Quarter-million calls made during Toronto CUPE Strike
Quarter-million calls made during Toronto CUPE Strike
In the longest-ever strike in Toronto Civic workers’ history, the 26,000 members of CUPE Local 79 and TCEU Local 416 staged an epic showdown with Mayor David Miller, who was determined to wring massive concessions from City employees.
Miller particularly targeted the longstanding sick day banking system that had been negotiated years ago in lieu of a wage increase. Over the course of the nearly six-week strike, Local 79 President Ann Dembinski and Local 416 President Mark Ferguson used Union Calling several times to update members on bargaining, quash rumours, announce rallies, bolster morale and, finally, announce a settlement that was a clear victory for the unions.
A total of more than 250,000 calls were made and Union Calling statistics revealed that the vast majority of members listened to their presidents’ messages from start to finish.