FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 12, 2001

Homes First workers rally Wednesday, June 13

TORONTO – Staff at Homes First Society will rally Wednesday, June 13, in support of their union bargaining team, and to condemn the Harris government’s housing policies. They will be joined by housing advocates and labour supporters.

The rally will take place outside Homes First Society’s administrative offices, 95 Wellesley Street East (near Jarvis) from noon to 1 p.m.

The workers, members of OPSEU Local 540, will be in a legal strike position June 20. They are administrative, property maintenance, and supportive housing workers. At issue are benefits, scheduling, and wages.

"Our wages have been frozen for seven years, and we’ve been without a contract for three years," said Local Mobilizing Committee member Dan Arsenault. "Homes First has been exploiting our commitment to the tenants by ignoring our modest demands. Now we’re at a crisis point – enough is enough."

Speakers will link the bargaining impasse with Homes First to the disastrous policies of the provincial government. Likening the Tory attacks on housing to the Big Bad Wolf, a street theatre piece will feature the Harris Wolf.

Homes First staff coordinate and provide support services in thirteen apartment buildings, for tenants making the transition from homeless shelters, and in three transitional housing projects, including StreetCity, for the hard-to-house.

"The city’s most vulnerable people are being squeezed in every direction - by direct cuts to income, by cuts to badly-needed services, and by undermining the livelihood of those who deliver them." said Arsenault. "These cuts mean more people end up on the street, and the lack of affordable housing means they stay there."

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For further information:

Dan Arsenault (416) 395-0906
Nick DiSalle (416) 593-1116, ext. 234
Lisa Walter (416) 593-1116, ext. 227