Toronto Contract negotiations between Second Base Youth Shelter and workers represented by Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4358 reached an impasse today.
The employer has asked for a no-board report, said CUPE National Representative Lorne Trevors. We expect their next step will be to lock out the workers and close this service for highly vulnerable youth as soon as it is legally possible.
With 56 beds, Second Base is the second largest co-ed youth shelter in Toronto and the only one serving homeless youth aged 16 to 21 in Scarborough. It operates at near capacity every day, said Local 4358 Vice-President Collen Dew.
The whole point is to keep these high-risk kids, with a wide range of backgrounds, in their home community and out of the downtown core, said Dew. Were committed to these kids, but the employer is demanding concessions that we cannot accept.
One proposal from the employer for a change in shift schedules would actually put workers at risk by reducing the number of night staff from three to two.
Two workers to 56 kids creates unsafe working conditions, Trevors said. For its part, he added, the union is looking for management accountability to the board and funders along with a higher level of respect for staff.
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For more information, contact:
Collen Dew, Vice-President CUPE Local 4358
416-269-2079
Lorne Trevors, CUPE National Rep
905-432-5896 (cell)
Pat Daley, CUPE Communications
416-292-3999
The employer has asked for a no-board report, said CUPE National Representative Lorne Trevors. We expect their next step will be to lock out the workers and close this service for highly vulnerable youth as soon as it is legally possible.
With 56 beds, Second Base is the second largest co-ed youth shelter in Toronto and the only one serving homeless youth aged 16 to 21 in Scarborough. It operates at near capacity every day, said Local 4358 Vice-President Collen Dew.
The whole point is to keep these high-risk kids, with a wide range of backgrounds, in their home community and out of the downtown core, said Dew. Were committed to these kids, but the employer is demanding concessions that we cannot accept.
One proposal from the employer for a change in shift schedules would actually put workers at risk by reducing the number of night staff from three to two.
Two workers to 56 kids creates unsafe working conditions, Trevors said. For its part, he added, the union is looking for management accountability to the board and funders along with a higher level of respect for staff.
-30-
For more information, contact:
Collen Dew, Vice-President CUPE Local 4358
416-269-2079
Lorne Trevors, CUPE National Rep
905-432-5896 (cell)
Pat Daley, CUPE Communications
416-292-3999