Fight for $15 and Fairness, a group that advocates for workers’ rights, held a protest outside Sidney Smith Hall at noon on January 19 in response to a decision made by some Tim Hortons franchises to cut benefits from workers. The decisions to cut some benefits and breaks follows the $2.40 provincial minimum wage increase on January 1 to $14 per hour.
None of the four Tim Hortons locations on the U of T campus have made cuts.
The protestors consisted of students, Fight for $15 and Fairness representatives, and people from COPE, an Ontario labour union. The hour-long protest consisted of chants and speeches from U of T students and alumni, and comes at the same time as protests at Tim Hortons’ across Ontario.
The event alternated between speeches and chants, such as “hold the sugar, hold the cream, Tim Hortons don’t be mean,” and “Tim Hortons, you’re no good, treat your workers like you should.”
U of T student Julia DaSilva, one of the speakers at the protest, argued that the “same logic of austerity” that Tim Hortons has been using is creating a “precarious and dangerous world” for workers in the future.
DaSilva is an organizer with the U of T Fight for 15 and Fairness chapter and has spoken at other Tim Hortons protests since the cuts were made.
The Varsity has reached out to Tim Hortons for comment.
