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Asian Heritage
Month
In December 2001, Senator Vivienne Poy
introduced a motion in the Senate of Canada to designate May as
Asian Heritage Month and in May, 2002 the Government of Canada
officially recognized May as Asian Heritage Month.
This is a worthy acknowledgement of the long and rich history of Asian
Canadians and their contributions to Canada. Canada’s, and Toronto’s, rich
cultural diversity strengthens the country, and our city, in so many ways.
Local 79 members reflect the diversity of our city, and the programmes and
services that our members deliver bring them in daily contact with the many
diverse communities that make Toronto so unique.
Since its inaugural celebration in Toronto in 1993, cities across Canada,
including Halifax, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, have been
holding annual festivities during the month of May to recognize Asian
Heritage Month.
Over the last two centuries, immigrants have journeyed to Canada from East
Asia, Southern Asia, Western and Southwest Asia bringing our society a rich
cultural heritage representing many languages, ethnicities and religious
traditions. Women and men from these communities have contributed to every
aspect of Canadian life – from the arts and science to sports, business and
government.
Renowned Canadians of Asian Heritage include:
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, C.C., C.M.M.,
C.O.M., C.D., who became Governor General of Canada in 1999, was the
first Chinese Canadian and second woman to hold the position.
The Honourable Ujjal Dosanjh, QC, who became the 33rd
Premier of British Columbia in 2000, was Canada’s first Indo-Canadian
provincial leader.
Ratna Ghosh, who is a celebrated educator and administrator, was
elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1999, and was appointed a
Member of the Order of Canada in 2000.
Joy Kogawa, who published her first novel, Obasan in1982. This
narrative was considered an important work as part of the movement to
redress the wrongs against Japanese Canadians.
Lim Kwong Yew, aka Normie Kwong the China Clipper, who was the first
Chinese Canadian to play in the CFL. He became the youngest player to win a
Grey Cup and was named to the Order of Canada in 1998.
Jean Lumb, who in 1972, became the first Chinese Canadian woman to
receive the Order of Canada. In 1995, she became a citizenship judge,
swearing in new Canadian citizens.
Deepa Mehta, whose films probe at cultural taboos and political
tensions of her native India, has been nominated for many international film
awards. Her film Water was nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for
Best Foreign Language Film, making it Canada’s first non-French-language
film to receive a nomination in that category.
Rohinton Mistry, whose novels about family and community amid the
crushing poverty of his native India have earned comparisons with Charles
Dickens.
Michael Odaatje, who is one of Canada’s most accomplished and varied
writers and was named to the Order of Canada in 1988.
Dr. David Suzuki, who is a geneticist, broadcaster and author, has an
international reputation for scientific and environmental education and is
recognized as a world leader in the study of sustainable ecology.
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UNIT B -
Harmonization / Job Evaluation / Pay Equity
February 26, 2008
Dear Members of Unit B:
Local 79 and the City have reached an interim agreement on Harmonization/
Job Evaluation/ Pay Equity covering all jobs in Unit B for which full-time
correlates exist.
Like both the Full-time and Homes for the Aged awards, the agreement is made
retroactive to December 31, 2004.
Wages payable are identical to the wages payable for full-time correlates.
Movement through the grid is as provided for in the Homes for the Aged
award.
The agreement does not cover those jobs in Unit B for which there are no
full-time correlates. Disposition of these jobs will have to await the
issuance of an arbitration award covering all Unit B jobs.
Harmonization/Job Evaluation/Pay Equity has been a much more complex and
difficult task for Unit B than initially anticipated. We believe that the
exercise will be completed successfully in its entirety in the near future.
In the interim, we request that those of you not covered by the interim
agreement remain patient.
Click here to view the Full Agreement with Appendices.
In solidarity,
Ann Dembinski
President
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BLUE-RIBBON PANEL REPORT
Mayor David Miller's Independent
Fiscal Review Panel released their Final Report on February 21, 2008. The
independent panel of business, education and labour professionals was
appointed last fall by the Mayor to review and report on the city’s fiscal
operations.
The report included praise for the way the city has managed itself in tough
times. However, there are a number of issues raised in the report that Local
79 will monitor closely. These included a warning that the City’s Unions
would have to show restraint regarding wages and benefits.
Local 79 President Ann Dembinski was very clear, when questioned by the
media, what the position of this Local would be:
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"It's the City of Toronto workers who they expect to bear the
brunt of all the wrongdoings of the City of Toronto. We went
eight years without a wage increase in the 1990s," Ms. Dembinski
said. "...We will not be going without a wage increase."
--- Ann Dembinski, Globe and Mail, February 22,
2008
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Further analysis will be done on the
86-page document and Local 79 will make the information available to all
members as soon as possible.
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CUPE LOCAL 79 HEALTH &
SAFETY SURVEY
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
How would you respond if we asked if you have ever experienced violence on
the job? If you’re like most people, you would likely say no. That’s because
we often only associate violence with acts of physical aggression.
But violence in the workplace can be any kind of aggressive act, including
the use of force, threats, severe verbal abuse, sexual and racial
harassment.
CUPE Local 79 members have expressed growing concern about incidents of
work-related aggression. That’s why your union has mailed the
enclosed survey to every member. We need to hear from you about what
kind of aggressive acts you face in the workplace, how serious they are and
how often they happen.
Our goals are to reduce the number of violent incidents in the workplaces
and to ensure that all members are aware of their rights and receive
training to help deal with incidents that do occur. We will use the survey
results to work with your employer to develop or improve policies, training
and prevention methods.
Please take 10 minutes to fill out the
survey and help make your workplace safer.
It’s just one of the ways that Local 79 is working for you and for safety
and security on the job. We look forward to hearing from you.
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WE WANT
A FAIR DEAL FOR TORONTO!
Local 79 is a member of a strong, new
coalition of community, environmental, labour and social justice groups that
formed to fight for a fair deal for Toronto and its residents. Under the
banner “A Fair Deal For Our City”, the coalition has been active in the time
leading up to the recent Provincial election demanding that the provincial politicians
commit to a fair deal for Toronto and other Ontario cities.
The Coalition will now be calling for
the newly-elected Provincial government to commit to a realistic timetable
that will deliver significant impacts in time for the 2008 Provincial and
Municipal budgets.
For information on the coalition, and the campaign, please visit the website
www.fairdealforourcity.ca
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BUILDING A GREAT CITY NEEDS MONEY!
Mayor David Miller launched a campaign
recently to encourage Torontonians to pressure their city councillors to
implement two new proposed revenue tools that would help the City of Toronto
maintain the high quality of programmes and services that Local 79 members
provide.
Local 79 strongly supports Mayor Miller’s new initiative and encourages all
our members to visit the website
www.fairtaxes.ca for information on what you can do to help our city.
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City of
Toronto Service Cuts Affect Local 79 Members
At a press conference Friday, August
10, 2007 the City of Toronto announced a number of service cuts that will
affect Part-Time Local 79 members mainly in Parks, Forestry and Recreation,
and in other divisions as well.
The City says that these service cuts are necessary because of City
Council’s decision last month to defer the imposition of two new revenue
tools – the land transfer tax and the vehicle registration tax. Without
these new sources of revenue, the City says it is facing a budget shortfall.
Parks, Forestry and Recreation
All City Community Centres will be closed on Mondays, starting in
mid-September and until the end of December 2007. All programs offered on
Mondays will be cancelled. This move will have the greatest effect on our
Part-Time members, who will see a reduction in their hours. Full-Time
permanent and temporary members working in the Community Centres will not be
affected, as they will continue to report to work on Mondays.
Hiring Freeze
The City has initiated a hiring freeze and will not be filling a number of
vacant positions in divisions throughout the City. This will have effects on
workload and on service response time.
Process to be Actively Monitored by Local 79
Local 79 takes these cuts very seriously. They will have a negative impact
upon our members, and upon the people of Toronto who we serve.
Members of the Local 79 executive attended a briefing provided by the City
this morning regarding the planned cuts. We will be attending further
briefings to obtain more detailed information on the cuts and their effects
upon our members.
We have advised the City that we will be protecting our members’ interests,
and that we expect the City to respect our collective agreements and act
within them as these cuts go forward.
This is just one more example of Local 79 members being forced to bear the
brunt of the under funding of municipal services. These cuts would not be
necessary if the provincial government lived up to its financial
obligations. It is time for the province to start paying for the costs of
provincially-mandated programs like social services and social housing.
In solidarity,
Ann Dembinski
President
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ONTARIO
COALITION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
CUPE Local 79 recently sent a
letter to the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice endorsing the OCSJ
campaign calling for broad consultations into a comprehensive provincial
poverty-reduction strategy. This would include commitments in the areas of
housing, childcare, minimum wage, enforcement of labour standards, and
income support programmes.
For more
information on the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice (OCSJ) and their
campaigns,
click here.
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ATTENTION ALL LOCAL 79
MEMBERS
Whether you work at the City of
Toronto, Toronto Community Housing Corporation or Bridgepoint Hospital,
Local 79 is asking every one of our member to take the following action:
PLEASE PHONE PREMIER MCGUINTY AND ALL THE MPPs WHO REPRESENT THE CITY OF
TORONTO.
(click here for names and contact numbers)
Tell them that you want the Provincial Government to immediately pay the
money that they owe to Toronto.
The province, without further delay, must pay its agreed-upon portion of
provincially mandated cost-shared programmes such as shelters and child
care, and the cost of administering welfare and other social services.
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CODE BLUE FOR CHILD CARE campaign
marked the 1st year anniversary of Stephen Harper’s swearing in on
February 6th 2006, and his immediate announcement of cancellation of the
federal/provincial/territorial child care agreements, with the release
of a report card on Stephen's performance on child care. Needless to say
Prime Minister Harper doesn't make the grade!
Go to Build
Childcare to sign-on – Signatures are being gathered on Harper's
report card and your signature is vital! It's time once again to send a
loud and strong message to Prime Minister Harper that families want and
need a national child care program!
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ARBITRATOR ISSUES POST 65 RETIREE BENEFITS
DECISION
The award covering post-65 retiree
benefits has now been issued by Arbitrator Robert Herman.
Unfortunately, Arbitrator Herman has accepted the City’s interpretation of
the Note set forth in Article 12 of the City of Toronto Full-time collective
agreement. In his view, post-65 retiree benefits are limited to former
employees of the City of North York who were at least fifty (50) years old
on May 11, 200, and former employees of the old City of Toronto who were at
least fifty (50) years old and had 10 years of credited pensionable service
at the old City on May 11, 2000.
Local 79 is convinced that Arbitrator Herman’s award is wrong and that it is
reviewable by a Court. Accordingly, Local 79 intends to initiate a judicial
review application shortly.
Click here to view the Award. |
Public Services
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