Toronto community, seniors housing workers vote to strike, citing understaffing, workplace violence

Maya Fernandez · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 07, 2025 3:54 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Hundreds of frontline workers astatine Toronto’s assemblage and elder lodging corporations person voted overwhelmingly to strike, citing understaffing issues and unit successful the workplace.

The national representing the workers, CUPE Local 79, announced Friday that it has besides filed for a “no-board” study from the Ontario Minister of Labour. The study would trigger a 17-day countdown to a onslaught oregon section deadline. 

“When unit and understaffing go the norm, everyone pays the terms — workers, tenants, and seniors alike,” said national president Nas Yadollahi successful the release.

Over the past week, 98 per cent of Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) workers and 94 per cent of Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation (TSHC) workers voted successful favour of a strike. 

Workers person “repeatedly reported” unsafe moving conditions specified arsenic offices without reinforced windows oregon functioning information cameras, faulty panic buttons, inadequate exigency response, coupled with increasing incidents of assaults, threats and harassment and precocious workloads, the national merchandise says. 

'Too often, I consciousness unsafe portion doing my job,' said Jennifer Mitchell, aboriginal solution serviceman astatine the Office of the Commissioner of Housing Equity astatine Friday's quality conference. (CBC News)

The corporate bargaining statement betwixt the TCHC and CUPE Local 79 ended connected December 31, 2024, national spokesperson Tor Sandberg told CBC Toronto. 

According to Sandberg, TSHC was created June 1, 2022, taking implicit the managing of 83 seniors-designated buildings that were antecedently operated by TCHC. Therefore, this is the archetypal corporate statement being negotiated betwixt the national and TSHC.

TCHC serves 1 successful 50 Torontonians, managing much than 58,000 units successful 2,100 buildings with astir 105,000 tenants and TSHC manages 83 seniors-designated buildings location to implicit 15,000 older adults crossed the city.

Both TSHC and TCHC stay focused connected reaching a woody with workers, spokespeople told CBC Toronto connected Friday.  

TCHC spokesperson Kimberly Moser said negotiations started “early September" and TCHC plans to stay astatine the bargaining array “for nevertheless agelong it takes." Corporation leaders person been gathering with unit “to recognize the day-to-day challenges that galore unit are dealing with erstwhile supporting tenants," she added.

“The health, information and well-being of CUPE Local 79 members – and each TCHC unit – remains our highest priority,” Moser’s email said. 

Meanwhile, TSHC spokesperson Rebecca Ihilchik said successful an email that “TSHC is listening and taking action.”

“We’re assured that arsenic we proceed to collaborate with our national partners, a just and respectful woody volition beryllium achieved,” Ihilchik said.

'Too often, I felt unsafe'

Jennifer Mitchell, an aboriginal solution serviceman who works with tenants astatine hazard of eviction, voted for the onslaught mandate. Mitchell said she often works alone, entering units and travelling disconnected spot with tenants alone. 

“Too often, I felt unsafe portion doing my job, a occupation that exists to support radical housed and forestall evictions,” she said astatine a quality league Friday.

Mitchell described an incidental successful July wherever a workfellow was allegedly attacked by a tenant astatine hazard of eviction and struck crossed the look with a metallic rod. Mitchell said the workfellow tried to combat backmost earlier the tentant attempted to tally her implicit with a car.

The idiosyncratic is presently connected permission to retrieve from the attack, Mitchell said. But she said TCHC has attempted to trim wellness benefits for workers, including physiotherapy, thing her workfellow needs to heal and get backmost to work. 

Abubakarr Kamara, a tenant services coordinator for TCHC for 17 years, said unit successful the workplace is simply a existent contented that requires action, not “thoughts and prayers.”

“A mates of months ago, a large stone was thrown astatine my bureau window, smashing the solid model pane,” helium said astatine the quality conference.

“Thankfully, I was not astatine my table astatine the time,” Kamara said. “It could person been worse, and I judge I was lucky.”

Kamara said TCHS wanted to portion its workers of wellness attraction astatine a clip erstwhile wages of workers successful the nationalist work person not kept up with inflation.

Ensuring the wellness of CUPE Local 79 workers and each unit is TCHC's “highest priority” and “that includes broad healthcare benefits,” Moser said successful an email Friday. 

Also, successful effect to allegations that TCHC refused to bargain fairly, Moser said she could not remark connected what is said during negotiations.

“While we understandably won't remark connected idiosyncratic worker situations oregon what's being discussed astatine the bargaining table, TCHC remains focused connected collaboratively getting a just and equitable woody for everyone involved,” the email said.