Excerpts
Child care workers and early childhood educators, ECEs, at the Learning Enrichment Foundation, LEF, have voted over 80% in favour of joining CUPE.
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“Workers deserve a voice in decisions about how their workplaces operate. That became abundantly clear to LEF child workers this summer when LEF announced they would be cutting educators’ pay. Through organizing and joining CUPE, workers at LEF will now have a voice in their workplace and a seat at the table to negotiate a first contract,” says Liisa Schofield CUPE organizer.
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Ontario has done neither. All the while, pay, benefits, and working conditions for Ontario child care workers fall further behind other jurisdictions, it’s become clear that the successful expansion of early education and care in this province cannot happen without improvements to working conditions to attract and retain skilled workers. It is estimated, Ontario will be short 8500 ECEs by 2026 as child care workers leave jobs they love because they don’t see a future in the sector.
“The government has stubbornly refused to implement the changes needed to address the workforce crisis,” says Christina Gilligan, associate coordinator for the child care sector at CUPE and a former ECE. “Unions are the way forward. Through unions, workers can push for the jobs and compensation they need and the investments in public services that families absolutely deserve.”
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