November 7, 2012
MEDIA ADVISORY
Members of OPSEU Local 137, support staff at
St. Clair College, will hold a barbecue lunch to support food
service workers, their co-workers on the main college campus.
The employer, Compass / Chartwells, refuses to pay these
workers wages comparable to those paid at other colleges and
universities. The rally is scheduled for Wednesday, November 14
at 12 noon at the main campus of St. Clair College.
WHAT: Rally
DATE:
Wednesday, November 14
TIME: 12 noon
PLACE: St. Clair College, main
campus,
2000 Talbot Road West, Windsor
“Windsor has the highest unemployment rate in
Canada,” said OPSEU President, Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “These
workers are fighting for good jobs in their community. And OPSEU
stands with them. All working people deserve to live with
dignity.”
“Compass / Chartwells like to boast
about being named on a list of Top 50 Green Employers and as a
proponent of Fair Trade,” said Florry Foster, president of Local
137 of the Ontario Public Service Employees. “If this is so,
then why can’t they pay their own employees a fair wage? These
workers are all women – adding salt to our wounds!”
The 22
food service staff work for a privatized operation, Compass /
Chartwells, not the college itself. The company is one of
Canada’s largest food services providers.
In contract negotiations, the company
offered to raise the hourly rate by 10-cents an hour. But it
then demanded in return a one-dollar increase in the daily food
cost paid by staff. The result would have been a net loss of
20-cents per day in wages for these women.
The workers, represented by OPSEU, are
demanding wage parity with food service workers at Huron College
in London. Some of the Windsor workers earn less than $12 an
hour, which is 15 per cent less than similar workers at Huron.
“We are up against a very predatory employer
who wants nothing more than to drive down further the low wages
our members already earn,” said Foster. “This is intolerable and
we are determined to fight back vigorously. Furthermore, it’s
outright exploitation of women workers!”
More information:
Florry Foster, President OPSEU Local 137– tel
(519) 560-1898
