Homes First workers will rally at City Hall on Friday, March 8, as their strike continues into its third week. Calling for Toronto City Councillors to hold the agency to account for bad management, workers are asking why Homes First spent $60,000 on help from four different temp agencies in just three months.
Homes First workers returned to negotiations on March 6 to discover that the employer had only one goal: ensuring their continued use of temp agencies rather than decent shifts for their own trained staff. Negotiations have broken down for the third time.
What: Rally
Date: Friday, March 8, 2013
Time: 12 noon to 2 pm
Place: Toronto City Hall
“What is it going to take for Homes First to realize they have a responsibility to the City of Toronto and its citizens,” said OPSEU President, Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “This is a publically funded agency squandering our tax dollars on temp agencies. It’s a clear case of bad management, plain and simple.”
“Toronto deserves better,” said OPSEU Negotiator, Kathleen Demareski. “Our city can’t afford to waste important funding when services for our homeless are so desperately needed, and already in such short supply.”
The City of Toronto provides six million dollars a year to Homes First. The United Way Toronto is also a key funder. Workers have been on strike since February 18, 2013.
OPSEU has filed a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board for bad faith bargaining
For more information:
Kathleen Demareski, OPSEU Negotiator: 416-523-7810
Emily Visser, OPSEU Communications: 416-557-7936