Last night, the St. Catharines and District Labour Council held a fundraiser at the CAW Local 199 hall in St. Catharines, Ontario to support striking workers from COPE Local 343, employed at First Ontario Credit Unions in Hamilton and Stoney Creek, who are now nearing their fifth month on the line. This is an anti-concessions strike, and the employer is seeking...
-THE ELIMINATION OF POST-RETIREMENT BENEFITS
-THE ELIMINATION OF MONTHLY SICK LEAVE CREDITS AND BANKED SICK LEAVE
-REDUCED VACATION TIME AND ELIMINATION OF VACATION BONUS
-ELIMINATION OF TWO PAID HOLIDAYS
-REDUCTION IN PENSION FOR NEW EMPLOYEES
-THE RIGHT TO DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF PART-TIME EMPLOYEES
You can read more here. Last evening's event featured speeches from labour historian Brian Palmer (Trent University), SCDLC president Sue Hotte, MPP Andrea Horwath, and OFL president Wayne Samuelson. Many members of COPE also spoke at the event.
I don't know the exact total raised, but the 50/50 raised nearly $400- the winner was a sister from Local 343- and the silent auction would have raised a few hundred dollars as well. I'm wearing a COPE 343 shirt which I won, and ended up outbidding myself after the auction was over to ensure that COPE received a few extra bucks. There were about 300 people in attendance (a rough estimate) as well.
Hopefully COPE 343 will stay strong and fight off the employer and the concessions they are attempting to force on these hard-working brothers and sisters. It is shameful when a credit union- a cooperative that shouldn't be focused on profit- treats its workers with such indignity.
Solidarity forever!
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