CANADIAN LABOUR-WINDSOR:

SUPPORT WINDSOR CITY WORKERS:

Outside city workers in the city of Windsor, Ontario have been on strike since Wednesday, as per the following item from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

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CUPE 82 on strike in Windsor:
Outside city workers in Windsor Ontario are on strike today after mediated talks failed to reach a settlement.

CUPE 82's 385 members have been asking for a modest wage increase and refusing to accept a two-tier benefit scheme for newly hired employees.

"We have cooperated with the City for over fifteen years on cost saving initiatives and we have once again proposed initiatives to assist with reducing operating costs, some with potentially large savings, but they simply refused to look at them, said CUPE 82 President James Wood.

Meanwhile, CUPE 543's 1400 inside workers are also in a legal strike position, but they have a mediation session scheduled for Friday, April 17.

The locals have been running an online action, asking supporters to email Windsor City Council.

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CUPE, meanwhile, is asking supporters to email the Windsor city council, telling them to get back to the bargaining table. Here's the story from CUPE Locals 82 and 543.

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Support Windsor city workers:
Windsor's Mayor and City Council are looking to use the recession as cover to demand rollbacks that will stay with city workers long after the economy has recovered.

The city is looking to institute a two-tier system for some benefits so that new-hires are worse off than their colleagues.

They want to stop paying for benefits for retirees.

And they want a wage freeze.

None of these rollbacks fights the recession. None of them put any more garbage trucks on the street.

None of them speak to the union's proposals for reducing operating costs.

Please take a second to send a message to Windsor City Council and tell them to get back to the table to negotiate a settlement that gives Windsorites their services back .

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THE LETTER:

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to Windsor City Council.

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I support high quality public services that are delivered locally by public sector workers who work hard, take pride in their work and who are part of our community.

I think Windsor City Council is using the current economic climate as leverage to score a victory against its employees, the effects of which will be felt long after this recession is over.

This is the sort of unkind opportunism that can harm union-management relations for an awfully long time.

If saving money is so important to council why won't you consider the cost-saving proposals CUPE 82 has put forward?

Please reconsider the rollbacks you're asking for and negotiate a reasonable settlement.

CANADIAN LABOUR-WINDSOR:

STOP THE LOCKOUT IN WINDSOR:

The following appeal for online solidarity is from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). It's about the plans of the City Council in Windsor Ontario to lock out municipal workers later this month. You might call it taking advantage of hard times. Here's the story...

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Windsor City Council: lockouts are bad for the economy‏:
le français suit
Municipal workers in Windsor Ontario are poised to be locked out by their employer but there's still time to get city council back to the table.

Windsor's Mayor, Eddie Francis needs to hear from CUPE members across the country that public services like those delivered by CUPE locals 82 and 543 are important supports for people in the community who are struggling with the effects of the recession.

CUPE 82 and 543 negotiators are waiting at the table for management to come back as each day brings them closer to a mid-April strike lockout deadline.

City representatives are acting irresponsibly and it could paralyze public services when the citizens of Windsor need them most.
Send an email to Windsor City Council now.

Please forward this message to friends and family in the Windsor area who share your concerns.

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Conseil municipal de Windsor : les lock-outs sont mauvais pour l’économie:
Les travailleurs municipaux de Windsor, en Ontario, pourraient bientôt être mis en lock-out par leur employeur, mais il est toujours temps de convaincre le conseil municipal de revenir à la table.

Les membres du SCFP de tout le pays doivent faire savoir au maire de Windsor, Eddie Francis, que les services publics comme ceux que fournissent les membres des sections locales 82 et 543 du SCFP sont des soutiens importants pour les citoyens qui luttent contre les effets de la récession.

Les négociateurs des sections locales 82 et 543 du SCFP attendent le retour à la table de la direction car chaque jour les rapproche de la date-butoir d’une grève ou d’un lock-out à la mi-avril.

Les représentants de la ville agissent de manière irresponsable car ils pourraient paralyser les services publics à un moment où les citoyens de Windsor en ont le plus besoin.
Envoyez un courriel dès maintenant au conseil municipal de Windsor.

Veuillez transmettre ce message à des amis et à des membres de votre famille de la région de Windsor qui partagent vos préoccupations.

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THE LETTER:

Please go to the link highlighted above (en anglais ou en français) to send the following letter to the Windsor City Council.

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I support high quality public services that are delivered locally by public sector workers who work hard, take pride in their work and who are part of our community.

I do not support cutting back public services at a time when our city needs them most.

I do not think freezing wages will improve our local economy and I do not support City’s efforts to take away retiree’s benefits.

I support a quick resolution of these negotiations and support the workers in their effort to reach a fair deal.