Today, I yield this space to my brother, John Hanson.
I just read an open letter of his, and it’s the best representation of everything that has to do with the labour mess between CLRCS and OPSEU Local 472.
And he does so in a polite tone that I could perhaps learn from.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MANAGEMENT AND BOARDS OF DIRECTORS OF THE AGENCIES INVOLVED IN THE OPSEU LEGAL STRIKE
To the Management Teams and Boards of Directors:
I have one question to begin with.
Why?
Why are you so unwilling to meet with these workers?
Why are you allowing this legal strike to continue?
Why are you refusing to meaningfully address the concerns that brought these workers to the picket lines in the first place?
Is it because these workers have legitimate concerns—concerns that you simply do not want to answer?
Is it because acknowledging those concerns would force you to confront uncomfortable truths about wages, staffing, working conditions, funding, and the quality of services being provided?
Or is it something more troubling?
Is it possible that egos, reputations, or outside advice have become more important than resolving the dispute?
Again, I ask:
Why?
I have watched what has unfolded since Day One of this job action. I am a member of the public, I don’t claim to know every detail of every bargaining table. But I am close enough to this situation to recognize patterns.
There are more than twenty locals involved in this dispute.
And from what I have observed, there are striking similarities in the way these workers are being treated.
That raises questions that deserve answers.
Is this really about finding a solution—or is it about breaking the resolve of the workers and their union?
Because make no mistake: ignoring a legal strike is itself a strategy.
If you cannot defeat workers at the bargaining table, perhaps you hope to defeat them through exhaustion.
Let the strike drag on.
Let the media lose interest.
Let the public forget.
Let workers become financially exhausted.
Let their families feel the pressure.
Let the people they care for become the centre of public frustration.
And then hope the union movement gives up.
That may be the strategy.
But if it is, I believe it is the wrong strategy.
The public deserves to know what is happening.
At the beginning of this strike, there was some media attention. But, as is so often the case with labour disputes, the headlines faded and the cameras moved on.
That should concern all of us.
Because when workers are ignored long enough, the public stops asking questions.
And when the public stops asking questions, accountability disappears.
That is why I am asking those questions now.
Why?
REPLACEMENT WORKERS
One of the most troubling aspects of this dispute is the use of replacement workers.
The labour movement has a name for them:
Scabs.
From what I have observed and been told, replacement workers have been brought in to perform work normally carried out by the striking employees.
I have serious concerns about what that means—not only for the workers on strike, but for the people these agencies are responsible for supporting.
The workers I know are not simply employees.
They are caregivers.
They are support workers.
They are advocates.
They are the people who know the individuals they support—their routines, their personalities, their fears, their needs, their strengths, and their dreams.
They are people who have spent years building trust and relationships.
And I can tell you something about these workers.
The people I have met are some of the most caring, compassionate, intelligent, articulate, and dedicated individuals I have ever had the privilege to know.
They do this work because they care.
They do it because they believe in the people they support.
They do it because, for many of them, this is not simply a job.
It is a calling.
So imagine what it must feel like to stand on a picket line while worrying about the people you have dedicated your life to helping.
Imagine knowing that someone else is now stepping into your role.
Imagine wondering whether the person you care for is receiving the same patience, understanding, dignity, compassion, and personal connection that you provided.
These workers are not just fighting for themselves.
They are fighting for the people they serve.
THE COST OF THIS STRIKE
There are also legitimate questions surrounding the cost of bringing in replacement workers.
If reports of outside replacement workers being transported in, accommodated in hotels, fed, and paid to perform this work are accurate, then the public deserves to know exactly what this is costing.
How much money is being spent?
Who is paying the bill?
And perhaps most importantly:
Could that money have been better spent resolving the issues that brought these workers to the bargaining table?
Could it have gone toward better wages?
Could it have improved staffing?
Could it have helped address recruitment and retention?
Could it have improved working conditions?
Could it have strengthened the services provided to vulnerable people?
Could it have prevented this strike from happening in the first place?
These are not unreasonable questions.
They are questions the public has a right to ask.
Because every dollar spent prolonging a labour dispute is a dollar that cannot be spent somewhere else.
And if the goal is truly to protect the people these agencies serve, then management and Boards of Directors should be able to explain why prolonging this dispute is in anyone’s best interest.
AND WHERE IS THE GOVERNMENT?
There is another question that needs to be asked.
Where is the Ontario government?
These agencies do not operate in a vacuum.
Many rely heavily on public funding.
The workers provide essential services.
The people they support are some of the most vulnerable members of our communities.
So why are governments so often willing to fund the continuation of a labour dispute but seemingly unwilling to provide the resources necessary to prevent one?
Why are workers expected to accept inadequate wages and difficult working conditions while agencies struggle to recruit and retain the very people responsible for delivering essential services?
Why are workers forced to fight for improvements that should be considered basic requirements for a stable and sustainable system?
The answer cannot always be:
“There is no money.”
Because somehow, when the system is under pressure, money appears.
Money appears for replacement workers.
Money appears for hotels.
Money appears for transportation.
Money appears for security.
Money appears to keep the system operating during a strike.
So perhaps the real question is not whether there is money.
Perhaps the question is:
What are we choosing to spend it on?
TO THE BOARDS OF DIRECTORS
To the members of these Boards of Directors, I say this:
You have a responsibility.
You have a responsibility not only to your organizations, but to the people you serve.
You have a responsibility to your employees.
And you have a responsibility to the communities that support your agencies.
You cannot simply sit back and wait for this strike to disappear.
You cannot hide behind public relations statements.
You cannot allow workers to be worn down through financial hardship and exhaustion and then call that a successful resolution.
That is not leadership.
Leadership means sitting down.
Leadership means listening.
Leadership means negotiating.
Leadership means finding solutions.
And sometimes leadership means admitting that the system is not working.
These workers are not your enemy.
The union is not your enemy.
The people standing on those picket lines are the same people who, before this strike, were caring for the individuals you serve.
They are the people who helped keep your organizations running.
They are the people who showed up on weekends.
They worked nights.
They worked holidays.
They dealt with difficult situations.
They supported families.
They protected vulnerable people.
They did the work.
And now, when they are asking to be heard, they deserve more than silence.
TO THE WORKERS
To the workers standing on those picket lines, I want to say this:
Do not let anyone convince you that you are asking for too much simply because you are asking to be treated fairly.
Do not allow anyone to make you feel guilty for standing up for yourselves.
You have the legal right to strike.
You have the right to demand better working conditions.
You have the right to demand respect.
And you have the right to fight for the people you serve.
The labour movement was built on the principle that workers standing together can accomplish what individuals cannot accomplish alone.
That principle remains true today.
Every improvement in working conditions that we take for granted was fought for by someone.
The eight-hour day.
Paid holidays.
Health and safety protections.
Pensions.
Fair wages.
Collective bargaining.
The right to organize.
The right to strike.
None of these things were gifts.
Workers fought for them.
And workers are still fighting.
SO, I ASK AGAIN:
Why?
Why are these workers still on the picket lines?
Why are their concerns not being resolved?
Why are replacement workers being used instead of reaching a negotiated settlement?
Why is money being spent prolonging this dispute instead of resolving it?
Why are the people receiving services being placed in the middle of a labour dispute?
Why are Boards of Directors not doing everything in their power to bring the parties back to the bargaining table?
And why is the Ontario government not doing more to ensure that the agencies responsible for providing these essential services have the resources necessary to properly compensate and retain the people who deliver them?
These are questions that deserve answers.
Not tomorrow.
Not next month.
Now.
Because this is not simply about a contract.
It is not simply about wages.
It is not simply about a union.
It is about the kind of society we want to live in.
Do we value the people who care for the most vulnerable among us?
Do we believe that the workers who provide essential services deserve to be respected and fairly compensated?
Do we believe that vulnerable people deserve stability, dignity, and quality care?
If the answer to those questions is yes, then it is time to stop the games.
Stop the delay.
Stop the silence.
Stop trying to wait out the workers.
Get back to the bargaining table.
Listen to the workers.
Address their concerns.
Find a fair settlement.
And end this strike.
Because the workers are not the problem.
They are part of the solution.
And if management, Boards of Directors, and governments truly believe that the people they serve deserve the best possible care, then they should start by respecting the people who provide it.
**The question remains:
Why?**
**And perhaps the next question should be:
How much longer are you prepared to let this continue?**
NEWSMAGRENFREW 