BradfordToday welcomes letters to the editor. They can be submitted via the site or emailed to [email protected]. Please include your name, address, and phone number for verification. The following letter is in response to an article, 'Sign of respect': Council meeting moved due to library strike', published July 28.
We are writing in response to the article concerning the relocation of the council meeting to the Bradford Community Centre due to the ongoing Library strike and picket line.
We were deeply disappointed by Mayor James Leduc’s remarks, which seemed to imply unfavourable behaviour on the picket lines.
He failed to mention specifics on this behaviour, maybe because he was out of province all month and doesn’t in fact know what is happening on the lines. We have yet to see him there.
To set the record straight, over the past 10 days, we have been actively engaging the community by providing information about our working conditions, pay, and garnering support through petitions. Additionally, we have been offering free food and storytime to demonstrate our commitment to the cause.
Throughout this process, we have conducted ourselves with utmost respect and will continue to do so until a fair deal is reached, and we can resume our beloved jobs, serving the community we cherish.
The outpouring of community support we’ve received thus far has been incredibly meaningful to us.
Our current fight centres around a fair wage increase of $1.35 per hour for all union employees at the library, including those who have been 'red circled' and haven’t received cost-of-living wage adjustments for over five years. It’s essential to highlight that over 75% of us work part-time, and half of our workforce earn wages that fall below the poverty line (less than $23.15 an hour, which is the living wage for the GTA).
We cordially invite the mayor, council members, and fellow community members to join us and listen to our perspectives at our community BBQ on Monday, July 31, at 6 p.m. on our picket line at the Library.
We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to share our truth and resume our meaningful interactions with the community members we miss seeing every day within the library’s walls.
CUPE 905 BWG Library Workers
