Tag: OPSEU in the News
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OPSEU joins protest at Chatham MPP’s office
OPSEU and other union members were out in force at a Ford government protest at the office of MPP Rick Nichol, reports the Chatham Daily News. The paper says that OPSEU Region 1 Regional Vice-President Len Elliott shared a prediction of what will happen under the Ford government. “Beer is going to be in corner stores and…
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Bonokoski: Unions protest while taxpayers want the fat man to explode
Reacting to a blitz of promo materials for the Ottawa protest against Doug Ford’s cuts this Friday, Toronto Sun columnist Mark Bonokoski talks about the “unions’ protest” and recounts his first sit-down with OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “What ticked off Thomas the most was a government’s tendency — any government’s tendency — to go…
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Alcohol retailer threatens union with suit over lobbying allegations
The Globe and Mail is reporting on the lawsuit threats OPSEU and OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas are facing from Alcanna, a large alcohol- and cannabis-retail corporation based in Alberta. The threatened defamation lawsuits come in the wake of Thomas’s call for an RCMP investigation into the lobbying efforts behind the Ford government’s decision to…
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OPSEU’s Thomas calls for RCMP investigation into canceled Beer Store contract
President Warren (Smokey) Thomas was interviewed on AM900 CHML’s Bill Kelly Show regarding the Ford government’s cancellation of the Beer Store contract. Thomas renewed his call for an RCMP investigation into lobbying efforts that led to the government’s decision to tear up the contract saying that, “if it’s not illegal, it is certainly stinky beyond…
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Public supports workers protesting cuts at Grand River Hospital
CBC News and CTV News are reporting on the protest OPSEU workers helped organize at the Grand River Hospital on May 22. The CBC noted that the rally attracted the support of many patients and passersby. Outside, where it was raining lightly for part of the protest, dialysis patient Steve Sachs supported the demonstration by workers. “The…
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‘Give this arrogant little twerp the boot’
Global News is reporting on OPSEU’s demand that Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff be kicked out of the Conservative caucus for his public attacks on the basic rights of women. Global quotes OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas saying that Oosterhoff’s extreme statements are a “chilling threat to the right of women to control their own bodies. At…
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Napanee residents fight to save addiction and mental health services
Napanee Today is reporting on the group of local residents fighting alongside OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas and OPSEU members at Addiction and Mental Health Services – Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington to save the agency’s services. “We’re trying to fight hard to stop the loss of addictions and mental health services in our rural community…
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Dozens rally at Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop’s office to protest damaging cuts
OrilliaMatters.com reports: “Teachers, students and paramedics were among a group of about 80 demonstrators who descended on Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop’s Orillia office Friday afternoon. They were protesting the Progressive Conservative government’s funding cuts to various sectors. “Janel Perron showed up Friday on behalf of paramedics and other members of the Ontario Public Service…
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President’s letter to the Toronto Sun
The following letter from OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas was published in the Toronto Sun on May 12, 2019. I was fascinated by word that Ontario Infrastructure Minister Monte McNaughton believes that Public Private Partnerships are a helpful tool (“We can do it better,” May 2). To start with, after reading Monte’s article, I think…
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Bethlenfalvy dead wrong on privatization
The following letter from President Warren (Smokey) Thomas was published in the May 11 edition of the Toronto Star in response to an Opinion-Editorial on privatization from Treasury Board Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy. I was disappointed but not surprised to see that Peter Bethlenfalvy has become the latest member of the Ford fiction writers’ club. His hysterical sky is falling…
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Ambulance dispatchers in ‘hectic and unhealthy’ office, MPP Fife says
Cambridge ambulance dispatchers have a “hectic and unhealthy” work environment with managers telling them to skip breaks, says Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife. In a letter to Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott dated April 3, Fife says she’s concerned the province isn’t doing enough to improve the operations for ambulance dispatchers. Warren “Smokey” Thomas, president of…