November 6, 2013

The Sixth Annual Social Service Workers Appreciation Day on Nov. 6 celebrates the work of 20,500 OPSEU members across Ontario.

Through our affiliation with the National Union of Government and General Employees (NUPGE), we join other public sector workers who provide social services throughout the country to mark this day.

A message from President Warren (Smokey) Thomas

On Nov. 6, along with our brothers and sisters in the National Union of Government and General Employees (NUPGE), we will mark the Sixth Annual Community Social Service Workers Appreciation Day.

More than 20,000 OPSEU members work in social services. Your work knits the fabric of our society and for that we roundly applaud you.  Social services express unalienable core values: inclusiveness, dignity, fairness, and compassion.

Whether you counsel a young person in crisis, assist an individual with developmental disabilities to live independently, empower a woman who has been abused, enhance the dignity of a senior, counsel an individual to overcome an addiction – you are building a caring society.

And yet, stable funding for social services has been neglected too often by governments.  With rising income inequality, the need for sustainable, quality social services is more critical than ever. Income inequality threatens the very social foundation of our cities and towns with most wealth going to the top 10 per cent.   We have plenty of wealth in society to properly fund social services. We need our political leaders to respect and support the values we cherish. We need them to commit to a society that does not abandon the needs of its citizens. We have the means to build and sustain our social services in the face of growing demand.  

OPSEU is committed to the fight for quality social services. We will defend everyone’s equal access to quality social services — because dignity is not an option.

In solidarity,

Warren (Smokey) Thomas

President 

A message from the National Union of Public General Employees

Please take part in an online survey of social services for workers and service users. We know how vital these services and these workers are to our communities. Unfortunately, governments and policy makers often forget this. With your help, we can change this.

http://www.cssworkers.ca/content/survey-community-social-services-workers

For more information visit: www.cssworkers.ca.