Staff at the Toronto Zoo, members of Local 1600 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), have today ratified a new four-year collective agreement with their employer.
“For the sake of the zoo-going public, we’re relieved that this period of uncertainty is over,” said CUPE 1600 President Christine McKenzie.
“Our members are hard at work to ensure the Zoo is in the best possible condition so the public has an experience to remember when they come to visit this season,” she added.
The four-year agreement contains modest improvements to wages in each year of the contract. The long list of concessions demanded by Zoo management at the beginning of bargaining were, for the most part, withdrawn by the employer.
McKenzie thanked the membership of Local 1600 for their overwhelming support during the bargaining process.
“A major reason for the employer withdrawing most of their concessionary attacks on staff was the awareness of just how united we were in our resolve to achieve a settlement we could live with,” she said.
CUPE 1600 represents more than 400 zookeepers, horticulturalists, trades people, maintenance, administration and public relations staff, concession and ride operators at Canada’s largest zoo.
For more information, please contact:
Christine McKenzie
President, CUPE 1600
416-579-2873
Kevin Wilson
CUPE Communications
416-821-6641