Bargaining update October 22, 2025

Hi 2977 members!
On Wednesday your local Bargaining Committee and National Rep met for the first time in order to prepare for our upcoming round of negotiations.
It was a productive day. We reviewed our successes of last round and discussed some goals for this round.
We also began creating our bargaining survey – more information will be coming out soon about the survey so stay tuned!
If you have any questions or want to know more, feel free to connect with any of the Bargaining Committee members.
In Solidarity,
Heather Francey, Chantel Klunder, Christina Cramp, Brittany Nisbett, and Kaitlynn Bennett

DSW Week 2025

We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt appreciation to all our incredible CUPE Local 2977 members. Your dedication, compassion, and unwavering support make a lasting impact every single day. To show our gratitude, we be handed out a special appreciation bag to each of our members. We were also out at the driveway of each group home holding signs to celebrate and recognize the amazing work our members do because they deserve to be seen, celebrated, and thanked! Wishing everyone a joyful and well deserved DSW Week. Thank you for everything you do you truly make a difference!

 

Here are some pictures from last week!


We have a 2026 Bargaining Committee!

At last nights special meeting we elected our 2026 Bargaining Committee.
Your committee members are:
Kaitlynn Bennett
Christina Cramp
Chantel Klunder
Brittany Nisbett
Our President, Heather Francey, is also on the committee but as she is President she automatically has a seat and did not have to be elected.
We want to thank everyone who ran for a position on the committee and put their name foreword, it is not easy. We appreciate your dedication to our local and the members.
We also want to thank all those members who attended the meeting and worked though the Simply Voting system with us. Your participation, patience and attendance was deeply appreciated.
In a few months time we will be sending out a survey to all members to find out the priorities of the membership, as we have done in previous rounds. This is YOUR Collective Agreement so your opinion is very important to the Bargaining Committee.
We will also soon be looking for Strike Committee members, if this is something you might be interested in learning more about please reach out to any Bargaining Committee members or any of the Executive.
Our next General Membership meeting will be September 15th at 5pm.

Aug 23, 2024 – Ratification Vote Results are in!

Good morning 2977 members!
We would like to express our gratitude once more for your ongoing support during the bargaining process.
We are excited to share that yesterday’s vote was a success with the majority in favour to accept the new collective agreement!
Keep an eye out for further updates!
In Solidarity,
Your CUPE 2977 Bargaining Committee

Aug 20, 2024 Response to social media posts made my CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn

In response to last weeks social media posts made by CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn the Executive of CUPE Local 2977 would like to acknowledge how harmful, hurtful and divisive it was.
President Hahns stance on the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine does not reflect the opinions of our local nor the spirit of our union.
CUPE Local 2977 believes in respect, safety and justice for all. We also fully support the right to free speech, but believe it can be delivered in a way that’s respectful and humane to all.

Bargaining Update with a Tentative Deal! – July 31, 2024

Dear Local 2977 members,

We are pleased to announce that we have reached a tentative deal with the employer. Ratification meeting dates to be announced, stay tuned!

Thank you for your incredible support, especially with the high strike vote.  Your backing enabled us to achieve significant gains. Together, we are strong.

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE 2977 Bargaining Committee

Heather Francey
Christina Cramp
Chantel Klunder
Kaitlynn Bennett
Brittany Nisbett

 

Strike Vote – July 25, 2024

Dear Local 2977 Membership,

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to the strike vote. We greatly appreciate the overwhelming support we received. We are pleased to announce the results of the vote: 97% voted in favour of a strike!

With your continued support, we will fight together to make a better workplace.

Your CUPE 2977 Bargaining Committee.

July 25, 2024 Strike Vote times and place

Your Local 2977 Bargaining and Strike Committee would like to remind you that the Strike Vote is scheduled for July 25th, 2024. We will be holding multiple meetings throughout the day, including an open house session. It will be held at the CUPE office on 110A Hannover Dr #101, St. Catharines, ON L2W 1A3

Meeting times will be:

8 am

11 am

2 pm

5 pm

8 pm

We will also be doing open house sessions throughout the day.

The ballet box closes at 9 pm.

Meals and childcare will be provided.

 

Your participation is crucial. Casting your ballot is the key to demonstrating our unity and strength at the bargaining table. Your support is vital for our success.

Together, we are stronger. Together we can achieve more!

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining and Strike Committee

Next Bargaining Date and Strike Mandate Vote

Attention 2977 members,
Thank you for your patience while we waited for a conciliator to be appointed to us. Last week we received confirmation of who the conciliator will be and a date was arranged with them. We will meet with the conciliator and our employer on July 31st to attempt to negotiate a collective agreement that meets our demands.
Now we need your help! Prior to our conciliation date we will be taking a strike vote, this is an important step in the conciliation process. A strong strike vote shows the employer we are united and we will not back down. We know our worth.
Please save the date of July 25th, as we will be holding in person meetings and the strike vote. Times and place to be announced.
In the mean time should you have any questions about the strike process please visit our Bargaining FAQ here: https://2977.cupe.ca/resources-2/resources/bargaining-faq/
Or reach out to any Bargaining committee members, Strike committee, Executive or Stewards.

DSW Week 2024 – June 17-21

CUPE 2977 Executives, Stewards, and Committees got together to celebrate DSW week.  Each day we held signs at each site to show our members appreciation of all the hard work they do for the people they support.  We also had multiple people who were driving by honk and wave while we were out holding signs.

          

 

A thank you bag was handed out to each member.  It also had an information card with the contact info and pictures for all of the 2977 Executive, Stewards, Strike Committee, Bargaining Committee and Health and Safety reps.  It also had a special treat from Boxed Cookies Co. We love supporting small and women owned businesses so we encourage you all to check them out at https://boxedcookiesandco.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boxedcookiesandco/. The cookie flavour you all received is funfetti dunkaroo, and trust us it’s DELICIOUS.

   
Being a DSW can be incredibly challenging, but is also so incredibly rewarding too. It takes big hearts and compassion to do what we do – so THANK YOU – to each and every one of you for all your hard work and making the lives of the people we support better.
We hope you’ve had a wonderful DSW week.