COVID-19 – Additional Impacts on City Programming and Facilities

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Hello CUPE Members,

We have just received this email below from City of London, and are posting it here:

Hello everyone,

I’m writing to you tonight to let you know that after much consideration, we have made the decision that we will be cancelling a number of City programs and closing City facilities where those programs run, effective Monday, March 16. This includes the following:

·       Community centres

·       Arenas

·       Pools

·       Recreation and sport programming

·       Community rentals

·       March break day camp programs

All health agencies are discouraging large gatherings; we feel it is our obligation to support local, national and international efforts to slow down the spread of this virus. While difficult, we have made this decision to help keep our community and our staff healthy and well.

In addition to these cancellations, we will also be restricting visitors at Dearness Home to only essential visitors to remain consistent with protocols in place in other Long Term Care homes; the elderly population is particularly vulnerable to the symptoms of COVID-19, so we will make every effort to protect them from the spread of this virus.

We are in an extraordinary time when each of us has a responsibility to do as much as we can to slow the spread of COVID-19.  Health agencies agree that large gatherings put people at risk; these cancellations and closures come because there is nothing more important than the health and well-being of our staff and our community. Managers will be reaching out directly to staff who are impacted by this decision.

As you will know, this is a situation that is rapidly evolving. Our COVID-19 team continues to monitor this closely as well as to review and revise our business continuity plans. We will provide you with ongoing updates as the situation continues to evolve.

Public health agencies continue to be the best source of information about the spread of COVID-19 and about actions individuals should take to help slow the spread, including any restrictions that should be in place after travelling out of country. Please visit https://www.healthunit.com/news/novel-coronavirus for additional information.

Managers, please ensure this information is available to employees who may not have access to this information through email.

Thank you

Lynne

Thanks From Your President

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My role as your President is nearly come to an end. These last 4 years have been incredibly challenging but also most rewarding. I have learned so much from all of you, we have worked together and accomplished great gains and improved relationships that hopefully will help us continue in our future successes. Although as one door closes, many other doors will open for and have opened for me. I am excited to share some of these with you.

Megan Walker from London Abused Women’s Centre (LAWC) has approached me and asked me to consider joining their Board. At this time I am excited to advise you that I have been voted on LAWC’s Board and I look forward to this new opportunity that I am embarking upon with an amazing group of people and agency in our community. This is not only an accomplishment for me but also for our local.

The other amazing thing that has occurred for myself and my partner is that we have become grandparents for the first time, her name is Rylie. My partner Jennifer and I are absolutely thrilled and looking forward to spending time with Rylie and our entire family. This is a role farther reaching than President, I am going to be part of something very special, a new chapter in our lives.

I want to say thanks to all of local 101 and everyone that I have had the opportunity to work with, and whom has helped our local, the Corporation and the Community become a great workplace, City and Union. We are stronger together, we need to all work together in order to continue the advancements we have been able to achieve during the last 4 years with myself as your President. I hope that we can continue to build upon these goals and successes and continue working together for us all.

Thanks for the opportunity to enable me to represent you all, believing that things could be better, trusting in me to attain these things on your behalf. I am a better person because of this experience and opportunity to lead this local.

Yours in solidarity.

Steven Holland
President
CUPE Local 101

Important OMERS Update

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The OMERS Sponsors Corporation voted on a series of changes to its bylaws. We’re providing an update, as we get additional information about the results today’s meeting.

With only a few weeks notice, workers and their Sponsor unions successfully mobilized to protect our right to freely appoint our Representatives to the OMERS SC Board, which makes decisions about critical pension benefits and contribution rates. We also protected our right to remove our Representatives on the OMERS SC Board, a key accountability mechanism to ensuring those we appoint are representative of our member’s interests. This is an important victory for workers and their unions.

The OMERS SC Board, however, has passed significant changes to confidentiality that could negatively impact workers’ and their unions’ right to know critical information about our pension plan. We’re very concerned that our representatives on the OMERS SC Board could now be prevented from sharing crucial information, like more potential governance changes, with us in the future.

There are other changes to the Co-Chair structure, to committee composition, and an introduction of term limits for Sponsors Representatives.

At this point CUPE Ontario still does not have access to actual text of the new bylaws, including these changes. Along with other unions, we’ve made a formal request for these which we expect to receive shortly. We will be fully analyzing all OMERS by-law changes and will share additional updates as we have them.

It is important to reiterate that this entire bylaw review process, coupled with last year’s attempt to decrease benefits to workers by removing guaranteed indexing, leaves us with serious and substantial concerns about OMERS.

CUPE Ontario, representing nearly 125,000 active members in OMERS, will take all steps necessary to protect members’ rights, preserve key benefits like indexing and move towards a more accountable and transparent OMERS.