Dear fellow CMG members,
On Monday, September 3, Canadian Media Guild (CMG) members will join fellow union members in Toronto to mark Labour Day, celebrating our movement’s achievements and also acknowledging how much remains to be done.
Our goals include decent pay, quality jobs, and fairness at work. And we continue to build on CMG’s convention theme: “Our union, our voice.”
In that connection, several CMG members have expressed concerns about the ongoing lockout of fellow union members, members of IATSE Local 58.
To learn more about the lockout of IATSE workers, please see this link: https://www.58lockedout.com/ (Available in English only)
CMG members have raised the difficulty that this ongoing labour dispute presents to us in relation to attending events that involve Exhibition Place and the CNE.
I’m glad to share with you that, in recognition of the situation, this year’s Labour Day parade will not end at the CNE.
Instead, the new plan is for the parade to end at Lamport Stadium, on Liberty Street, just south of King St. and east of Dufferin.
• At Lamport Stadium, the Toronto and York Region Labour Council is planning to have music, some speeches from IATSE members and others, kids’ games, facepainting, and concession stands offering food and non-alcoholic refreshments
• IATSE intends to put up their picket line across Dufferin at Liberty Street so that Labour Day marchers can both honour it and cheer the locked-out workers as the parade turns left at Liberty.
The start details of the parade remain the same:
WHEN: Monday, September 3rd at 9 a.m.
WHERE: Meet on University Ave, east side, just north of Queen St. West – Next to iron gates around Osgoode Hall, beside the Osgoode subway station stairs. Look for the CMG logo.
WHAT: Parade marches off at 9:30 a.m. SHARP – It starts at University & Queen, proceeds west along Queen St, to Dufferin, and ends at Lamport Stadim before noon.
There will be CMG swag! Free T-shirts and more –
For those who haven’t participated before, marching in the Labour Day parade can be quite a lovely experience.
It involves soaking in a late summer vibe alongside co-workers, in support of the value of our work, in tandem with thousands of other working people from across the GTA.
The Canadian Media Guild is comprised of over 5000 media workers at APTN, The Canadian Press, CBC/Radio-Canada, Thomson Reuters, TFO, TVO, Vice Media, and ZoomerMedia, among other media organizations. About half of us live and work in the Toronto area.
Please consider joining the Labour Day parade this year – and bring along friends and loved ones as well. Advocate for the work that we do and have some fun doing it!
If you have any questions or suggestions and / or would like to help organize our delegation, please drop me a line at kam@cmg.ca
With best wishes, in solidarity,
Kamala Rao
President, Canadian Media Guild