Friend,
Ontario workers have been down this road before.
The federal government has introduced Bill C-39. They say it protects the right to strike, but it still allows one minister to intervene in a legal strike, order workers back to work or force them into a process that ends the dispute.
Let’s be clear about what that means.
When an employer knows the government might step in and end a strike, why would they bargain fairly? Why would they agree to better wages, safer working conditions or greater job security?
The pressure created by a strike is not a problem with collective bargaining. That pressure is what makes collective bargaining work.
And this threat will not stop with federally regulated workers.
If Ottawa gets away with weakening the right to strike, it gives Doug Ford a roadmap to do the same thing here in Ontario.
We remember Bill 28. Doug Ford tried to impose a contract on education workers, outlaw our strike and use the notwithstanding clause to strip away our rights.
Workers organized. Workers mobilized. Communities stood with us. And we forced his government to back down.
We may have to do it again.
Add your name and join workers across Ontario who are ready to defend the right to strike.
away one group of workers’ ability to fight for a fair deal, every worker has something to lose.
In solidarity,
Laura Walton
President
Ontario Federation of Labour
