The General Assembly of the United Nations first observed this day on Dec. 14, 1990, to draw attention to the important contribution of seniors and to changing demographics of the world, including the greying of the population, or the "age of aging."
The impact of big tech, shrinking revenues and increased job cuts in the media sector, race and reporting, and harassment of journalists were among the headline discussions at this year’s Unifor Media Council, held Sept. 22 to 24 in Halifax.
Unifor National President Lana Payne spoke to the 100 delegates via Zoom and acknowledged media workers have had their share of hardships over the past years, including 2023.
Hundreds of health care workers wore red shirts and took their lunch break on Monday, Sept. 25 to speak out against unjust treatment of the administrative professionals bargaining unit in Nova Scotia’s acute health care system.
The unit, comprising more than 5,000 professionals working for Nova Scotia Health and the IWK Health Authorities, has been without a contract for nearly three years and has only been offered marginal wage increases that amount to a pay cut.
Unifor Local 191 member Tracy Schmidt is running for the Manitoba NDP in the battleground provincial riding of Rossmere in northeast Winnipeg.
Schmidt started her labour career with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. After going back to school to become a labour and employment lawyer, she became a staff lawyer for another union in Winnipeg.
Historically, Rossmere has voted for the party that has gone on to form government, so close races like this one are targets for Unifor’s provincial election effort, especially with a member running for office.
September 30 is a national statutory holiday to recognize the widespread abuse at residential schools, honour survivors, and work for reconciliation. The event has been known as Orange Shirt Day since 2013, named after the clothing taken from Phyllis (Jack) Webstad when she was six years old on her first day at residential school.
Unifor members at Local 112 working at Angus Facilities Management Ltd. in Toronto have ratified a new three-year agreement with their employer.
“I am very proud of the bargaining committee, along with the support of the members who stood strong,” said Local 112 President John Turner. “They are gaining the richest contract that Angus has ever seen — a three-year deal with a 15.5% raise.”
Wage increases of the new contract are about 7% in the first year, 5% in the second year, and 3% in the last year.
TORONTO —Unifor has tapped General Motors (GM) as the next target company in the union’s negotiations with Detroit Three automakers. The announcement was made by Unifor National President Lana Payne in a video message to members.
“We’ve got an incredibly strong pattern agreement at Ford that will serve us well over the coming years. Our job now is to negotiate that pattern in the form of a renewal collective agreement with General Motors and Stellantis,” said Payne. “General Motors will be our next target company. Starting tomorrow Unifor will be at the table with GM.”
World News Day (September 28) is a global campaign to amplify the power and impact of fact-based journalism. But one day is not enough.
We have seen digital media giants moving into the Canadian media landscape, siphoning off much needed advertising revenue, upending the traditional funding models that supported newspaper publishing and broadcast TV.
TORONTO—Unifor members voted to ratify a new three-year collective agreement with Ford of Canada.
“Our bargaining team showed exceptional leadership and successfully pushed Ford of Canada on every front,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “This contract will change lives in a profound way. It fundamentally transforms pension plans, provides protections during the EV transition and includes the highest wage increases in the history of Canadian auto bargaining.”
Around the world road transport workers face severe work pressures due to low-cost tendering practices, unreasonable scheduling, and low rates of pay. These pressures originate in a business model based on an over-reliance on sub-contracting and a level of competition that is destroying jobs and lives.
TORONTO – Unifor is calling on the federal government and industry stakeholders to support changes to improve conditions for road transport drivers and make roads safer for all drivers.
“Low pay and unsafe conditions force drivers to take enormous risks in order to make ends meet. While this might make sense for the narrow interests of corporate shareholders, it is a disaster for everyone else,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
VANCOUVER – Unifor members at Local 114 have overwhelmingly voted in favour of job action after failing to reach a deal with their employer, Pacific Western Transportation (PWT), a contractor of BC Transit.
A delegation of activists from Unifor and several other labour organizations were on Parliament Hill September 19 to once again demand federal anti-scab legislation. Workers are demanding that the federal government keep its promises on long-awaited anti-scab legislation during this session of Parliament.
Union leaders and several Members of Parliament were on hand to address activists, including Louise Chabot of the Parti Québécois, Alexandre Boulerice and Jagmeet Singh of the NDP.
A tree, from its solid roots to its branches and leaves, became the symbol of the Black, Indigenous and Workers of Colour (BIWOC) Conference that ran Sept. 15 to 17 in Port Elgin, Ont., symbolizing the theme “growing together,” a decade of Unifor’s victories through the lens of BIWOC communities, and continuing to build on these victories moving forward.
For the first time in nearly three decades, Unifor hosted joint strategy meetings at its national offices in Toronto and Montreal, on Sept. 12 and 14, bringing together members from Ontario and Quebec Bell Canada Craft, Bell Technical Services and Expertech.
The members discussed new ways of pooling expertise and resources to build impactful bargaining approaches with the aim to better serve Unifor’s collective membership.
Unifor is launching a new Equity Fund to encourage and support local unions who wish to step up their work on equity issues.
The new program was announced at the Black, Indigenous and Workers of Colour Conference in Port Elgin, Ont. on Sunday, and will allocate $250,000 in its founding year to support projects in 2024.
KITCHENER - Unifor Local 1106, representing the dedicated and compassionate workforce at Sunbeam Community & Developmental Services, demand the employer return to the table and offer workers fair and equitable wages for its members.
“Sunbeam Community & Developmental Services is suppressing wage adjustments related to Bill 124 and neglecting to maintain and review pay equity requirements,” said Samia Hashi, Unifor Ontario Regional Director. “In the face of this unacceptable behaviour, we are calling for justice for our members.”
TORONTO—Unifor has reached a tentative agreement with Ford Motor Company, covering more than 5,600 members at Canadian Ford facilities.
“We believe that this tentative agreement, endorsed by the entire master bargaining committee, addresses all of the items raised by members in preparation for this round of collective bargaining,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “We believe that this agreement will solidify the foundations on which we will continue to bargain gains for generations of autoworkers in Canada.”
Healthcare workers of Unifor Local 2458 have successfully concluded their contract negotiations with Chatham Kent Hospital, resulting in several improvements for members spread across Chatham and Wallaceburg, Ontario.
SAULT STE. MARIE– Unifor, the union representing the dedicated workers at ARCH Hospice will conduct an information picket outside the facility on September 18 to draw attention to the issues workers are facing in this round of contract negotiations.
Canada’s largest private sector union calls for higher wages to address stark affordability challenges impacting families and joins the federal government’s call to stabilize food prices.
On the international day of action to support the search of the Brady Road Landfill, Unifor renews its call to honour the wishes of the families for a comprehensive search.
OTTAWA—The next Parliament can make important and lasting changes for workers by banning replacement workers (“scabs”) and fixing Employment Insurance, says Unifor.
“The studies and consultations have been done. Workers shouldn’t have to wait any longer for workplace and EI changes that will improve working conditions and a withering safety net,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President.
TORONTO- Metroland Media, owned and controlled by Jordan Bitove’s Nordstar, is betraying workers and leaving an information vacuum in many communities by ending the print publication of 70 of weekly community newspapers and shuttering its flyer delivery business.
Brother Fain and members of the United Auto Workers (UAW),
As Canada’s largest private sector union, representing 315,000 members across Canada, we write to express our solidarity with the UAW and your members on strike at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
It is never an easy decision for working people to take strike action in the pursuit of a fair collective agreement. The withdrawal of labour is the cornerstone of free and fair collective bargaining.
Thousands of administrative professionals working in the health care system throughout Nova Scotia are gearing up to hit the picket lines, as their employers continue to drag their feet on bargaining and hide behind anti-union legislation.
Unifor members at A.G Simpson Automotive Inc. in Oshawa, Ont. ratified a new collective agreement after a two-day strike. The three-year contract includes substantial wage increases, along with health care benefit improvements and enhancements to the pension programs.
“Congratulations to the dedicated bargaining committee for securing this contract”, said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “At a time when workers are rising up and demanding better, this agreement shows us what is possible when workers stand together.”
While Canadians grapple with an affordability crisis, economic uncertainty and housing instability, the House of Commons’ Finance Committee is consulting for the 2024 federal budget.
Unifor’s priorities for next year’s federal budget are that the federal government think big and build big to shift the country, address the affordability crisis, stabilize the health care system, and ensure no worker is left behind.
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