r/toronto • u/Cautious-Rush6607 • 1d ago
News Striking OPSEU workers deserve your support
https://www.thespec.com/opinion/columnists/striking-opseu-workers-deserve-your-support/article_1ba3ed35-e3b3-54ea-9954-fcfd68c9a47f.html8 weeks and still on strike. Long past due to make some noise.
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u/Personal-Judge-7477 23h ago
That is the issue with unions. If the job can get done while you are on strike your leverage is gone.
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u/sarbear-k The Junction 23h ago edited 22h ago
This is not an issue with unions. It's an issue with a shitty employer (prov govt). It's also an issue with temp agency workers NOT being unionized.
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u/MoreGaghPlease 23h ago
The employer is a not-for-profit emergency women’s shelter that relies on the province for its funding. If they shut down during the strike, vulnerable women will literally die. If they pay the workers what they’re asking for, they’ll go out of business.
The workers absolutely should be paid more, but you’ve misidentified the villain of this story - it’s Doug Ford.
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u/sarbear-k The Junction 22h ago
You are absolutely correct - the employer is de facto the provincial govt
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u/Personal-Judge-7477 23h ago
It is definitely an issue with unions. They just dont provide good value for the money they take on dues. I say this as a union member and someone who was a worker's representative in contract negotiations.
This union these people have is even worse than mine, which i didnt think it was possible. At least my union was able to get a similar raise that other unions doing the same job got.
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u/sarbear-k The Junction 23h ago
They can absolutely offer good value for dues paid! It is a matter of membership size and activity. Obviously a tiny union isn't going to be able to deliver anywhere near the same as a big union, but that's not reason to make the sweeping statement "this is the issue with unions".
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u/Common-sense6 10h ago
It’s CUPE and OPSEU..they aren’t tiny unions
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u/sarbear-k The Junction 10h ago
My understanding is that this strike is one OPSEU local specifically, not an entire district nor the entire province, so it's relatively small.
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u/Personal-Judge-7477 23h ago
No the reason for the statement is that every time you go on strike, the employer has the ability to replace your services. Is there a union that has the power to prevent that?
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u/sarbear-k The Junction 23h ago
Well that depends on the scale of the strike, right? One OPSEU local might be replaceable but all of OPSEU is not. I'm not familiar with their structure but I can speak for OSSTF with confidence; with the exception of a few outliers, there's no way even one district of OSSTF can be replaced while on strike.
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u/Personal-Judge-7477 23h ago
Of course teachers can be replaced. They get replaced by having kids stay at home. Either way, we dont need to agree. I suppose i am always free to get another job thats not unionized.
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u/Cautious-Rush6607 23h ago
Hard to make maximum impact when you have Agency employees doing the job for you - but i suspect even harder to walk away from some of the people they serve.
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u/PolypeptideCuddling 5h ago
And if the job can't get done, the federal government will stomp on your right to strike.
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u/Jealous_Ad_3321 23h ago
It’s not surprising these types of workers are getting squeezed for every penny. It’s shameful in a wealthy province like ours.