During a time when the Newfoundland and Labrador unemployment is nearly 8 percentage points higher than the national average, the Bay du Nord approval will ensure the province’s energy sector remains a source of hundreds of good paying, unionized jobs. Hundreds more jobs are sure to be created by indirect economic activity.
TORONTO- Unifor’s Ontario Regional Director and Human Rights Director wrote to Ontario Premier to demand the province immediately adopt the ONDP’s Bill-86, Our London Family Act.
“By refusing to support Bill 86 in the legislature last week, Ford revealed that his party and government does not consider the safety and well-being of Muslims in Ontario to be an imminent priority,” said Naureen Rizvi, Unifor Ontario Regional Director.
During the week of April 11-15, your bargaining committee worked through multiple items and prioritized making a clear presentation of the membership’s position on teleworking. In our region, approximately 550 members are deemed to be remote or mobile, while others have been directed to return to the office with no recourse based on a policy (Bell Workways) that is entirely employer-directed.
As a reminder, Bell owns its policies, which are only limited by language we negotiate into the collective agreement and/or applicable laws.
Premier Andrew Furey’s new budget is titled “Change is in the Air,” but it’s still unclear if his government is blowing towards implementing additional damaging PERT report recommendations or towards a fair and inclusive economic recovery for all.
Budget 2022 indicates the government is ready to make some significant transformations, but not yet ready to decide which direction that change will lead. I’m left with more questions than answers about which path they will choose or if they will opt to do the bare minimum on both – essentially sticking with the status quo.
MONCTON-Unifor members at Acadia Toyota in Moncton, N.B., ratified an agreement today with their employer, ending a five-day strike.
“We are pleased to see a deal reached that responded to the workers’ demands for increased pay and improvements to personal days,” said Linda MacNeil, Unifor Atlantic Regional Director. “There is power in withholding our labour and in standing together to fight for what’s right. Thank you to every Unifor member and retiree who visited the picket line or sent messages to offer their support and solidarity.”
Canada’s largest private sector union is relieved the provincial government is restoring the Ontario Northland passenger rail line, which has been out of service since 2012.
In Canada, this year Equal Pay Day is April 12, 2022. Equal Pay Day marks the day that the average woman must work in order to have earned what the average man did in 2021. It’s 2022 and unions and other progressive organizations are still fighting to close the pay gap in Canada. We pride ourselves on so many progressive labour conditions but when it comes to ensuring women are paid equally we still fall short.
As part of ongoing efforts to bargain better outcomes for patient care and hospital staff, health care unions launch television ads aimed at the OHA
TORONTO, ON – Three unions negotiating with the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) to resolve the ongoing hospital staffing crisis, job safety concerns and pandemic-related mental health supports, today launched a province-wide television advertising blitz to fix the mess and save hospital care in Ontario.
Recap: last year upon the completion of provincial bargaining, the public health restrictions in place meant we did a one-year roll over collective agreement that was ratified by the membership with a wage increase that expired on March 31, 2022.
BELLEVILLE—Wage increases and benefits enhancements were part of a new collective agreement ratified today by a vote of Unifor Local 1839 members working at Belleville Transit.
TORONTO–– Unifor members at Metro Distribution Centre warehouses have negotiated significant wage gains in a new collective agreement, ending a seven-day strike action.
“This collective agreement achieves the best maximum pay rate and fastest progression in the industry. There is no doubt that it will raise the bar for warehouse workers across Ontario,” said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Naureen Rizvi. “Unifor has negotiated an inflation beating increase of more than 8% on average in the first year in addition to pension and benefit wins.”
MONCTON—Three Unifor members from Local 4501 were struck by a vehicle while on a picket line in front of Acadia Toyota in Moncton, N.B.
“Our members have the right to picket for fair wages without experiencing violence,” says Linda MacNeil, Unifor Atlantic Regional Director. “Thankfully, the members only sustained bumps and bruises, but this could have ended in a tragic situation.”
This week Unifor Council 4000 and Unifor Local 100 continued bargaining with the employer. The employer continues to push concessions onto our members. This approach by the employer has forced the bargaining committees to reach an impasse with the employer.
Because of the impasse, the Union filed a Notice of Dispute requesting the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
On the second day of Unifor’s Prairie Regional Council, remarks from National Secretary Treasurer Lana Payne and Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley helped forge a strong fightback theme to the discussions.
OTTAWA – Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, says Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tightened the belt on workers in this year’s federal budget.
“Unifor is pleased there was some continued effort to improve the lives of workers in Canada by investing in programs that move the country towards a fair, inclusive and resilient economy,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer. “But the goalposts and investments fall far short of what we need after two turbulent years of a pandemic.”
TORONTO–Striking Metro Distribution Centre workers will vote Friday April 8, 2022 on a tentative agreement reached between Unifor Local 414 and the company.
The more than 900 full-time workers at four distribution centre locations in Toronto’s west end began strike action on April 2 after voting to turn down a prior agreement.
The warehouse distribution centre locations in Etobicoke supply Metro and Food Basics grocery stores across southern Ontario along the Kingston – Windsor corridor.
More than 100 health care workers rallied outside London, Ont.’s Meadow Park London Long Term Care on Wed., April 6, 2022, waving signs and cheering as supporters honked their horns as they drove by.
Organized by Unifor Local 302, this is the second rally involving workers at “the group of 11” long-term care homes – including Meadow Park – who turned to protest after their employers stalled bargaining since December 2021. The first protest took place at Trillium Village in Sarnia, Ont. on Dec. 15.
On the Day of Mourning, we remember the thousands of workers who have been killed or injured on the job, or contracted a workplace-related disease or illness.
As we carefully exit the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, with the virus becoming endemic, we remind all locals and their leadership to use this moment to review protocols, identify opportunities for training, and raise awareness among your members about the importance of workplace health and safety.
VICTORIA—Workers in B.C. will have fewer barriers to unionization, thanks to new legislation introduced by the Horgan government today.
“Precarious part-time and temporary work is on the rise. These are the workers that deserve more access to the power of a union,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. “This government was elected to help create good jobs and protect vulnerable British Columbians. Returning to single-step unionization does both.”
The Prairie Regional Council opened Wednesday in Winnipeg at the Fort Garry Hotel. It is Unifor’s first large scale in-person meeting since the pandemic started.
The meeting opened with drumming from the Spirit Sands Singers and stirring welcoming remarks from Indigenous activist and Elder Leslie Spillett who talked about the importance of class consciousness and solidarity.
WINNIPEG—Nearly 300 Unifor activists from across the Prairies will march to Union Station demanding the federal government reverse its plan to privatize the VIA Rail Windsor to Quebec City corridor.
Workers at Chatham Kent Health Alliance in southwestern Ontario have voted overwhelmingly to join Unifor.
“These workers join with thousands of health care workers who are already part of Unifor, and can now draw on that depth of experience and knowledge to negotiate better working conditions,” said Unifor Secretary-Treasurer Lana Payne. “Welcome to Unifor.”
Voting took place electronically from March 30 to April 1, 2022. A majority of the 519 eligible workers voted in favour of joining Unifor, leaving their previous union, CLAC.
LONDON – Health care workers at Meadow Park long-term care facility will hold a rally demanding the employer to get back to the bargaining table and start to respect, protect and pay health care workers.
Who: Lisa Tucker, Local 302 President
Andy Savela, Unifor Health Care Director
When: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Where: Meadow Park London Long Term Care, 1210 Southdale Rd E, London
More than 300 members of Unifor and QFL-affiliated unions answered the call by locked-out Unifor Local 177 members at the Ash Grove CRH cement plant to join them in a march at the Port of Trois-Rivières, Quebec on April 1.
On April 4 on the eve of the 2022 Prairie Regional Council in Winnipeg, Unifor activists from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba gathered at the Fort Garry Hotel for a summit hosted by Unifor’s Organizing Department.
We write to update you on the charge that former National President Jerry Dias breached the Unifor Constitution.
Acting on advice from legal counsel, Unifor has delivered to Toronto Police the money that was given to Unifor in connection with the complaint that Jerry Dias violated the Code of Ethics in the Unifor Constitution. It will now be for Toronto Police to decide whether to investigate any matter connected to that money, and Unifor has no role in that decision. Unifor is not making further public comment on this matter at this time.
OSHAWA—Unifor welcomes today’s announcement that federal and provincial investments for General Motors have been finalized and will help secure a third shift at the Oshawa plant and Canada’s first full assembly line retool to build electric commercial vehicles in Ingersoll.
“This is a proud moment for Unifor members at General Motors,” said Shane Wark Unifor Assistant to the National President. “Today’s funding announcement was years in the making and shows how much we can accomplish when autoworkers, automakers, and governments work together.”
By Lana Payne, Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer
When Unifor members ratified new collective agreements with Ford, Fiat-Chrysler and General Motors in the fall of 2020, ushering in a first wave of large-scale battery electric vehicle assembly mandates, we knew something big was about to happen.
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