Toronto – Workers at Habitat Services in Toronto have joined the United Steelworkers union (USW), building collective power on the job and strengthening workers’ voices in the non-profit social services sector.
The newly organized union includes approximately 30 workers who provide housing and support services to individuals living with mental health and addiction challenges across the city.
Workers organized around key issues including wage transparency, fairness and health and safety – particularly as many travel between locations and provide frontline support in community-based settings.
“This is what collective action looks like,” said Kevon Stewart, Director of the United Steelworkers District 6. “These workers came together to demand fairness, respect and healthier and safer working conditions. When workers organize, they build the power needed to improve their workplaces and their lives.”
The organizing win reflects a growing movement of workers across the social services sector who are standing up for better standards, recognizing that the work they do supporting some of the most vulnerable members of our communities must be matched with fair wages, safe working conditions and respect on the job.
“This is a first union for this group, and it sends a strong message,” said Darlene Jalbert, USW District 6 Organizing Co-ordinator. “Workers in this sector are organizing, speaking up and taking action to raise standards across the board.”
The workers will now begin preparing to negotiate their first collective agreement.
About the United Steelworkers union
The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.
Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of the union’s strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fairer compensation – including good wages, benefits and pensions.
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