Blog
For quick announcements, anecdotes and commentary from Local 79, visit this blog — updated more frequently than our news section.
Do you have ASL translation skills?
We’re looking for Local 79 members who have American Sign Language (ASL) translation skills. Equity and accessibility are important to Local 79, but official translation services for our members aren’t always available on a last-minute or emergency basis. If you have the ability to translate using ASL, please contact Local 79 Recording Secretary, Sofia Reno, [...]
Rallying with CAW Local 27/Caterpillar workers
On Saturday, September 21st, 2012, a group of Local 79 members boarded a bus headed to London to join thousands of others in a rally to support members of CAW Local 27. These workers have been locked out by Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), a subsidiary of U.S.-based company Caterpillar, best known for manufacturing farm and construction [...]
Local 79 celebrates Lunar New Year
In 2012, Lunar New Year begins on Monday January 23rd and is the Year of the Water Dragon. The date changes according to the Lunar Calendar and is always determined by the second New Moon after the winter solstice. Each year is designated by one of the 12 Animals (Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, [...]
Bridgepoint lauded for innovative care
On the eve of the new year, our members from Bridgepoint Hospital were featured in an article published on InsideToronto.com, for facilitating an innovative approach to care. Read up on how visits from volunteers and their dogs are helping to raise the spirits of patients with chronic disease and disability. Click here to read the [...]
Scarborough: Public meeting on budget
This is a special post for our members who live in Scarborough. This upcoming Tuesday evening, January 10th, Scarborough City Councillors are holding a public meeting on the city budget at the Scarborough Civic Centre. As a Scarborough resident, it’s important for you to attend this meeting. Your Councillors need to hear that Scarborough residents [...]
Bridgepoint members raise $15,000
Local 79 members from Bridgepoint Hospital held a fundraising raffle to help in the construction of a Wellness Centre at the hospital. Today, Local 79 sent a $15,000 cheque to Bridgepoint, a combination of money raised from the raffle and a donation from CUPE Local 79. A big congratulations to all the Bridgepoint Local 79 [...]
Members raise over a million for charity
On December 13, 2011, City of Toronto employees presented a $1,260,000 cheque to United Way Toronto, far exceeding their fundraising goals. “The City of Toronto has raised more than $1 million annually for 11 years in a row, thanks to a dedicated team of co-ordinators and canvassers from the Toronto Public Service and its partners, [...]
Study dispels myths about public sector pay
Who gets paid more, public or private sector workers? The recession and resulting public deficits have put a spotlight on the pay of workers in the public sector.
Dembinski: ‘Workers axed, not management’
On Friday, December 9th, 2011, Ann Dembinski appeared as a guest columnist in The Toronto Sun.
Marking 63 years of universal human rights
The 63rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Sixty three years ago, in the wake of the horrendous cruelty committed during the Second World War, the world was determined to end human rights violations. In 1948, on December 10, the first global treaty on human rights — the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [...]