Let’s talk solutions
You just have to look at this website to see that governments and employers aren't responding to people's concerns.Witness just some of our stories:More than 11,000 children and youth in Ontario with at least one diagnosable mental disorder find...
March 21, 2014SEE MORELHINs require radical surgery
Did Ombudsman André Marin's scathing report on LHINs last week sound the death knell for this disgraced and unaccountable public health body?Not likely – at least not in the short term. The Premier and his health minister Deb Matthews have to...
March 21, 2014SEE MORELooking ahead to the next 100 years
Convention 2011 provided OPSEU with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate 100 years of achievement for our great union as well as a timely occasion to look forward to the century ahead. I'm sure everyone who attended the Convention would agree: o...
March 21, 2014SEE MORELooking Back at 2013
With the holiday season here, while not forgetting the challenges ahead, let's look back on what we accomplished. It is the time to kick back and focus on what is most important: family, friends and the power of solidarity – our personal suppor...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREMarch 8th Should be a National Public Holiday
Dear sisters and brothers:For the past 99 years, March 8th, International Women's Day, has been celebrated at thousands of events attended by millions around the globe. And rightly so.Over the past century, the women of the world have launched ...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREMembers to McGuinty: We don’t buy your spin
Sept. 13, 2010 was a big day for our union. Close to 500 elected leaders from OPSEU locals, sectors, and key committees came together that day in Mississauga. They had one goal: to nail down a response to the McGuinty wage freeze.The debate was pas...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREObama inspires struggle for equity
The inauguration of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States represents a major step forward and hope for the future.Obama's words from the base of Abraham Lincoln's monument can be adapted for our own union, as well:&helli...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREOct. 6 is Election Day: get out and vote!
Dear friends,Every election is important but tomorrow's vote holds particular significance. If you are an OPSEU member this election will affect your life at home and at work.It will affect the quality of the services every person in the province...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREOntario and the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement
The president of a 130,000 member union like OPSEU, with 500 bargaining units and collective agreements, learns a lot about the art of negotiations. So, I am surprised by the one-sided commentary about the agreement recently inked between Canada and ...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREOntario labour unites in the crisis
Dear sisters and brothers,A few weeks back, I and Sid Ryan, now President of the Ontario Federation of Labour, convened a meeting at OPSEU Head Office. We brought together key Ontario union leaders from both the public and private sectors.We had ...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREOPSEU Democracy – Building Our Union Together
As delegates make their plans for Convention 2012, the energy levels across OPSEU are on the rise. You are this union's highest decision making body. Once informed, you will make important decisions about where this union will be in the years to come...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREOPSEU launches new online orientation for Local Presidents
OPSEU launches new online orientation for Local PresidentsAre you a new Local President? Congratulations on your election to this important role. We know there are extra challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, and our scheduled Local President Ori...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREOPSEU members are setting the agenda
Dear friends,On Dec. 3, OPSEU members took part in 24 events across Ontario with one goal: to start a public conversation about corporate tax cuts.Neither the Liberals nor the Tories want this conversation to happen. Under Mike Harris, under Dalt...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREOPSEU supports the Occupy movement
Dear friends,OPSEU stands in solidarity with all who struggle for justice. We support the Occupy protestors as they expose growing economic inequality and corporate corruption. We will add our strength to this peoples' movement for as long as it ta...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREOur staff keep us afloat
Union business is lots of work these days. Volunteers can't do it all.It's been “all hands on deck” for our staff over the past year as OPSEU weathered a “perfect storm” of bargaining and some massive organizing drives for n...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREPaying down the deficit: here’s how
Well, it's 2010. Happy New Year!As you read this, staff at the Ontario Ministry of Finance are hard at work to put together the 2010-11 provincial budget.This year's budget deficit has grabbed a lot of headlines, with Finance Minister Dwight Dunc...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREPeople for Corporate Tax Cuts
Dear friends:Over the past five months or so, I've been talking to OPSEU members about corporations – what they are, and what they stand for. One question I've been asking is, “Who has more power, corporations or governments?”No...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREPersonal Prosperity and Social Justice
Personal prosperity and social justice – why are these ideals often polarized? Can they coexist? Why do politicians oppose an overlap when trade unions have united the ideals for decades?Fact (and the key to Ontario's future): a strong and gr...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREPolitical theatre at Queen’s Park
Dear sisters and brothers:A government budget is usually a political statement dressed up as a financial document. The March 25 Ontario budget was no exception.We already knew, or could guess, what was going to be in it. The Throne Speech and var...
March 21, 2014SEE MOREPolitics and Spin – Don’t get dizzy!
Spin. A modern communication tool used by business and government. In a bygone era, we had a bovine reference for that sort of nonsense but I digress.Spin spurs crisis. Scare people to death and they will relent to authority.The 2008 financial c...
March 21, 2014SEE MORE