Developmental Services
June 11, 2013
Developmental Services Worker Appreciation Day is a time to celebrate the
amazing job workers do providing crucial services to people with developmental
disabilities
more...
May 9, 2013 OPSEU Developmental Services have launched our new blog with
stories from the recent “Chicken Pot Pie” DS story contest. We have also started
our new DS Twitter feed, and be sure to join in the conversation on our DS
Facebook page more...
April 10, 2013 A video rant by OPSEU member Erin Rice
takes on the critical funding crisis in Ontario's developmental services. The
wait list continues to grow: Has the province not learned from past mistakes?
more...
April 5, 2013 OPSEU members at Community Living
Greater Sudbury (CLGS) voted in favour of a new contract by a slim margin on
Friday, April 5, 2013, narrowly averting a strike. more...
March 28, 2013 More than 230 OPSEU members at
Community Living Greater Sudbury (CLGS) could be in a legal strike position as
soon as midnight, Sunday April 7. . more...
March 28, 2013
Local 676 is pleased to announce that we have a meeting with the Employer and a
Mediator scheduled for April 2, 2013.
more...
 February
26, 2013
More than 230 OPSEU members at CLGS are in negotiations for a new collective
agreement. A majority of these workers are female and part-time. See the new
video now. more...
December 14, 2012 Having twice rejected contract offers workers at
Community Living Greater Sudbury will rally Dec. 17 to back their demands for a
fair and just agreement .
more...
November 12, 2012 OPSEU Local 235 has reached a tentative contract with
Participation Lodge after both sides met on Sunday, November 11. The picket
lines have been called off, pending a ratification vote to be held on Tuesday,
November 13. more...
November 9, 2012 OPSEU negotiators are calling on Participation Lodge to
soften its hard-line stance and help resolve a strike about to enter its eighth
week. OPSEU’s bargaining team has been called back to the table for Sunday,
November 11. . more...
November 2, 2012 OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas joined workers
and supporters for a solidarity rally at Participation Lodge in Hanover on
October 31. more...
October 27, 2012 Workers at Community Living Prince Edward (CLPE) reached a
last minute deal on Friday, October 26, 2012 narrowly avoiding a strike
deadline.
more...
 October
26, 2012
Dozens of workers from Participation Lodge took a road trip to London, Ontario
on Tuesday, October 24. First they picketed the office of the Ministry of
Community and Social Services, then they held a rally in front of the South West
LHIN. more...
October 25, 2012 Listen to the ad now running on seven
different radio stations that call for Participation Lodge to be held to
account. more...
October 25, 2012 Staff at Community Living Prince Edward (CLPE)
could be on strike as early as Saturday, Oct 27, 2012. They are in mediation
talks on Friday October 26 in an effort to avert a strike or lockout by the
employer. more...
 October
15, 2012
Members of OPSEU Local 235 at Participation Lodge held a strong rally at the
employer headquarters on Wednesday. October 10. Voicing support for the
bargaining team, members called for financial transparency and a return to the
bargaining table.
more...
October 15, 2012 More than 30 members came out for a morning information
picket at Community Living Prince Edward on Friday.
more...
October 11, 2012 Workers at Community Living Prince Edward will hold an
information picket on Friday, October 12, as they draw close to an October 26,
2012 strike deadline.
more...
September 25, 2012 OPSEU members of L235 Participation Lodge will be
hosting a free barbecue on Saturday September 29.
more...
September 27, 2012 Read the media coverage and see the pictures from the
rally on Wednesday, September 26.
more...
September 25, 2012 A rally in support of striking workers will be held at
Participation Lodge in Owen Sound on Wednesday, September 26. Staff have
been on strike since Saturday morning, September 22.
more...
September 17, 2012 Despite the assistance of a provincial
mediator, Participation Lodge and Local 235 have reached another impasse.
more...
August 31, 2012 Members of OPSEU Local 235 Participation
Lodge in Owen Sound have voted down their employer’s final offer by an
overwhelming majority. The next step is to file for a “no board report”. This
will start the clock ticking towards a legal strike deadline.
more...
July 26, 2012 After going 28 months without a new
contract staff at Local 235 ratify a new collective agreement.
more...
July 23, 2012 Workers at Local 403, Community Living
Quinte West have rejected a tentative contract agreement with the employer that
would force members to accept substandard improvements while the employer wastes
hundreds of thousands of dollars on excess managers.
more...
July 19, 2012 Staff at Participation Lodge in Owen Sound
have voted 91 per cent in favour of strike action if a contract settlement can't
be reached more...
July 3, 2012 Workers at Community Living Quinte West
(CLQW) are headed for conciliation with their employer on July 11. Contract
negotiations at CLQW have stalled after the employer refused to offer a fair
contract. more...
June 25, 2012 A large majority of workers at Community
Living Meaford have voted in favour of a strike should that action become
necessary. more...
June 13, 2012 Contract negotiations at Community Living
Quinte West have stalled after the employer refused to offer a fair contract.
more...
May 10, 2012 OPSEU Local 511 at Surrey Place Centre
reached a tentative agreement with their employer on Friday, May 4. The
bargaining team is recommending acceptance of the Memorandum of Settlement.
more...
April 17, 2012 Late in the evening of April 16, Reena
employers and staff reached a tentative agreement during mediation. A
ratification vote is thus being held tomorrow, just days prior to an April 24
strike deadline. more…
April 13, 2012 Developmental services staff at Reena are
facing mediation and a potential strike after requesting a no board report on
April 7th. more…
April 4, 2012 The OPSEU Local 597 bargaining team
reached a tentative agreement with Montage Support Services in Toronto late in
the evening on Friday, March 30, which 87 per cent of members ratified on
Sunday, April 1. more…
March 7, 2012
Workers at Elmira District Community Living have rejected the employer's final
offer, and are asking the community to support them at an information picket on
Thursday, March 8 at 4 p.m. more…
March 6, 2012 The Ministry of Community and Social
Services has advised Ontario’s developmental services agencies that it is
committed to funding educational stipends for workers. Agencies use educational
stipends to reduce developmental services contract value.
more...
February 28, 2012 Developmental Services workers from
Community Living Tillsonburg are holding an information picket on Tuesday,
February 28. Calling for proper funding, workers are protesting cuts to the
services so many vulnerable people depend on.
more...
February 15, 2012 Members of OPSEU Local
253 have voted to endorse their demands at the bargaining table by providing
their bargaining team with an 82 per cent strike mandate.
more...
February 15, 2012 Despite a seven week strike in 2007 and
recent lay-off announcements in neighboring communities, an overwhelming
majority of Middlesex Community Living workers voted in favour of a strike on
Monday, February 13.
more...
February 3, 2012 Developmental Services workers from OPSEU Local 358 at
Community Living Peterborough ratified a new four-year agreement on Monday,
January 30.
more...
January 19, 2012 OPSEU workers at MukiBaum are pleased
with the recent negotiations with their employer. Please consider purchasing
tickets for the Dr. Oz Show and support MukiBaum Treatment Centres for children
and adults with complex disabilities.
more...
January 18, 2012
January 19 marks the sixth annual Developmental Services Worker
Appreciation Day. Communities across Ontario are highlighting
the need to “Stand-up for Developmental Services” as we face the
threat of serious cuts in 2012.
more...
January 10, 2012 Developmental services
workers at Reena have shown strong support for their bargaining
team with a 93.2% vote in favour of taking strike action if the
employer fails to bring a fair offer to the table.
more...
January 9, 2012 Developmental services
workers at Community Living London are holding an information
picket on Tuesday morning outside the Ministry of Community and
Social Services to protest layoffs of seven staff.
more...
December 23, 2011 Developmental Services
workers from OPSEU Local 573 at Muki Baum Asssociation for the
Rehabilitation of the Multi-handicapped ratified a new
collective agreement on December 20.
more...
December 22, 2011 OPSEU Local 380 at
Community Living Huntsville (CLH) has reached a tentative
agreement, narrowly avoiding a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. on
December 22
more...
December 20, 2011 OPSEU Local 5102 developmental services
workers at Surex Community Services have reached a tentative agreement just over
a day before a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m., December 22..
more..
December 20, 2011 OPSEU Local 5102 developmental services
workers at Surex Community Services are holding a rally on December 21 as a
strike deadline of 21:01 am, December 22, approaches.
more..
December 16, 2011 Developmental Services workers from
OPSEU Local 573 at Muki Baum Association for the Rehabilitation of the
Multi-handicapped have reached a tentative agreement with their employer.
more...
December 12, 2011 Workers at Community Living Wallaceburg
are hoping today’s information picket gains them some public support.
more...
November 29, 2011 Pattern Bargaining Newsletter:
Thousands of developmental services workers across Ontario will be recognized
for the important work that they do in our communities on January 19, 2012
Download
PDF...
November 10, 2011 Community Living Huronia workers
in Midland voted 92% in favour of a strike on Monday, November 7. Conciliation
is scheduled for December 5, 2011.
more...
October 17, 2011 Pattern Bargaining Update: Now is
the time for developmental services workers across the province to bargain
agreements that put an end to high job turnover, that recognize the rights of
part-time workers, and defend decent jobs for all. Send a clear signal and let
the employer know that you expect no less than the pattern deal!
more...
September 24, 2011 More than four hundred
Developmental Services workers in Thunder Bay reached a last-minute settlement
in negotiations with Community Living Thunder Bay (CLTB) and Avenue ll Community
Program Services on Friday evening, narrowly averting a 12:01 a.m. strike
deadline on Sunday, September 25.
more...
September 22, 2011 The members from Community Living
Thunder Bay (CLTB), Local 740 and Avenue II Community Program Services, Local
738 headed to the Thunder Bay Labour Centre today to get their picket signs
ready. more...
September 16, 2011 Workers from Community Living Thunder
Bay Local 740 and Avenue 11 Community Program Services, Local 738 voted 96 and
94 per cent, respectively, in favour of strike action if the employer won’t
offer a fair contract.
more...
July 19, 2011 The members of OPSEU Local 473 have voted
to endorse their demands at the bargaining table
more...
June 23, 2011 Close to 50 units are currently in
bargaining and positioning themselves to file for conciliation. Job security
language that deals with potential agency mergers is key to this action.
more...
May 27, 2011 Windsor OPSEU Developmental Services
workers will be holding an information picket at Minister of Finance, Dwight
Duncan’s constituency office on Saturday, May 28. The picket highlights the need
for immediate funding to avoid long-term service cuts and increased waitlists.
more...
April 27, 2011 The developmental services central
bargaining team met with representatives from the Ministry of Labour, the
Ministry of Community and Social Services, employer groups and CUPE on Tuesday,
April 26.
more...
April 7, 2011 The 2011 Provincial Budget fails to
recognize the urgent needs of this chronically under-funded sector. Send a
letter to Minister Dwight Duncan today, and demand that he invest in
developmental services .
more...
March 22, 2011 Central Bargaining talks broke off last
week at the Developmental Services Provincial Discussion Table.
more...
 Central
Bargaining News
January 18, 2010 Issue 1 This is an exciting time for the
Developmental Services sector. The Union is starting its preparations for
bargaining the first ever centrally negotiated agreement in Developmental
Services. This historic achievement has been 20 years in the making.
More…
| 
June 19, 2013
crisis
Prince
Edward information picket
Participation
Lodge rally huge success
On
January 19, 2011, join the province-wide celebrations to
recognize the work that we do. We celebrate the dedicated,
skilled workers who support people with disabilities across the
province.
launch 
