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Three months after it was founded on Labour Day weekend, Unifor is already changing the debate in Canada, National President Jerry Dias told the Unifor Ontario Regional Council today.
“We are going to change things. We are going to build the kind of Canada that our members want,” Dias said. “Unifor wasn’t born to maintain the status quo.”
Speaking on National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, Dias said Unifor was founded with a commitment to work on behalf of all working people, unionized or not, and to take on the critical issues facing our communities such as youth violence and violence against women.
“Ending violence against women is our responsibility,” Dias said. “Sisters, that is our commitment to you.”
Dias said Unifor is working with communities in crisis and with young people, the unemployed and those with precarious jobs to make Canada a better place to live.
“We are going to build all these movements,” Dias said, adding that Unifor’s unique community chapters program is a big part of those efforts.
Dias said he has seen more and more Canadians turning to the labour movement to help them improve their lives, and Unifor will be there for them. Young people, in particular are realizing that they cannot build their lives on unpaid internships and precarious work, and are looking to Unifor to help them.
“Young people are paying attention because they’ve been betrayed, and their parents know that they are being betrayed,” Dias said. “Young people today are not moving on with their lives, they are moving back home.”
Unifor has been in the spotlight the last three months, speaking out on issues such as minimum wages, pensions, rail safety, free trade with Europe, attacks on labour rights and many other issues, Dias said.
“Canadians are looking at Unifor and we need to make sure that we live up to our commitment to make Canada a better place,” he said.
