City workers prepared to strike on Monday, resulting in closure of March Break camps across Toronto

CUPE Local 79 president Nas Yadollahi speaks about the preparation of 27,000 city workers to strike.

The union representing thousands of city workers says its members are prepared to strike next Monday, potentially halting city-run camps at the start of March Break and shuttering dozens of city-run childcare centres.

CUPE Local 79, which represents 27,000 inside employees from personal support workers to ambulance dispatchers, announced Wednesday that it will walk off the job just after midnight on March 10.

The union could go on strike or be locked out as of Saturday after a “no board” report issued last month started the countdown to possible job action.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday morning, CUPE Local 79 president Nas Yadollahi said the union reviewed a final offer that it received from the city on Tuesday afternoon and concluded that it fell short on their wage demands.

“We will be countering the city’s proposal with our own later today, we are willing to do everything to reach a fair deal,” Yadollahi said. “But make no mistake, if there is no deal by just past midnight on Monday morning, we will walk off the job.”

City manager Paul Johnson said that in their final offer to the union—an offer that will be revisited to respond to the union’s proposal—they put forward scrapping minimum wages and an increased wage increase to child care workers, personal support workers and registered nurses at 16.7 per cent, 16.8 per cent and 22 per cent over four years, respectively. At the baseline, the city’s bargaining team said it is offering a 14.65 per cent wage increase over the next four years.

Johnson added they also presented the union with shift premiums and increased benefits, like family building and gender-affirming care benefits, as well as granting benefits to part-time staff.

“We tabled our final offer yesterday, really in order to ensure that we had enough time to work together to get to a deal and that’s what we want to do and we think there is lots of time for that,” Johnson said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

“We really want to work towards not having a disruption, particularly over what’s happening next week. It is March break for families, and we want to make sure that that programming continues and the excellent workers and Local 79 are there to provide their services.”

Speaking at an unrelated press conference on Wednesday morning, Mayor Olivia Chow expressed her hope that an agreement is met.

“I get it. I’ve always fought for more wages for those workers because that’s who I am and I hope that 79 and the City of Toronto continue talking to each other and find a solution because the best agreement comes through negotiation,” Chow said, adding she hopes for a good outcome.

The city has said that if there is a strike all of its recreation centres will close and programming, including March Break camps, will be cancelled. This will impact 4,800 children enrolled with the city’s March Break programming, a city spokesperson confirmed.

The city has also indicated that all 39 city-run early learning and child care centres will shutter.

In the event of a strike, the city says refunds will be issued for any paid programs and clients will not be charged for each day city-run child-care centres remain closed.

“I know it’s hard. I do hope that a settlement comes forward, and it’s always good to have a backup plan, but, I do still remain hopeful that we could find a negotiated agreement because no one wants to see kids listless for the entire week,” Chow said at Wednesday’s news conference.

Yadollahi acknowledged that there is never a good time for a labour dispute, and countered there are other city services that will suffer as a result as well—pointing to those who answer 311 calls, those who work in social services and those who ensure city operations are running as examples.

“There does not need to be a labour disruption. If a labour disruption happens, it is because that is the path that the city has chosen,” Yadollahi said.

According to the union, the city has not taken negotiations “seriously.” Instead, the union says it has stalled conversations as public services reach “a breaking point due to severe understaffing,” pointing to several vacancies and unfilled positions it says exist at Toronto Public Health, long-term care homes, recreation and shelter programs.

“The fact that the city is downplaying the impact of a strike, I think it’s a disservice and it’s being a continuation of their dishonest tactics to the people of Toronto,” Yadollahi said. “If the people of Toronto think that their livelihoods are not going to be impacted by labour disruption, they are being lied to.”

Johnson assured critical city services will still be fully operational should a strike happen next week.

“There are other services that would be impacted in the case of a work stoppage – that is where you may see differing levels of service. For instance, some of our facilities might not be open for the same hours they normally are not,” the city manager said.

“But, let’s be very clear, for some of the most vulnerable in our community, those in our long-term care facilities, those in our emergency shelters, those services will not be affected.”