Solidarity with Striking Mississauga Library Workers (CUPE 1989)

Dear Mayor Crombie:

On Monday July 4th, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1281 voted to support the efforts of our colleagues at Local 1989 to reach a fair and equitable contract with the City of Mississauga. We look forward to delivering our donation to the local’s strike efforts in the coming days. We also want to take a moment to address you directly.

Everyone deserves fairness and respect at work. This, at the very minimum, includes benefits, paid sick time, and paid vacation.

Members of CUPE 1989 need to support themselves, their loved ones and families. They are finding it so difficult to make ends meet that they have taken up job action. We implore you to consider the lives of these workers, and not just the bottom line, in your decision-making. You cannot address Mississauga’s financial challenges on the backs of library workers and their families. You have a responsibility to seek solutions that prioritize fairness for working people.

There is growing concern across Canada about the rise of precarious work. Library workers in Mississauga are part of a movement that is fighting for fairness at work. Workers are tired of stringing together shifts and living without benefits, paid vacation or paid sick time. You can be on the right side of history if you work with these workers to improve their conditions. Now is the time to be supporting more good jobs in your community, not fewer. The benefits to your services, including libraries, and the broader community will be immense.

We support CUPE 1989 and their job action and look forward to continuing to support them until the local informs us that a resolution has been reached. Please return to the bargaining table with an offer that respects these workers’ need for a fair and equitable contract.

Sincerely,

Orion Keresztesi

President, Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1281