VICE PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE

As we face wave after wave of this COVID cyclone, it’s no wonder many people feel like they’re treading water just to get by. As the number of COVID cases – and variants – continue to rise, it’s become clear that lockdowns and restrictions can’t keep us afloat. Ontario’s best shot at recovery starts in……

With the 2021 Budget on the horizon, I’m reminded that budgets aren’t just numbers on a page, they embody our values and aspirations. Will this year’s provincial budget reflect our collective aspirations in this COVID era – for investment to rebuild public sector capacity? To create, not cut? We’ll soon know. In the meantime, our……

We’ve experienced many changes this year and COVID-19 has forced us all to rethink how we do most things. But if there’s one thing that’ll never change at OPSEU/SEFPO it’s our sense of duty to every member of our union family. We’re here to help and that’s why I’m so pleased to announce the brand……

It’s coming soon: the day we can all be together again – with our extended families, our friends and the members of our OPSEU/SEFPO family too. I’m looking forward to it, and I’m sure you feel the same way. The pandemic has made it a brutal year, but there is hope on the horizon. The……

Friends, As we approach the end of an extremely challenging year, we want to say thank you to all of our hardworking members for your courageous dedication to the people of Ontario. Many of you took, and continue to take, huge risks serving on the front lines of this pandemic. You deserve all the respect……

This pandemic truly has been an unprecedented time. The decades of cuts to our health care system and public services show that the provincial governments didn’t see it coming.  More needs to be done and fast. While I was glad to see in the recent budget that the Ford government has started to address the……

Friends,  We’re living through a time where it’s hard to say what the next week, month, or year will look like. This year has forced us to get comfortable living with uncertainty.  I’ve been spending almost all of my time recently planning OPSEU/SEFPO’s budget for the upcoming year, and the biggest challenge is anticipating, what……

Friends, We have never celebrated a Labour Day like this one before – everything has changed for front-line workers like us.   Like nothing I’ve ever seen, COVID-19 has focused the world’s attention on the vital importance of the work we do. If we stand strong together in this moment, we can make substantial gains……

Friends, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself when I saw our record high membership numbers last month and thought of those naysayers and elitists from the right and big business who have been saying for decades that the labour movement is declining and one day unions will be a thing of the past.   ……

Friends,  We are living in unsettled and uncertain times. The pandemic. The threat of austerity and cutbacks. Urgent new calls to finally confront systemic racism.  But let me tell you: OPSEU is facing all of these challenges head-on. And as it’s done so many times over its long history, OPSEU and its members will deliver.  Honestly,……

Friends, A lot of you know me as OPSEU’s First Vice-President/Treasurer, and I spend a lot of time and energy making sure your dues are working as hard for you as possible. It’s important work, and I’m happy to do it. But don’t think for a second that OPSEU is just a bunch of numbers……

As hopefully we are starting to come out the COVID-19 crisis, we should pause to think about what is getting us through this now, and how we can use it to solve other challenges in the future. Determination, kindness, understanding, and humility come to mind when I think of the past two months. Sure, there……

In the face of COVID-19, we are strong. We are OPSEU strong. And we are Ontario strong.  We have a simple message to each and every worker who continues to do critical work – in both the public and private sector – thank you. Thank you for every sacrifice you’re making and every risk you’re……

COVID-19 has everyone understandably on edge. But we are in a good place – for now. A robust healthcare system – with around-the-clock monitoring and world-class medical professionals – is the answer to protecting the public and coming up with even better protocols and solutions if there is a similar threat in the future. At……

My last blog struck a positive chord with the majority of you who wrote in and I’m glad it did because that is why I wrote it. I come from a large family and sometimes I had to speak in plain and blunt terms to get everyone’s attention. The same is true of the other……