In a truly shocking, short-sighted move Unifor President Jerry Dias and Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) President Warren (Smokey) Thomas joined premier Doug Ford at a Tuesday morning press conference. Ford was reinstating the raise of the minimum wage to $15 an hour that was cancelled by his government after it was elected in 2018.
Both union leaders came to praise Ford and did so while willingly standing in front of a podium that had the slogan "Working for Workers" on it.
Dias called it "an incredibly important day" and also “Do I think $15 is wonderful? No. But do I think it’s a good start? Yes.”
Meanwhile Thomas might as well have endorsed Ford for re-election as you can in this video.
Thomas, incredibly, says “for the first time in dealing with three governments, we actually have a government that actually is listening and doing some positive things.” This of the same government that cancelled the minimum wage hike in the first place, as well as the two paid sick days introduced by the previous Liberal government, among other attacks on workers.
Unifor tweeted about it:
These union leaders have now given Ford very good press on his path to re-election:
