TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 14, 2013) - On Saturday, September 14 workers across Ontario will be turning up the heat on corporations whose lobby organizations are campaigning to keep wages low in Ontario. Full-time minimum wage workers' annual income falls nearly 20% below the poverty line.
"Corporations with over 500 employees are the largest source of poverty-level wages employing nearly half of all minimum wage workers in Ontario," said Christy Knockleby, of the Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty. "Corporations like McDonald's, Tim Hortons and Toys "R" Us are making hundreds of millions in profit, yet their lobby organizations -- like the Retail Council of Canada and the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association - are among the most vocal opponents of a decent $14 minimum wage."
This year, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne appointed the Retail Council of Canada to her government's Minimum Wage Advisory Panel.
This Saturday, workers from Sudbury to Windsor, will point the finger at profitable corporations that have not yet distanced themselves from the positions advanced by the lobby groups RCC and CFRA. "If corporations are serious about supporting healthy communities, they should pay wages that are at least 10% above the poverty line," said Deena Ladd of the Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage. "This is what creates jobs and stimulates economic activity."
"Our community has the highest rental rates relative to income in Canada, but minimum wage workers haven't had a raise in over three years," said Peterborough and District Labour Council Executive Board Member Paul Brown, who, on Saturday, will be joining low-wage and precariously employed workers at an event outside a local Tim Hortons. "A $14 minimum wage would help alleviate the financial pressures that low wage, precariously employed workers face everyday in our community."
For more information on the campaign, visit: www.raisetheminimumwage.ca
Follow the campaign Twitter account @fairwagesnow and hashtag #14now
The following actions will be taking place in communities across the province.
| Provincial actions and contacts: | ||
| Cornwall: | Rally at Second Street and Glengarry Blvd., 9am | |
| Elaine McDonald, 613-938-7763, elainemacdonald@cogeco.ca | ||
| Burlington: | Leaflet at McDonalds, 1-3pm | |
| 689 Guelph Line | ||
| Guelph: | No More McWages! Raise the Minimum Wage, 11am | |
| corner of Wellington St. and Gordon St | ||
| Peter Miller, (226) 500-3433, raise.the.wage.guelph@gmail.com | ||
| Hamilton: | Flash Mob, 2pm | |
| Hamilton City Hall | ||
| Ahmad Al-Amad, alamad.1990@gmail.com | ||
| Kitchener-Waterloo: | Rally and Community Outreach, 5-6pm | |
| Sidewalk in front of McDonald's, 600 King St W, corner of Breithaupt Ave | ||
| Poverty Makes Us Sick: (226) 789 6786, forspecialdiet@gmail.com | ||
| London: | Demonstration at McDonald's, 6pm | |
| Dundas and Richmond St. | ||
| London Common Front, londoncommonfront@gmail.com | ||
| Oshawa: | Minimum Wage Monopoly, 2pm | |
| Outside MPP Joe Dickson's office, 201A-50 Commercial Avenue, Ajax | ||
| We Are Oshawa, Jesse Cullen, (905) 441-9112, jesse.m.cullen@gmail.com | ||
| John MacDonald: (905) 424-2776, johndmacd@rogers.com | ||
| Peterborough: | Leaflet at Tim Hortons, 12pm | |
| Lansdowne and Ashburnham | ||
| Paul Brown, 705-559-1397, pbrown@uwpeterborough.ca | ||
| Toronto: | $14 Minimum Wage Carnival outside Toys "R" Us, 1pm | |
| 900 Dufferin Street, Dufferin Mall | ||
| Sonia Singh, 647-235-6912 | ||
| Jane and Finch Street Party for a $14 minimum wage! 12-4pm | ||
| Southeast corner of Jane-Finch intersection | ||
| Ama Amponsah, 647-907-8755 | ||
| Sudbury: | Action at Toys 'R' Us, 11am | |
| Meet at bus stop at Silver City. | ||
| Christy Knockleby, cknockleby@eastlink.ca | ||
| Windsor: | Minimum wage buffet, 1pm | |
| Windsor Workers Action Centre, 328 Pelissier St. | ||
| Paul Chislett, (519) 995-8351, paul.chislett@gmail.cominfo@wwac.ca | ||
| York Region: | Community Outreach and Information Table, 1-6pm | |
| Markham South Asian Festival - Featherstone Park | ||
| Social Services Network Booth: | ||
| Tim Horton's Coffee Talk and Action, 10am | ||
| 17252 Leslie St, Newmarket | ||
| Yvonne Kelly, 416-697-4208, yvonnek@yrfn.ca | ||
The Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage is coordinated by ACORN, Freedom 90, Mennonite New Life Centre, OCAP, Ontario Campaign 2000, Parkdale Community Legal Services, Put Food in the Budget, Social Planning Toronto, Toronto and York Region Labour Council and Workers' Action Centre.
Contact Information:
(647) 235-6912 or (416) 531-0778, ext. 221
sonia@workersactioncentre.org