Mary-Jo Nadeau BDS Award Nominations Open!

For the seventh year, CUPE 1281 will be giving out the Mary-Jo Nadeau Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Award. This monetary award of $500 is presented to an organization fighting to end support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and to pressure Israel to comply with international law. Anyone may nominate an organization for this award.

Selection criteria that will be taken into consideration include the following:

  • Local to where CUPE 1281 members work/live
  • Raises the voices of Palestinians in their struggle for self-determination

The deadline to nominate an organization is Monday, June 30, 2025.

If you are interested in nominating an organization, please fill out the Mary-Jo Nadeau BDS Award nomination form.

CUPE 1281 Emergency Resolution on Prison Labour

During CUPE Ontario Convention, the delegates from CUPE 1281 worked to bring forward an emergency resolution against the Canadian government’s plan to increase reliance on prison labour. Due to the fact that only one person, not from our local, was allowed to speak on the motion, the delegates wanted to share the following with CUPE 1281 members.

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Save the Date! CUPE 1281 Annual Convention July 21

A pink background with a black megaphone and the CUPE 1281 logo, with words reading: CUPE 1281 convention July 21, 2025. Save the date! Location: workers action center and virtually on Zoom.

This year’s annual convention will be held on Monday July 21, 2025, and will run from 10am to 5pm. Convention will be hybrid: in-person at the Workers Action Center in Toronto, as well as virtually on Zoom. More information on registration and sub-unit delegate elections will be emailed out within the next couple of weeks.

If you are interested in learning more about our annual convention, and the obligations on the Executive and the Membership, please feel free to review the Convention section of the CUPE 1281 Bylaws (see pg. 12).

We apologize for any inconvenience that stems from our late announcement of the date. We encountered unexpected difficulty securing an in-person space.

We hope to see you there!

Justice for Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi

We, the CUPE 1281 Executive wish to express our unwavering solidarity with our member, Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi, an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights who, on March 28, 2025, was unjustly and discriminatorily fired by Yale Law School.

Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi, who is an expert in Third World Approaches to International Law, has worked as the Deputy Director of the Law and Political Economy Project at Yale Law School since 2023. Dr. Doutaghi is a long-time supporter of Palestinian liberation, as well as a critic of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza and the West Bank. (any other details about her support for Palestine, activism, advocacy, academia)

On March 3, a right-wing Zionist AI bot called ‘Jewish Online’ published an article baselessly accusing her of being a “terrorist.” Accordingly, she was subjected to death threats, harassment, and vitriol by online trolls. The University, instead of supporting Dr. Doutaghi or engaging in due process, responded with suspension and a ban from campus. They have since terminated her, falsely claiming she was not cooperative in their clearly biased and presumptive investigative process.

In reality, it is the University that prevented Dr. Doutaghi from partaking in the investigation by: employing a lawyer and firm with ties to Israel, military defense companies, and the US State Department; demanding she meet their lawyer within only a few hours of suspension; refusing her request for more time to prepare even when expressed as a religious accommodation (as it was the month of Ramadan); and declining her request to see their questions in advance.

Proponents of Zionism have long pursued the tactic of labelling its critics as “terrorists.” Such claims are disproportionately used against Muslim activists like Dr. Doutaghi to silence their advocacy and deter others from speaking out. Ironically, the work that Dr. Doutaghi was hired to do at Yale focuses on a critique of laws and sanctions. To terminate her employment when that critique is directed at Israel speaks to the university’s bias, commitment to the Zionist project and its complicity in the genocide of the Palestinian people.

As CUPE 1281 Executive, are horrified by the suppression of Dr. Doutaghi, as well as hundreds of other activists like Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk, who have lost their employment, education, citizenship status and freedom as a direct result of their commitment to the Palestinian cause. We condemn the actions of Yale Law School, Columbia University, and all other universities and colleges that have chosen the preservation of a violent supremacist ethnostate over their student and staff’s fundamental rights to freedom of speech and association.

We call on all members, the labour movement, and progressive organizations to support Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi. See the call to action here: End the Repression of Academic Freedom: Reinstate Dr. Doutaghi Now!

Campus Food Bank and Health Services at Risk as Employer Seeks to Roll Back Worker Rights

TORONTO–Workers at the University of Toronto Students Union (UTSU) may be on strike this month as they fight to protect family time and vital services for students, say members of CUPE 1281.

The workers plan Orientation, escalate health and dental claims, operate the only Food Bank on St. George Campus and facilitate a wide variety of other services and advocacy for undergraduate students.

“It’s really disappointing that the UTSU executive is letting this happen. A lot of them are involved with progressive organizations, but at the same time their organization is making the same sorts of attacks on workers and work/life balance that we see from corporate bosses,” said Marco Hernandez, a CUPE 1281 member who also runs the campus food bank.

The student union currently has five employees represented by CUPE 1281, which wrote to the Ontario Labour Relations Board on Monday night, setting a deadline for job action later this month.

Their employer’s concession demands have the potential to significantly affect workload and scheduling. Forty percent of the workers are parents, and these changes will negatively affect not only the workers, but their families as well.

“We work with students every day. We know and share their struggles and challenges and want to continue providing services they and the UTSU rely on. The employer has been pressing workers to take on multiple roles, which is bad for us, but also bad for the quality of services and programs for students,” said Wafiyah K, a CUPE 1281 member who helps connect students with a host of services.

The workers are calling on UTSU to drop their concession demands, respect the family and childcare responsibilities of workers, and provide a fair wage increase.

For more information, please contact:
Craig Saunders, CUPE Communications
416-576-7316

Toronto Social: March 21st 6pm!

 

GTA members! Save the date for the Toronto social on Friday March 21st, 6 pm, at The Ballroom Bowl (10 Bowling pins with the CUPE 1281 logo on a pink and black background. Dundas St East, steps from Dundas Station).

You can hang out and socialize or show off your bowling skills (or lack there of!), the choice is yours! We will have a dedicated space for our group, plus a few dedicated bowling lanes. Executives and staff members will be in attendance for you to speak with, and bowling, food, and your first drink are on us! We do need to give the bowling alley estimated numbers ahead of time, so please complete this short google form by February 24th if you are able to attend.

The venue is on the third floor and is wheelchair accessible. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to recordingsecretary@cupe1281.ca. Hope to see you there!

For members outside the GTA, keep an eye out for future social events, starting with an Ottawa social soon!

 

A Message from Christy McMorrow, Outgoing President

Hey everyone!

I’m very excited to be starting a new job this week working as an Organizer for CUPE 79’s bargaining campaign with the City of Toronto.

Sadly, this means I am having to step down as Local 1281 President. In my time as a CUPE 1281 member and Executive, I’ve learned so much from my fellow members and the Local’s staff team. 1281 and its members were a huge source of community to me when I moved to Toronto from the UK with very few contacts, and I’ve loved working with so many of you. I look forward to seeing 1281 continue fighting for our members and for a better world in the future!

In solidarity, Christy

We Stand With Fred Hahn and Call on CUPE National to Reverse Course

To: Mark Hancock, Candace Rennick, the CUPE National Executive Board, CC: Fred Hahn, Yolanda McClean, the CUPE Ontario Executive Board;

The Executive Committee of CUPE 1281 is shocked by the recent decision of CUPE National to call for the resignation of Fred Hahn as a Regional Vice President of the CUPE National Executive Board (NEB). CUPE National’s decision adds fuel to the fire of the widespread repression of Palestinian solidarity and is a boon to reactionary employers, media and politicians looking to silence us. Further, this decision comes after Fred has endured months of badgering and harassment for his vocal support of Palestinians who are experiencing genocide by Israel. CUPE Ontario was a trailblazer by supporting the call for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions at the 2005 Convention. This has been the work of our Union for decades and we are proud of it.

CUPE 1281 represents workers at social justice-oriented organizations across Ontario and Canada. We are known for our active presence within CUPE Ontario and CUPE National, and for our long history of working in alignment with broader social justice movements. We stand together with those working to dismantle labour exploitation, ableism, racism, gender based oppression, homophobia, imperialism and colonialism. We know that these struggles are interconnected and ending all forms of oppression must be the goal of our Union which is why we have consistently spoken out about mobilizing for justice for Palestinians. Part of this work is to recognize Hasbara when we see it in the media. Hasbara (Hebrew: ַה ְס ָבּ ָרה ) has no direct English translation, but roughly means “explaining”. It is a communicative strategy that “seeks to explain actions, whether or not they are justified”. As it focuses on providing explanations about one’s actions, hasbara has been called a reactive and event-driven approach. In 2003, Ron Schleifer called hasbara “a positive sounding synonym for ‘propaganda'”. According to Al Jazeera, “it’s also a strategic communication method used to influence perceptions and tilt narratives in favour of Israel.” This approach to media manipulation works not only to portray Israel in an exclusively positive light, but shame those who criticize it and label them as anti-semitic for speaking out against its crimes.

The conflation of Jewish identity with that of the state of Israel and the Zionist movement is in itself anti-semitic, but is also ironically another often used hasbara tactic. Used in order to silence people from speaking out against the actions of the Israeli government and those that endorse zionism. Its crucial that we call out and name Hasbara when it is presented to us. Much like how the US manipulated the media during the lead up and over the course of the Iraq war, Israel is now using Hasbara to smear and attack people like Fred who voice their support for the Palestinian people and an end to genocide and it is shameful that the NEB has decided to go along with this narrative instead of doing the dignified thing and challeging it.

The CUPE 1281 Executive believes that the NEB’s decision was inconsistent with the ways that we as a Union deal with breaches of the Equality Statement, if indeed there was a breach. We have a Code of Conduct with a clearly stated process to rectify grievances. Our National Constitution is silent on how NEB members can be removed from office, so this decision also flies in the face of the democratic process. Fred Hahn was elected to the National Executive Board at the National Convention in October 2023. The CUPE Ontario Convention was held in June and Fred was re-elected CUPE Ontario President by the majority of members. In this call for his resignation, the National Executive Board is acting in a way that undermines the fundamental democratic processes at the heart of our Unions at the same time as undermines our internal processes for resolving disputes.

The CUPE 1281 Executive calls on the NEB to overturn the motion to call for Fred’s resignation and to work to rectify the situation we find ourselves in where anti-worker media and politicians are reveling in our division.

In Solidarity,

Christy McMorrow President, CUPE Local 1281

CUPE 1281 Supports Amalgamated Transit Union 113 In Their Fight For Good Jobs and Fair Wages

CUPE 1281 Supports ATU 113 In Their Fight For Good Jobs and Fair Wages Strike Deadline June 7 12:01CUPE 1281 supports the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 (ATU 113) right to strike as they have not been able to negotiate a Collective Agreement with the TTC management.  ATU Local 113 is preparing our members for a strike commencing on Friday, June 7 at 12:01 a.m. Please read our letter of support here and sign a petition telling TTC management to negotiate a fair contract with our siblings at ATU 113.