Unifor Local 87-M looks for a new home

After 33 years in the same location on Queen St. E in Leslieville, our Local is searching for new digs outside the city core.

The main reason for the move is the expansion of the Local from a Toronto-based organization to one that spans across Ontario from Windsor to Ottawa and Belleville to Owen Sound. Traffic congestion in Toronto has made it much more difficult for representatives from the rest of Ontario to attend meetings at the Leslieville office.

Other reasons include selling at what’s thought to be the height of Toronto’s red-hot real-estate prices; finding more economical space at a time of declining membership, and finding a more accessible building for people who have challenges with stairs.

We have set up an accommodations committee to examine selling the current building and looking for a new location that will better serve our needs.

The Local had rented space in places like the King Edward Hotel and a townhouse on Jarvis. But, after moving four times through the 1970s and early ’80s, in 1984 the Local decided to put down permanent roots and bought the former Target Air Shop with an upstairs judo studio in Leslieville. At a cost of about $160,000, you might say we got for a SONG.

More details will be available at our Annual General Meeting this Wednesday, April 19 at noon, at our still-headquarters at 1253 Queen St. E.