CUPE Local 79

05/27/2026

Local 79’s delegates are on the floor at CUPE Ontario Convention this week. At our April membership meeting, candidates running for the top Executive positions came to speak directly to members and then voted on who to endorse. Those votes are what our delegates are carrying into the convention today.

Our membership endorsed Yolanda McClean for President, Krista Laing for Secretary-Treasurer, Michael Hurley for 1st Vice-President, Juanita Forde for 3rd Vice-President, and Marty Larocque for 4th Vice-President.

This is how it should work: the members decide, and the delegates follow those wishes. Letting the membership hear directly from candidates and then binding delegates to the result is a straightforward way to make our local more democratic.

05/22/2026

05/18/2026

Toronto is one of the richest cities in the world. But the numbers tell a different story for the people who actually live and work here.

Food bank visits have quadrupled since 2019. Two in five Torontonians say their income isn’t enough to get by. Families wait 14 years for affordable housing. And the workers holding this city together every single day have rarely had a seat at the table where decisions get made.
That’s about to change.

On May 22nd and 23rd, workers from across CUPE Local 79 and beyond are coming together at the Toronto Workers Summit — alongside City Councillors, municipal candidates, and community leaders — to define a bold vision for the city.

05/14/2026

05/01/2026

May Day celebrates workers who refused to accept that their labour meant nothing — and that fight is as alive in Toronto as it’s ever been. This May Day, we celebrate what solidarity looks like when it’s real: CUPE Local 79 members showing up for their neighbours, their communities, and each other — in shelters, clinics, long-term care, and on the street when it counts.

Happy International Workers’ Day to every member, ally, and community partner who’s been in the room, on the street, and in the fight with us!

04/28/2026

Today, members of CUPE Local 79 joined the Toronto and York Region Labour Council at Larry Sefton Park to mark the National Day of Mourning — honouring workers killed, injured, or made ill on the job.

TYRLC President Andria Babbington took a moment to acknowledge our fellow member from Recreation who died at work. Her words carried our message that no worker should ever be working alone.

We carry the memory of our fellow member with us.