NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION

April 16, 2004

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Welcome to CUPE Local 79. Together we are more than 16,000 workers at the City of Toronto and Bridgepoint Hospital. As a Local of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, we stand shoulder- to- shoulder with more than half a million public sector workers from coast-to-coast. We are also affiliated with Toronto and York Region Labour Council, the Ontario Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress.

At Local 79 we work as nurses, planners, clerks, social service employees, ambulance dispatchers and child care workers. We staff the Recreation Centres and the Homes for the Aged. We ensure you will always have clean water to drink, that your food is safe and that the buildings you occupy are secure. We work to provide shelter for those without homes. We are the many more occupations that together make Toronto a city that works.

We take great pride in the work we do. We also take great pride in being there for each other. At Local 79, we’ve been doing it successfully since 1942.

In CUPE Local 79 there are eight bargaining units, including one for all City of Toronto full-time workers, one for part-time workers at the Homes for the Aged, one for part-timers in Recreation, and one for all other City of Toronto part-time workers. There are also four bargaining units at Bridgepoint Hospital which fall under two collective agreements. Each Bridgepoint Collective Agreement serves both part-time and full-time workers.

Every new employee has to go through a "probationary period." The length of this probationary period varies by Collective Agreement. It is much easier for the employer to terminate your employment during this period should they be dissatisfied with your work and much more difficult for the union to defend you.

To find out more about Local 79, check out our web site at www.cupelocal79.org.

Contact your steward or call us directly at 416-977-1629 ext. 238 should you have any questions or concerns.

Yours in Solidarity,

Ann Dembinski
President

opeiu343/la