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Toronto Star support for Ontario summer students contrasts with general media climate of 'one offensive, union-bashing column or editorial after another.' - Warren (Smokey) Thomas.
Toronto (12 Aug. 2009) - The leader of Ontario's largest union has congratulated The Toronto Star for publishing an editorial critical of the Ontario government for using a legal exemption to avoid paying summer students holiday and vacation pay.
You can read the editorial here: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/2009/08/05/ontario_double_standard.html
"Finally, an editorial in a leading Ontario newspaper that promotes fairness for organized workers," says Warren (Smokey) Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE).
Unfortunately, Thomas adds, the editorial was a rare exception to a general media trend of unfair treatment of labour, unions and workers in general.
"Over the past couple of months, it’s been one offensive, union-bashing column or editorial after another," Thomas argues.
"Perhaps I missed something while taking some time off with family earlier this summer. How did 800,000 hard-working unionists in this province suddenly become such a drag on the economy?" he asks.
In fact, Thomas says a lot of "courageous union members" have been doing exactly what they should be doing in the face of a devastating recession:
- Negotiating to keep manufacturing jobs in Ontario.
- Defending good wages and access to decent pensions.
- Opposing insidious attacks by municipalities on longstanding benefits.
- Resisting costly privatization schemes.
- Striking "as required" to protect good jobs.
- Encouraging unorganized employees to join a union.
Yet the result of all this legitimate and justified activity on the part of workers has been a "wave of resistance" from the media and others, even though the net result has helped to save the economy rather than hurt it, Thomas adds.
Portraying labour positively is simply not "the angle" that media outlets prefer, he adds.
"Nor are they keen to publish stories on the successful negotiation of new and improved collective agreements for some 90,000 public sector workers in OPSEU over the past 12 months - without one strike. At best, win-win contract settlements appear to warrant a quick paragraph or 15 seconds of air time," Thomas notes.
"Instead, the mainstream media seems bent on slamming the labour movement as if we caused the global financial collapse. They repeatedly call on us to give and give at the bargaining table, joining a useless race to the bottom," he adds.
Thomas says even The Star has published some vicious anti-labour commentary, including this column.
"So it really was a relief to see (the same paper) editorialize for an end to the McGuinty government rip off of 3400 unionized students in the public service," he adds.
"These determined activists are taking on the second biggest government in Canada – and they may just win. They are part of a brave new wave of young, progressive reformers," he says.
"I have no doubt that down the road we will see some of these new activists in leadership roles within Ontario’s labour movement and elsewhere in their communities."
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
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Ontario government rips off summer students