• Arena ice-pads are closed (including ice pad pre-registered programs, drop-ins and permits)
• Parks and sports field maintenance and non-emergency repairs
• Routine forestry and horticulture activities (i.e. planting, pruning, non-hazard tree inspections)
• Snow windrow clearing (the pile of snow left at the bottom of a driveway after a snow plow has cleared the road)
• Trail maintenance 
• Merry Marketplace

• Recreation facility repairs
• Unscheduled cleanups (i.e. illegal dumping, graffiti removal)
• Waste collection from City parks
• Winter maintenance operations - salting, plowing and/or shoveling of City roads, sidewalks, facility parking lots and entrances to municipal buildings

• Fire and Emergency Services
• Access Richmond Hill, including receiving payments for City-related bills 
• By-law services
• City Clerks Office, including marriage and lottery licences 
• Development support services - servicing in-fill lots
• Emergency infrastructure repair (i.e. watermain breaks, sewer backups)
• Hazardous tree maintenance
• Recreation programs, community centres, pools and facility permits (not including arenas)
• Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts events and programs
• Streetlight repairs
• Waste collection
• Water and wastewater operations and testing

Generally speaking, a strike is a collective action by employees to stop or curtail work.

What is a lock-out

A lock-out occurs when an employer closes a workplace, suspends work or refuses to continue employing a number of employees during a labour dispute.

How do I cross a picket line?

You are legally entitled to cross the picket line and it is safe to do so. If you feel unsafe, we recommend that you speak to the security/picket monitors. However, if you act in a respectful and courteous manner while crossing the picket line then you should not encounter any problems. For additional resources, visit YRP Factsheet.

If I am approached by a picketer, what do I do?

We suggest that you treat all picketers with civility, courtesy, and respect as you would expect they would treat you.

What CUPE 905 says: The City is using replacement workers. 

Fact: To ensure continuity of City operations and services provided to residents, the City is utilizing current staff and external contractors. The City has a legal right to use replacement workers.

What CUPE 905 says: The City is using replacement workers who do not have knowledge of facilities and are not using protective equipment and do not know fire evacuation procedures.

Fact: All workers, including replacement workers, are well educated on, and expected to follow all Health and Safety protocols/policies. This includes fire evacuation protocols and personal protective equipment protocols.

Fact: The City of Richmond Hill’s offer to CUPE staff exceeds the wage increases negotiated in many comparable municipalities.  The City has offered CUPE staff over 9% increase in wages over the next three years. Specifically, the City has offered: 

• Wage increases of:
  • 3.25% in 2024;
  • 3% in 2025;
  • 3.25% in 2026
• Improvements to these benefits: chiropractic and massage; vision; orthodontics; major restorative dental coverage; psychological services
• Increased paid days off
• On top of a wage increase for all CUPE staff, the City has also offered hourly rate increases for multiple CUPE positions to better reflect market rates. 

Fact: Management has never received a 40% annual wage increase.  Management receives the same annual cost of living increase as CUPE staff which were:

• 2021 - 1.7%
• 2022 - 1.7%
• 2023 - 1.7%
• 2024 - 2%

What CUPE 905 says: The City is unable to recruit or retain any CUPE positions.

Fact: The City has data to demonstrate that recruitment and retention is not an issue for all CUPE positions. Where the City has recognized potential recruitment and retention issues, we have offered increases to those specific positions. These increases were proposed to CUPE during bargaining. 

What CUPE 905 says: During the strike, the City’s swimming pools are being maintained by employees without the required certifications and pools are not properly maintained.

Fact: All City pools are being well-maintained and we are strictly following the Health Protection and Promotion Act. The safety of our facilities is extremely important to us and we would not open facilities that were not safe for residents to use.