Tag: Solidarity
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OPSEU Reminds Ontario Racing That Employers Don’t Get to Pick Who They Negotiate With
Toronto – Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President of the Ontario Public Service Union (OPSEU), is concerned with the behaviour of Ontario Racing and the not-for-profit Woodbine Entertainment Group, who have been entrusted by the Ontario Liberals to manage nearly $2 billion dollars over twenty years that is supposed to support horse racing in rural Ontario. Recently,…
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OPSEU & Unifor hold joint lobby day at Queen’s Park: building alliances in the ‘fight of our working lives’
On Wednesday, February 20, members from OPSEU and Unifor – Ontario’s largest public and private sector unions – traveled from across Ontario to Queen’s Park to meet with Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) and deliver a message to the provincial government: Ontarians deserve better, we can afford to do better, and we’re here to fight…
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Leadership: More than Words
Doug Ford is fond of self-promotion. He’s not so fond of telling the truth. And everyone knows it. Yet somehow he was elected Premier of Ontario? Ford couldn’t become Toronto’s mayor. He was defeated by John Tory who ironically couldn’t win the Premiership when he led the Progressive Conservatives in 2007. So just how does…
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OPSEU stands in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en
OPSEU is joining the Wet’suwet’en Nation in British Columbia in opposing the Coastal Gaslink pipeline. OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas says the British Columbia government must respect Indigenous title and revoke permits for the pipeline. He is also calling for the federal government to pull funding from the project. “It’s time that Prime Minister Trudeau…
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On World Cancer Day, OPSEU demands treatment equity
We all know how difficult a cancer diagnosis can be for a person and their family. But for people living in developing nations, or who are living in poverty in developed nations like Canada, cancer is particularly devastating. Even cancers that are medically treatable can be a death sentence for people who can’t afford the treatment,…
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This is what solidarity looks like!
OPSEU and Unifor, two of the province’s most democratic and powerful unions, are both holding leadership conferences in Thunder Bay this weekend. In a huge show of solidarity, participants in the OPSEU Region 7 Leadership Conference and the Unifor Northwestern Ontario Leadership meeting took time out to pose together for this incredible picture. The Unifor members…
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OPSEU joins Unifor in boycott of Mexican-made GM products
Toronto – OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is joining Unifor in calling for a boycott of Mexican-made General Motors products, standing in solidarity with Ontario workers who will lose their jobs under GM’s senseless plan to close its Oshawa plant at the end of the year. “GM’s greed will throw thousands of Ontario employees out…
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GM stocks rise as Ontario unions rally against the automaker
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas took the stage at a Friday rally in Windsor to support General Motors workers in the face of a planned Oshawa plant closure. The rally was timed to coincide with GMs capital markets day across the river in Detroit, during which the company bragged about profits. 2500 autoworkers could lose…
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Building stronger bridges: OPSEU welcomes Unifor to head office
You know the rally chant: the people united will never be defeated. This year, it’s going to mean more than words according to OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas who invited a team from Unifor to OPSEU head office this week. “We’re up against a reckless Premier with an anti-worker agenda,” said Thomas. “He’s got his…
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Solidarity: The foundation for a successful union – and a better world
The labour movement relies on solidarity to be successful. As the old saying goes, “United we stand; divided we fall.” But like so many things in life, it’s easier said than done. Particularly in very democratic unions like OPSEU, where a free expression is encouraged. It can sometimes be a challenge to get a consensus,…
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OPSEU President Thomas writes to Prime Minister over Canada Post dispute
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas sent a letter on Dec. 5 to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressing his deep concern over the federal government’s decision to intervene in the dispute between Canada Post and members of CUPW through the use of back to work legislation December 5, 2018 The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, PC, MP…
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Statement on International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Twenty-six years ago, the United Nations declared December 3 the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD). This year’s theme is “empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality,” which aims to “ensure the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and create enabling environments by, for and…
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Thomas talks union solidarity with Global’s John Oakley
Following three radio interviews earlier yesterday, President Thomas was interviewed a fourth time in late afternoon by popular Global News radio host John Oakley. Thomas continued to speak about the alliance he has struck with Unifor National President Jerry Dias to keep the GM plant in Oshawa open and to protect and improve public services…
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Labour movement unites behind postal workers
Following a presentation made to Unifor’s Ontario Regional Council in Toronto on December 1, OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas joined CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn on the picket line at a Mississauga Canada Post facility to protest back-to-work legislation imposed by the Trudeau Liberals on the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). CUPE Ontario President…
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Thomas and Dias: ‘We prefer to talk – but ready to fight’
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas and Unifor National President Jerry Dias appeared Monday on 570 News, Zoomer Radio and Global AM980 on their recent announcement to join forces to block Doug Ford’s “destructive” agenda. The union leaders touched on a number of issues but focused on the Premier’s shocking surrender in the face of GM’s…
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CTV, CBC, Global: Unifor, OPSEU pooling resources to fight Doug Ford’s ‘destructive agenda’
CTV, CBC, and Global are among numerous media outlets quoting President Warren (Smokey) Thomas regarding news that OPSEU and Unifor are joining forces against Doug Ford. Read more at the following links: CTV News https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/unifor-opseu-pooling-resources-to-fight-ford-government-s-destructive-agenda-1.4201901 Global News https://globalnews.ca/news/4721939/unifor-opseu-ford-government/ CBC News https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/unifor-opseu-to-fight-doug-ford-destructive-agenda-1.4929790 Toronto Sun https://torontosun.com/news/provincial/unifor-opseu-to-fight-pcs-destructive-agenda
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OPSEU and Unifor join forces against Doug Ford
Toronto – Ontario’s most prominent public and private sector unions are teaming up to block Premier Doug Ford’s destructive agenda. OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas and Unifor National President Jerry Dias say the solidarity of their members is a powerful force against Ford’s anti-people, pro-corporate and pro-privatization agenda. Thomas says he is incensed with Ford’s…
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World AIDS Day: OPSEU hails advances – and calls for more
This year marks three decades since the first World AIDS Day was observed in 1988. Click here to download a pdf of this message. It was a bleak time. The first International AIDS Conference had been held just three years before. A cure seemed like a pipe dream. The only available treatment, AZT, often carried…
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MPPs should follow Simard’s lead and stand up to Ford
Toronto – OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas says MPP Amanda Simard deserves a standing ovation for refusing to back down over Doug Ford’s reckless cuts to French-language protections in Ontario. The backbencher quit the Progressive Conservative caucus on Thursday to sit as an Independent after vocally opposing a decision to scrap the office of Ontario’s…