PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Recent messages

At OPSEU/SEFPO we’re ready to meet the moment. We’re ready to make this the year of the worker in Ontario. Right now, workers have more bargaining power than we have in decades. It’s time to balance the scales and fight for the wages and working conditions we deserve. And we’ll do that by organizing and...

At OPSEU/SEFPO, we are building an organizing union powerful enough to meet the moment in which we are all living. We are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, and workers are feeling the pressure every day. Whether it’s groceries, gas, utilities or rent – everything is getting more expensive. Many workers are finding their...

This past year has been full of challenges and trying times. But every time there was a call for solidarity, you showed up! And that gives us profound hope for the future. Without you, none of what we accomplished in 2023 would have been possible. It bears repeating; united we cannot be defeated. While this...

Dear Members, In response to the ongoing tragedy in the Middle East, many of you have been writing to us to ask OPSEU/SEFPO to take a stronger position – to call for a ceasefire and to join the millions of people who have been on the streets, marching in support of an immediate ceasefire in...

This has been a hot labour summer, continuing on through the fall. Workers across Canada and the US have been flexing our muscles against bosses and governments who want us to accept working conditions, wages, and benefits well below what we deserve, and well below record-high inflation. And workers are winning. So how do workers...

OPSEU/SEFPO stands in solidarity with the Sikh community in the wake of the death of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Surrey, B.C. – a Sikh temple. We echo the federal NDP’s calls for a public inquiry on the circumstances surrounding the death. We hope that a public inquiry will...

Friends, we are in a critical fight to protect our Charter rights. Many of you know about the tide of anti-trans protests, disguised in the divisive rhetoric of “parents’ rights”, organized by the far-right a couple of weeks ago. We organized counter protests and showed up in numbers with our love and solidarity. Now, following...

OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick is urging the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) to address the staffing crisis at the St. Lawrence Youth Association (SLYA) in Kingston, Ontario with increased base funding, to ensure that female youth in custody have the services and programs they are entitled to by law. Hornick outlined in...

"Hard work and teamwork are the most important ingredients to making a successful union, and pretty much anything else for that matter. I could never have been President for nearly 15 years without a lot of help from you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

Since the beginning of the pandemic, workers on the frontlines of Ontario public services, including healthcare, education and social services have put their own health and safety at risk to make sure the people of Ontario get the services they need. One thing we’ve learned since 2020 when COVID-19 hit our province, many of these...

Serving on OPSEU/SEFPO’s Executive Board is the honour of a lifetime, and like all leadership roles, it comes with great responsibility. I’ve always taken mine seriously, and looking forward, I can see that the next Board is going to have a big job – not just in the fight for public services but also against...

At OPSEU/SEFPO, we have a big year ahead of us as we prepare for the Regional Meetings and elections in March, and in less than three months from now, Convention 2022. This year will be the first time in more than a decade that we’ve had an open election for President, which means there’s at...

As we near the end of 2021, it’s a good time to reflect and set our resolutions for the road ahead. This year, let’s resolve to make the COVID-19 pandemic a part of our past, by getting vaccinated. As of Monday, December 20th, all Ontarians over the age of 18 are now eligible to get...

November 2 was a good day for Ontario’s minimum wage workers. It was late in coming, but still a good day. After three long years of lobbying and pressure, the labour movement, and our allies, finally convinced the Ford government to reinstate a $15 an hour minimum wage; this time extending it to liquor servers as well....

Winston Churchill famously said that democracy is the worst form of government – except for all others, and in the wake of our recent federal election, many are feeling cynical these days. After more than a year and a half, we’re caught in the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising threat of...