyond capacity or safe staffing levels. OPSEU/SEFPO members are an intricate part of the justice system, doing their part every day to keep communities safe. In order for the upcoming provincial and…

December 12, 2025

Campaigns, Media

OPSEU/SEFPO in the news: Union alleges ‘thousands’ of violent incidents last year at SCDSB schools

OPSEU/SEFPO members working in our education system are sounding the alarm on how the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) is reporting the number of violent incidents in schools for 2024/2025. For the second year in a row, the number of violent incidents in its schools have reportedly gone down despite front line workers facing…

Andy Pedersen

November 28, 2025

OPSEU/SEFPO in the news: Return to office for Ontario civil servants ‘unnecessarily confusing,’ unions say

As members of the Ontario Public Service began the phased return to office earlier this month, OPSEU/SEFPO is making it clear that the Return to Office (RTO) mandate is a “direct show of disrespect” to workers. In a recent CBC Toronto article, Amanda Usher, Chair of the OPS Unified Central Employee Relations Committee and OPS…

Andy Pedersen

October 31, 2025

Bargaining, Media

OPSEU/SEFPO in the news: Aviation and Forest Fire Members Fight Back

As wildfires across Ontario continue to burn, OPSEU/SEFPO members in aviation and forest fire services have been on the front lines keeping our communities safe. In the last few weeks, dozens of wildfires have been tearing through Northern Ontario, forcing several First Nations communities to evacuate and leaving OPSEU/SEFPO members working around the clock in a…

Andy Pedersen

June 27, 2025

Elections, OPSEU in the News, Provincial

OPSEU/SEFPO in the news: JP Hornick at Confederation College in Thunder Bay following snap election call

OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick was in Thunder Bay last weekend for the Region 7 Leadership Conference, just a few days after the snap provincial election was called. Reporters from TBnewswatch.com and Global TV’s TBT Newshour caught up with Hornick and several other OPSEU/SEFPO leaders at Confederation College, where they were meeting with OPSEU/SEFPO’s College Part-Time…

Andy Pedersen

February 7, 2025

Campaigns, Events, Media

OPSEU/SEFPO in the News: Providence Care workers hold workplace violence info picket in Kingston

More than 100 Providence Care Hospital workers in Kingston, Ontario, represented by OPSEU/SEFPO Local 4104, held an information picket on January 27th, demanding that their employer address the workplace violence they experience on the job every day due to short-staffing. Kingstonist.com reported on the info picket here: ‘Afraid to come to work’: Providence Care workers…

Andy Pedersen

January 31, 2025

OPSEU/SEFPO in the News: Craigwood Youth Services workers calls for urgent action

Jonathan Guider, OPSEU/SEFPO Local 166 President and BPS Corrections Chair, spoke with The Middlesex Banner regarding chronic short-staffing, low wages, heavy workloads and insufficient safety equipment at Craigwood Youth Services. Their employer’s response has consistently been that there is insufficient funding from the Ministry to resolve these issues. This puts both workers and youth at…

December 5, 2024

LCBO strike leading news coverage across the province

During the first weekend of our historic, first LCBO workers’ strike, the power of OPSEU/SEFPO members and their allies in the community and broader labour movement has attracted massive media coverage across the province. In many stories, we hear directly from frontline LCBO workers who are determined to fight for the future of the LCBO,…

Andy Pedersen

July 7, 2024

OPSEU in the News, Strike

Huge groundswell of public support for Ontario Science Centre: Media roundup

Immediately following the surprise closure of the Ontario Science Centre to the public last Friday, there has been an outpouring of public support to re-open the building immediately, fix the roof, and keep the Science Centre in its current location for good. On June 21, when the rushed closure was announced and carried out, OPSEU/SEFPO…

Andy Pedersen

June 28, 2024

OPSEU in the News, Save the Science Centre

Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa Workers Call on Province to Put Kids First

Workers in the Ottawa region are sounding the alarm on the crisis in children’s aid and calling for urgent interministerial action on funding for Children’s Aid Societies. In the last year alone, a record number of children in care have slipped through the cracks created by resource pressures flowing from chronic financial deficits, soaring inflation,…

Andy Pedersen

June 26, 2024

OPSEU/SEFPO in the News: Stop the Cuts at Fleming College!

On Wednesday, April 24th, Fleming College announced the suspension of 29 programs across its campuses – over 1/5 of programs offered – framing the decision as a response to declining fall enrolment after federal caps to international student visas. Union, sector, and student leaders quickly mobilized to push back on this narrative, arguing the case for financial…

Andy Pedersen

May 10, 2024

OPSEU/SEFPO in the news round up: LifeLabs workers hit the picket line!

LifeLabs workers in Local 389 have been on strike for a week. They’re holding the line until they get a fair deal that prioritizes patient care and workers over profits. After over a year of bargaining, the employer failed to offer a fair deal that would meet these workers’ needs. The employer wants to claw…

May 9, 2024

OPSEU in the News, Strike

OPSEU/SEFPO in the news: PHO workers go to Queen’s Park to save community labs

OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick and members working at Public Health Ontario (PHO) Labs were at Queen’s Park this week to sound the alarm about the potential closure of six (6) out of 11 PHO labs in Ontario, and the risk it poses for all Ontarians – especially rural families and communities. In the morning, JP…

April 19, 2024

Media coverage of LCBO Day of Action (with pictures)

LCBO workers across Ontario held an incredibly successful LCBO Day of Action on March 12th, the day before their first bargaining date for their next contract on March 13th. They put the Ford government and their employer on notice that LCBO workers are fighting back against the government’s sell-off of the LCBO. The workers certainly…

Andy Pedersen

March 15, 2024

OPSEU in the News, Provincial

OPSEU/SEFPO In the News: Art Gallery of Ontario workers of Local 535 say #NoDealNoAgo

With no wage offer on the table, more than 400 cultural workers at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) are facing an imminent strike. These workers, members of OPSEU/SEFPO Local 535, ensure there is art and programming for public access. They literally keep the gallery lights on and doors open. As public sector workers, AGO staffers were left behind during…

Andy Pedersen

March 15, 2024

OPSEU/SEFPO in the news round up: forest firefighters sound the alarm over the Ford government’s negligence

On Monday, February 26, OPSEU/SEFPO forest firefighter and Local 703 VP Noah Freedman and OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick spoke at a press conference at Queen’s Park calling for immediate government action to fix the health and safety crisis for Ontario’s forest firefighters before the imminent start of the 2024 wildfire season. They were joined by…

March 8, 2024

OPSEU/SEFPO in the news: Workers beat Ford in the courts, again!

This week, workers won against the Ford government. The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the previous Superior Court finding that Bill 124 was unconstitutional. The government has since announced that they will not appeal the decision and will instead repeal the unjust legislation very soon. OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick spoke at a press conference at Queen’s Park…

February 16, 2024

Bill 124, OPSEU in the News

OPSEU/SEFPO in the news round up: CMHA Cochrane-Timiskaming locks out 147 frontline mental health care workers in below-freezing temperatures

On Tuesday, February 13, the Canadian Mental Health Association Cochrane-Timiskaming (CMHA-CT) locked out 147 workers from OPSEU/SEFPO Local 631, who provide life-saving mental health and addictions support across northern communities of Timmins, Iroquois Falls, Matheson, Kirkland Lake, Cochrane, and New Liskeard. The employer has chosen to lock out front-line nurses, clinicians, residential and peer…

February 15, 2024

OPSEU/SEFPO in the news: Labour leaders take concerns ‘to the doorstep’ of PC convention

On Friday February 2, OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick joined other labour leaders at a press conference in Niagara Falls to deliver a message to Premier Ford and the Ontario PC party: life is getting more difficult for workers and their families under this government, and we’re ready to fight back. The press conference was reported…

February 2, 2024