On June 3rd, the National Union of Public and General Employees’ (NUPGE) Fairness Express bus was in Toronto for stops at Downsview Park and Molson’s Brewery.
On Tuesday morning, the big green bus stopped at Downsview Park to chat with members from Locals 534, 536, and 542 about the I’m Voting campaign and growing income inequality in Ontario. Executive Board Member and Regional Vice-President Myles Magner was on hand to speak with members and raise awareness for key issues of concern in the upcoming provincial election.
“When we realized the bus would be in Region 5 during the election, we thought it would be a great opportunity to build the profile for our election mobilizing and our effort to get people out to vote” said Magner.
“We reached out to the 3 locals at the Downsview complex, and leafleted several hundred members. The response was positive and the members were receptive to our message of quality public services.”
In the afternoon, the bus stopped at Molson’s Brewery for a barbeque with a couple hundred members of the Canadian Brewery and General Workers Union’s (CUBGW) Local 325. OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas was on hand, and spoke about the importance of solidarity between OPSEU and CUBGW.
“The brewery workers are a great bunch or people. They are honest and hardworking, and they are aware of the challenges faced by working people in this province” said Thomas “we have done a lot of work together in the past, and we hope to continue working together in the future.”
Thomas also spoke about growing income inequality in Canada, and the value of the Fairness Express campaign.
“We are all taking a beating” said Thomas “these days an abscessed tooth can be the difference between paying your rent and buying groceries, or getting your tooth fixed.”
“Most people have figured out that there is something fundamentally wrong; people are getting it. The bus tour has been a fantastic success, and is going a long way to raise awareness for issues that impact so many of us.”
For more information on the Fairness Express campaign, please visit NUPGE’s All Together Now website: http://alltogethernow.nupge.ca/
To read the daily bus blog, please visit http://alltogethernow.nupge.ca/fairness-express