Hundreds of York Region education workers gathered outside Newmarket-Aurora MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy’s office today as part of the provincewide CUPE strike that closed most schools today.
Thousands of workers went on strike today with no negotiated contract with the province in place after weeks of discussions. Hundreds of demonstrators in Newmarket walked around the Yonge Street plaza where Gallagher Murphy’s office is located, waving signs and looking for support.
The strike comes despite the province introducing back-to-work legislation and invoking the notwithstanding clause. CUPE 1734 strike lead Bill Brunelle, representing York Region District School Board education workers, said they are fighting for worker rights.
“I’m hoping (the public) side with us. Because if he’s done that to us, who knows what he will do to others,” he said. “They don’t have willingness to negotiate in good faith, and I hope parents understand what we’re doing. It’s for our lowest-paid members.”
The two sides have remained far apart in negotiations, primarily over wages.The government has tabled a 2.5 per cent wage increase for lower-paid CUPE education workers and 1.5 per cent for everyone else, but CUPE has sought a $3.25 per hour raise per year, amounting to about an approximately 11.7 per cent increase, for three years. CUPE has argued that with minimum wage increases not keeping up with inflation over the past decade, a bigger increase is necessary, particularly for workers making less than $40,000 and not being given full-time hours.
Demonstrators waved signs and protested outside of Gallagher Murphy’s office, shouting “shame,” and using chants such as “(Premier Doug) Ford and (Minister of Education Stephen) Lecce got to go.” The constituency office’s hours are open today, but the door was locked, with a sign indicating it would only open by appointment. At one point, a protester attempted to call in to make an appointment without success.
NewmarketToday did not receive a response to a request for comment from the Newmarket-Aurora MPP before publication time.
The province went ahead and passed its back-to-work legislation. It will evoke the notwithstanding clause, a move to protect it from legal challenges on the constitutionally protected right to strike.
Lecce said in a statement that the government bargained in good faith, but CUPE refused to withdraw its strike threat.
“It’s disappointing that we got here. All alone, we had hoped to reach an agreement that’s right for students, right for parents, right for workers and right for taxpayers,” Lecce said. “If CUPE continues with their strike, they will be breaking the law.”
Asked what he would say to those who may find CUPE’s ask too high, Brunelle said there is always a negotiation.
“We start high, they start low, and we meet somewhere in the middle. I think what we asked for is in line with a lot of the other unions,” he said.
Some community members came out to support the demonstration. Newmarket environmental activist Fran Bazos said she wanted to show solidarity, given her grandchild is going to school.
She worries about the use of the notwithstanding clause.
“The way this is being handled, not to even bring it to arbitration, not to respect the rights of people to strike if they want to strike,” she said, “it’s shocking.”
It is not clear how long the strike could go on. The provincial legislation could see strikers fined $4,000 each day.
“We’re out here, fighting for our rights because Ford took them away from us,” a strike leader from CUPE 1196 said at the Newmarket demonstration, asking to withhold his name because of the threat of fines.
Local education worker Jonathan Dimmell said he got hundreds of honks of support in the morning as part of the demonstration, though also got "flipped off" a few times.
"Which only energized me more," he said, adding, "I hope this was my last day of striking.”
