All News

A new green auto strategy for Canada

The collective agreement ratified by Unifor members at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles this past weekend is a vital step in the rebuilding of the Canadian auto industry for the future.

The deal commits FCA to investing up to $1.5 billion in a new platform to build both Hybrid Vehicles and Battery Electric Vehicles in Windsor, with at least one new model by 2025.

It follows the pattern established by Ford members when they ratified a new collective agreement last month that also included a commitment to BEVs, and puts Canada well on the road to revitalizing the auto industry.

Dominion workers set up round the clock picket at Loblaw Co. distribution centre

October 20, 2020 ST. JOHN’S–Dominion workers have set up a round the clock picket at the Loblaw Co. Distribution Centre in St. John’s, following the company’s continued refusal to negotiate a fair collective agreement. “The Loblaw Co. business model is to tie wages for frontline grocery workers to minimum wage while refusing to classify jobs as full-time to avoid sick days, vacation and benefits, all with the end goal of enriching the Weston family and their shareholders while their workers struggle to make ends meet,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “If Loblaw Co.

Desperate B.C. Liberals lash out at working people province-wide

VANCOUVER—Trailing badly in the polls, the B.C. Liberals have begun attacking the very working people who are poised to re-elect John Horgan and the BCNDP government.

“John Horgan and his BCNDP government have delivered results for working families,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “After a decade of scandals and ideological funding cuts, it should be no surprise that the BCNDP is the choice of working people.”

Unifor statement on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

This year marks the 27th consecutive year that the United Nations has designated October 17 as a day to commit to ending global poverty.  But 2020 finds humanity confronting a global pandemic and a consequent economic crisis that will see global poverty increase for the first time in 30 years. The United Nations warns that all of the gains against extreme poverty since 1990 may be reversed and that 500 million additional people may be poor by the end of this year.

Container truck drivers endorse John Horgan and the BC NDP

SURREY—The largest union representing truck drivers at Port Metro Vancouver has endorsed the BCNDP’s re-election effort in the 2020 provincial election.

“The John Horgan government delivered on key priorities for this complex sector,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. “This isn’t a ‘one-and-done’ project. Vancouver’s ports are sophisticated portals of economic activity that require ongoing attention to ensure corrupt employers aren’t threatening the integrity of port transportation.”

Letter to the Premier RE: Long-Term Care Staffing Crisis

October 15, 2020 

Honourable Doug Ford, Office of the Premier                 sent via e-mail: @email

Legislative Building, Queen’s Park

Toronto, ON M7A 1A1

RE:  LONG-TERM CARE STAFFING CRISIS

Dear Premier Ford;

I am writing once again, in follow-up to my letter of September 4, 2020 regarding the long-term care staffing crisis and the pending tragedy as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

Financial Appeal - Dominion Stores, Local 597 (Newfoundland)

September 25, 2020

To: All Local President and Recording Secretaries
FINANCIAL APPEAL – DOMINION STORES, LOCAL 597 (NEWFOUNDLAND)

Greetings,

As you have seen, 1,400 courageous grocery store workers across the province of Newfoundland and Labrador have been on strike since August 22, 2020.

They have taken on one of Canada’s richest families, the Westons, who own the Loblaws chain of supermarkets across Canada. The corporation slashed pandemic pay for front-line workers who risked their own health and safety during the pandemic.

Striking Dominion workers demonstrate at Loblaw distribution centre

October 15, 2020 ST. JOHN’S–In the eighth week of escalating strike action, Dominion workers have begun picketing at the Loblaw Distribution Centre in St. John’s. “These frontline grocery workers have been on the picket line for almost two months. In that time Loblaw Co. has continued to rake in increased profits across the country due to COVID-19 but the company has refused to improve its failed offer to Dominion workers by one red cent,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.

Bargaining Update: Local 100 VIA Rail

Dear members,

Your Bargaining Committee has been at the virtual bargaining table with VIA Rail from Wednesday to Friday this week.

We are encouraged to be bargaining once more, after many sessions in the spring and fall were interrupted or delayed because of the pandemic and the second wave in Quebec.

Our bargaining is now taking place with committee members and national staff tuning in from their homes across the country. We are uniting, representing Local 100’s far-reaching geography and our shared goals.

Unifor reaches tentative agreement with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Unifor’s Master Bargaining Committee has reached a tentative agreement for 9000 members working at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, averting a midnight strike at its Canadian plants in Windsor, Brampton, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Montreal, and Red Deer.

Unifor Statement on Persons Day 2020

Each October 18, Canada celebrates Persons Day. This day marks the day that some women were declared persons under the constitution gained the right to stand for or be appointed to public office including the Senate of Canada.

Unifor helps feed those who feed us

Unifor activists helped feed those who feed us over the long weekend, providing culturally appropriate Thanksgiving meals for migrant workers in South

Bargaining Update #8

Unifor members,

Bargaining took place throughout this past Thanksgiving Day weekend. Master and Local Committees stayed in the hotel and worked diligently toward resolving many of the outstanding issues at the table. The Committees remain determined to reach a strong settlement that secures the FCA manufacturing footprint and meets the economic pattern established by Ford.

In the last Bargaining Update, the union reported slow but steady progress toward a tentative settlement. Unfortunately, with less than 48 hours before the strike deadline, little has changed.

Restarting the Economy: What media workers need to know

The media sector faced a number of significant challenges before the COVID-19 crisis struck, including the loss of advertising revenue to digital giants like Facebook and Google, cutbacks and closures of local and regional news outlets, the rise of “fake news” and resultant erosion of quality journalism, and massive loss of employment.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL DOCUMENT HERE


 

Bargaining Update #7

Unifor members,

The union is now less than five days from the bargaining deadline with FCA. Talks continue to progress, although at a slower pace than the Master and Local Bargaining Committees had hoped. Company officials continue to review the details of the Ford pattern settlement along with various other FCA-specific proposals tabled by the Union, on behalf of the members. The union, in turn, continues to review numerous proposals submitted by the Company – all with the view that Unifor will not deviate from the pattern.

Investment in FCA facilities

Rapid COVID-19 test approval welcomed by aviation workers

TORONTO—Health Canada’s approval of the use of rapid testing kits presents an opportunity to accelerate economic recovery and a safe return to travel, says Unifor. 

“By investing in scientifically-proven technology to detect and track COVID-19, Canada can achieve an economic recovery that also keeps people safe,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Rapid testing is a safe alternative to the 14-day quarantine that has decimated air travel during the pandemic.”