October 19, 2016 – The Ontario Public Service Staff Union stands in solidarity with Peel Region Children’s Aid Society workers, members of CUPE 4914, as they enter their fifth week on strike.
The Peel CAS workers have been on strike since September 18, 2016. They have been without a collective agreement since March 31, 2016. The union was shocked to discover that, as their strike deadline loomed, their employer contacted former staff “to offer them extremely large sums of money to cross picket lines in the event of a lockout or strike,” according to their local president, Sonia Yung. “The amounts of money on offer are far in excess of what it would take to resolve any and all outstanding issues between Peel CAS and the union,” she added.
OPSSU knows how important CAS workers are in any community. As the staff of OPSEU, we work for and defend the rights of OPSEU members who work for many other Children’s Aid Societies across the province. We know that their work is vital to ensuring that children are protected from abuse and helping families build and maintain healthy relationships in order to keep children safe.
We support the Peel CAS workers’ demands, including adopting health and safety best practices, manageable caseloads, and modest increases to their wages and benefits. Unfortunately, the management of the Peel CAS tabled a “final offer” instead of continuing negotiations.
OPSSU calls on the management of Peel CAS to put the safety of children first and end this strike by coming back to the table and bargaining a fair deal with the CAS workers of CUPE 4914.
How OPSSU members can support Peel CAS workers:
Send a donation: OPSSU has sent a donation and letter of support to the CUPE Local 4914 strike fund last week from our solidarity fund. We also encourage OPSSU members to make personal donations as well if they can.
Cheques can be made out to CUPE Local 4914 and sent to the following address:
CUPE Local 4914
c/o Bonnie Wong
National Representative
CUPE Peel Area Office
25 Watline Avenue, Suite 202
Mississauga, Ontario L4Z 2Z1
Check the union’s website for updates: http://cupe4914.com/
Follow the Peel CAS workers of CUPE 4914 on social media:
Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/cupe4914/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cupe4914