Barrie, ON – It’s not often a political activist gets to witness the fruits of their labour achieving
their intended goal but Dan Janssen not only saw it, he also had the opportunity to speak about it.
When the Barrie and District Labour Council was invited to an event where Ontario’s Labour
Minister Kevin Flynn would be making announcements regarding how Ontario Bill 148 – The
Fair Workplaces/Better Jobs Act 2017 – would improve the lives of working families in Barrie,
the council asked Dan Janssen to speak about the $15 and Fairness Campaign. The
government passed the Bill into law on November 22nd but not without a concerted push
from the $15 and Fairness campaign.
Among other things, the new law will raise the minimum wage in Ontario to $14.00 an hour
January 1, 2018 and $15.00 an hour on January 1, 2019.
Janssen, Vice President of IAM Local Lodge 2323 employed at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, has
worked hard as a community organizer with the $15 and Fairness campaign for almost three
years. “It gave me a tremendous amount of satisfaction knowing our hard work has paid off
and that political action can produce results if you push hard enough,” he explained. “The
most important part of this campaign was that it brought together various communities,
student groups, and thousands of workers to bring fairness and decent work to Ontario. These
changes to Ontario’s labour laws and the increase in the minimum wage represents a historic
step forward for workers in the province and right here in Barrie.”
“I’m really proud to have been part of this amazing team that built up a movement centered
around decent work and fairness in the workplace,” he told the audience. ‘While we recognize
this historic victory our work is far from over. Our movement will have to continue to push to
close exemptions and loopholes in the Employment Standards Act to ensure that all workers
are fully protected by these minimum standards.” We would expect nothing less from a
‘Fighting Machinist’.
