Media Advisory: Join striking CHS workers and supporters in Hamilton

HAMILTON, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - March 10, 2017) - "This is about showing our strength and our community support as we stand up to an employer that shows little respect for the work we do, and an agency that has lost its way," said Stacey Connor, President of local 2073 of the Canadian union of Public Employees (CUPE 2073), as she prepares to visit the Hamilton picket line of the union's province-wide strike.

Connor, CUPE 2073 members from nearby CHS offices and allies from the community will join the Hamilton picket line today (Friday) March 10, 2017 at 12 p.m., 21 Hunter St., Hamilton.

"There has been a lot of talk from the employer over the past week, but the only talk that really matter is at the bargaining table," said Connor. "Our members work hard to deliver services to the Deaf, Oral Deaf, Deafened and Hard of Hearing across Ontario. We would rather work in partnership with CHS to do what is best for the community, and that involves respecting the people who serve the community and reaching a fair deal that works for everyone."

227 counsellors, literacy instructors, audiologists, speech language pathologists, interpreters/interpreter trainers, clerical support, program coordinators, program assistants, information technology specialists, and other staff from CHS offices across Ontario, have been on strike since Monday, after contract talks broke down over the weekend.

Major outstanding issues include a CHS proposal to replace the existing sick leave program with an ill-defined plan that would gut provisions and give an outside firm the ability to determine who qualifies, and modest wage increases. Worker wages have been frozen for the past four years.