[OPIRG-EVENTS] Santa announces "Solidarity Saturday" - 2nd Mass Support Picket for Locked-Out Carlingwood Mall Workers - Saturday November 16th, 1pm

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

REAL SANTA CLAUSE ANNOUNCES THAT HE'S HEADING TO BAYSHORE - NOT CARLINGWOOD MALL - THIS SATURDAY!

WHY?  BECAUSE IT'S 'SOLIDARITY SATURDAY' AND CARLINGWOOD CALLOUSLY FIRED ALL THEIR CLEANERS!

CUPE Local 4266 would like to extend sincere thanks to all of you who were able to 
participate in the support picket at Carlingwood Mall last Thursday.  The event attracted 
some 300 local supporters, including CUPE National President Judy Darcy, the entire 
National Executive of CUPE, CLC President Ken Georgetti, PSAC Vice-President John Baglow, 
and literally hundreds of others.

For those of you unable to be there, after gathering our crowd and hearing from the leadership
and Local, we plunged into the mall en masse, bringing our message of support for the 
fired cleaners.  Holding flags from CUPE, PSAC, CUPW, CAW, the IWW, OPEIU, and others, the
crowd sang loud and clear that a line was being drawn in the sand, and the Mall was not
going to get away with such vicious and coldhearted treatment of workers.  After greeting
the shoppers on hand, Judy Darcy led the crowd straight into the administration offices,
where - after a patient wait - a brief meeting was held with the Mall Manager, Denis
Pelletier (725-1551).  Unfortunately, he made no commitments whatsoever.

Nonetheless, the 12-member CUPE Local received an enormous boost from this incredible
display of public support, and local labour movement strength.  They now believe that with
momentum on our side, this struggle can be won - we will have these workers reinstated, and
it will be a collective victory for all workers in this region.

Local 4266.06 is now inviting us all to a second, even larger mass support picket to gather at the main entrance to the Mall this Saturday, November 16th, at 1pm.  We are confident that as word spreads of the gravity of this situation, we will have even more than the 300 that were gathered last Thursday. 

Please dress warmly and colourfully - dress as elves, or reindeer, or your own creation, but don't worry about Santa - the Local is providing their own for the Mall, and he won't be 
crossing any picket lines!

Saturday, November 16th, 1pm, Main Mall Entrance...bring friends, bring relatives, bring colleagues...


For more information on this event, please contact CUPE National Representative Andy Mele
at 237-0115, or Communications Representative Robert Lamoureux at (416) 292-3999;

FYI - the pickets will be up and active on Thursday and Friday, 12pm - 4pm, and all day Saturday,
for those of you unable to come for 1pm Saturday.
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