[OPIRG-EVENTS] Mass picket in support of fired Carlingwood Mall workers! Boycott Carlingwood Mall! Thursday, November 7th at 12 noon

["Kevin Skerrett" <kskerrett@cupe.ca>]

SANTA CLAUS ANNOUNCES BOYCOTT OF CARLINGWOOD MALL!!

On Oct. 21st, 15 days ago, a group of 12 unionized workers that do cleaning for Carlingwood
Mall were callously and abruptly fired.  The workers, organized as CUPE Local 4266-06, were
told that cleaning would be done by another group, non-union, for no benefits and little
more than minimum wage.  Some of these workers had been cleaning there for more than 20 years.
This mass firing just before the Christmas holiday period is clearly one of the ugliest,
most vicious attacks on Ottawa workers in recent memory.  Pure union-busting.

Last Thursday, a picket line was established to demonstrate that this spirited group is
fighting back.  They are refusing to be treated like garbage.  But they need our help.

This Thursday, November 7th, at 12 noon, the Local is inviting all supporters to a mass
solidarity picket.  We are urging everyone who is able to show up at the Mall picket line
on Carling Ave. (main mall entrance) to do so if at all possible.  We will hear from some
members of the Local, do some leafletting, and generally draw as much attention to the
situation as possible.  This mass picket will be held until 1pm.

For those of you unable to make this picket, there is still a role to play.  First of all,
please boycott the mall entirely - and urge friends and family to do so as well.  Secondly,
please call mall manager Denis Pelletier, at (613) 725-1551 and let him know that you will
be boycotting his mall until the fired workers are back at work.  Finally, please do 
whatever you can to publicize this boycott, posting this email to listserves you may know
of, and forwarding it as widely as you can.

Santa Claus won't be coming to Carlingwood until the fired workers are back!

For more information, see the official press release with contact numbers, attached below.


For further information: Andy Mele, CUPE National Rep., 613-237-0115; 
Réal Shank, CUPE 4266.06 spokesperson, 613-276-7958; Robert Lamoureux, CUPE 
Communications, 416-292-3999



Carlingwood Mall cleaning staff effectively locked-out - replaced with minimum wage workers: fight back campaign planned

    OTTAWA, Oct. 24 /CNW/ - Twelve cleaning and maintenance workers from
Carlingwood Mall plan to fight for their jobs after being thrown out of work
without notice on Monday.
    "We were called into a meeting at 4:00 p.m. on Monday and told we no
longer had a job," says Réal Shank, spokesperson for CUPE 4266.06.
"Replacement workers were bringing in their equipment while we were being
pressured to sign away our jobs." Replacement workers earning minimum wages
with no benefits were brought into the mall.
    "Many of these workers have more than 20 years of service at Carlingwood
and are being thrown out of work right before the holiday season - it's
disgusting," says CUPE National Rep. Andy Mele.
    "Carlingwood Mall has a responsibility to ensure fair labour practices
are followed by their management companies," says Mele. "We urge them to
correct this unjust situation and we have let them know we will be taking our
fight to the community if they don't," says Shank.
    "These people have families to support, mortgages to pay," says Mele. "We
will be reaching out to other unions, seniors groups, and local community
groups to ask for their support - including calling for a boycott of the mall
and setting up picket lines until they get these people back to work."

    CUPE, Canada's largest union, represents half a million workers across
Canada, including 15,000 in Ottawa.

-30-



For further information: Andy Mele, CUPE National Rep., 613-237-0115; 
Réal Shank, CUPE 4266.06 spokesperson, 613-276-7958; Robert Lamoureux, CUPE 
Communications, 416-292-3999
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