When Your Network Is A Network

I've been the Ontario Living Wage Network's (OLWN) development and communications coordinator for the past three years and it's become really clear in that time that the moniker of "Network" completly applies to us.

Together, we have:

• 22 living wage calculations, 16 of which were updated last November;
• Local organizers and advocates from Thunder Bay to Niagara to Chatham-Kent;
• A-List allies and partner organizations, such as Mennonite Central Committee Ontario, the Atkinson Foundation, Niagara Poverty Reduction Network, the Ontario Nonprofit Network, and Perth Huron United Way—to name a few. We value you all;
• Knowledge-sharing with other living wage movements from England, Scotland, and New Zealand.

We want to continue to certify living wage employers at an ever-increasing rate. We are planing to introduce an improved employer directory, searchable by location, sector, and name. We want to expand the ways in which we currently support and promote our certified employers. We want to offer a path towards complete living wage rate coverage of the province. These are some of our most-requested offerings to the living wage movement.

We are at a crucial period of growth but we remain focused on our primary mission: raise the pay of as many of Ontario's lowest paid workers as we possibly can.

It's been an honour, and I look forward to the years of growth to come.

Craig Pickthorne

Develpment & Communications Coordinator

Ontario Living Wage Network

P.S.

We've noticed a lot of newsletter signups last month via the link we provided. If you haven't done so already, please forward this to anyone you think might like to hear about the living wage in Ontario, where they can click to subscribe:

In this update: SELECTED MEDIA COVERAGE | FEATURED EMPLOYER | NON-PROFIT EMPLOYER RESOURCES

SELECTED MEDIA COVERAGE

• CTV News Kitchener gave some coverage to certified living wage employer Park Grocery Deli and Bar. Green Party of Ontario leader and MPP for Guelph was also there and tweeted out the event, which is great because he has over 53 thousand followers. Read the full story here.

• Looks like we have some outreach to do, as this story on SBNation mentions the state of compensation for professional women's hockey players in Canada. The Canadian Women's Hockey League ceased operations as of May 1st, announced via an open letter to the media and public–the case was made to pay a living wage to players in any future iteration of a women's league. There is also an excellent interview video on sportsnet about the situation here.

FEATURED EMPLOYER

Each month we'll showcase a newly certified living wage employer. This month it is Toronto's Second Harvest Food Rescue.

"At Second Harvest, we are committed to rescuing fresh, unsold food to reduce the environmental impact of wasted food and to make access to food equitable, sustainable, and free from stigma. Our commitment to being a Living Wage Employer is a natural offshoot of our commitment to equity and sustainability—and we’re proud to be in such good company."

NON-PROFIT EMPLOYER RESOURCES

Our fellow Atkinson Decent Work Grant recipients at the Ontario Non-profit Network (ONN) ask: how can non-profit organizations be creators of decent work? As many living wage-certified nonprofits know, paying a living wage is part of the answer. The ONN has created a useful toolkit with other practical steps tht non-profits can implement to help expand the prospect of decent work.

https://theonn.ca/our-work/our-people/decent-work/checklist/