Wednesday, January 17, 2018
As many of you are aware, Ontario raised its minimum wage to $14 on January 1, 2018. Raising the minimum wage is good for workers. It’s good for business. And it’s good for the economy. The majority of Ontarians agree that it’s the right thing to do.
Yet, since the wage changes came into effect, some employers have responded by punishing workers and shortchanging minimum wage earners by other means.
According to several media reports, including a recent PressProgress article, a number of business owners “have clawed back [workers’] benefits, cancelled paid breaks and even poached tips from their workers.”
None have caught the public’s attention and ire quite like the harsh and sometimes petty cuts made by some franchise owners of the beloved Tim Hortons coffee chain.
Tim Hortons’ parent company Restaurant Brands International insists that these franchisees were a “rogue group” but as labour researcher Christo Aivalis points out, “if Tim Hortons can tell franchisees what napkins to use … they could tell them paid breaks are a company policy.”
Of course, we agree with PressProgress and our allies in the labour movement: the best response to organized greed is organized labour, and believe local Tim Hortons’ workers—some of the most vulnerable in the province—would be best served by following leads in communities across the country by unionizing.
Unfortunately, the laws are stacked against them.
When the current government introduced sweeping labour law changes last year, they failed to close the loopholes that make it difficult for workers at franchised service sector employers to unionize. While AMAPCEO and our allies in the labour movement successfully advocated for many changes to bring fairness for Ontario’s workers, this was one area where the government refused to budge.
That’s why AMAPCEO is joining the call to demand the reinstatement of hours, employee benefits, and fair working conditions for Tim Hortons workers. We want to tell Restaurant Brands International to tell every franchise owner to rollback any decisions negatively affecting workers.
Want to show your support for Tim Hortons workers? Join the Toronto & York Region Labour Council at a Tim Hortons location below on Friday, January 19 and tell Restaurant Brands International that workers deserve fairness:
Toronto
Midland & Steeles (4228 Midland Avenue): 8 am
Kingston & Midland (2294 Kingston Road): 8 am
Rexdale & Highway 27 (116 Queens Plate Drive): 8 am
University & Edward (481 University Avenue): 8 am
College & Spadina (455 Spadina Avenue): 8 am
Danforth & Main (2575 Danforth Avenue): 8 am
Yonge & Eglinton (2245 Yonge Street): 4 pm
Markham
Leslie & Highway 7 (9005 Leslie Street): 8 am
Newmarket
Yonge & Millard (17310 Yonge Street): 8 am
Vaughan
Langstaff & Weston (3650 Langstaff Road): 8 am
The Ontario Federation of Labour has a list of other demonstrations across the province.
You can also call Restaurant Brands International at 905-845-6511.
Photo: A recent demonstration outside a Tim Hortons at Bloor St W & Dufferin in Toronto. Photo courtesy Spencer Higdon-McGreal.