"Fight for $15 & Fairness" campaign sweeps Ontario on April 15
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 15, 2015) - Communities across Ontario are joining the North American-wide movement for decent work and a $15 minimum wage. On April 15, actions are taking place in over 200 cities in the US, Canada and around the world.
In Ontario, workers want Labour Minister Kevin Flynn to use the current review of employment and labour law as an opportunity to curb employer practices that undermine decent wages and working conditions in Ontario.
Workers are also taking their message to the doorsteps of McDonald's, a profitable multi-national corporation that is renown for its low-wage employment practices. "McDonald's has come to exemplify unstable, low-wage, part-time employment," says Patti Dalton, a teacher and member of the London Common Front. "Yet last year, McDonald's made $6.7 billion in profit. There's no reason why that corporation - and others like it - can't provide decent wages and benefits. The time has come for governments everywhere to compel profitable corporations like McDonald's to raise wages and improve working conditions."
"We're showing our support for workers earning poverty-level wages in the United States. We want to help build that movement for a just society," said SEIU Healthcare president Sharleen Stewart. "Fight for 15 is all about justice for working people so that everyone can earn a living wage."
The following Fight for $15 & Fairness events are taking place across Ontario:
April 14:
Canadian Labour Congress
Releases new research paper: The Minimum Wage in Canada
Media Contact: Angella MacEwen, CLC Senior Economist, cell: 613-277-2587
http://www.canadianlabour.ca/news-room/publications/minimum-wage-canada
North Bay
Forum: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Precarious employment and the Fight for $15 & Fairness
Location: North Bay Museum, Oak Street at Ferguson
Media contact: Rob Breton, robbr@nipissingu.ca, 705-474-3450 ext 4438
April 15:
Thunder Bay
Action: 8:00 am to 9:00 am
Location: McGillivray Square, City Hall, 500 Donald St. E.
Media contact: Terri Lynne Carter 807-632-4442
Action: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: McDonald's, 770 Memorial Ave.
Media contact: Candace Shirk 807-626-0480
Sudbury
Forum: 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm
Community dialogue on precarious employment: What is its impact on poverty and how can we improve the Employment Standards Act to create fair work practices.
Location: Laughing Buddha (private room), 194 Elgin Street
Media contact: Nicole Beaulieu sudburyworkerscentre@gmail.com
Ottawa
Action: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Rally for a Federal $15 Minimum Wage
Location: Prime Minister's Office, 80 Wellington Street
Peterborough
Action: 11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Location: McDonald's, 978 Lansdowne Street
Media contact: Paul Brown 705-868-7426 or pbrown@uwpeterborough.ca
London
Action: 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Location: McDonald's, 151 Dundas Street (at Richmond)
Media contact: Patti Dalton 519-494-3901
Oshawa
Action: 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
Location: Tim Hortons, 17 Athol Street West (at Simcoe)
Media contact: Jim Freeman, President, Durham Region Labour Council cell: 905-431-5607.
Waterloo
Action: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Location: Waterloo Town Square, 75 King Street South
Media contact: Mark Xuereb, President, Waterloo Regional Labour Council cell: 519-588-0199.
Hamilton
Action: 11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Location: McDonald's, 50 Dundurn Street South
Media contact: Gilleen Witkowski, SEIU Healthcare, 416-805-0305 or g.witkowski@seiuhealthcare.ca
Toronto
Action: 11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Location: McDonald's Canada Headquarters, 1 McDonald's Place
Media contact: Gilleen Witkowski, SEIU Healthcare, 416-805-0305 or g.witkowski@seiuhealthcare.ca
Action: 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm
Location: Ministry of Labour, 400 University Avenue
Media contact: Pam Frache, cell: 416-578-3472.
Action: 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Location: Pearson International Airport
Media contact: Sean Smith, cell: 416-277-1242
April 23:
Guelph
Forum: 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm
Community meeting on precarious employment and the Fight for $15
Location: University of Guelph, UTC-07, UC 103
Media contact: Peter Miller, 226-500-3433
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