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Unifor’s largest-ever Atlantic Regional Council focused on working together to achieve social and economic change and fairness for workers in bargaining and in international trade deals.
“Solidarity is not a given but something we must build every single day,”Atlantic Regional Director Lana Payne told delegates. “Always remember that our solidarity is so much stronger than corporate greed.”
Delegates were both inspired and educated during the two-day event, which took place in Moncton, New Brunswick June 1-2.
In her report, Payne credited the union’s strength to the member’s passion to fight injustice, both at work and in the community.
“You are the defenders of democracy in our union. You see your union as powerful catalyst that will bring change. This union has space for all of us. We can bring our shared aspirations for a better world,” said Payne.
National President Jerry Dias also picked up the theme as he spoke to delegates.
“We’re going to change things. That’s why we were born…to change the labour landscape in Canada.”
Dias outlined the union’s work to build a new, working class vision for trade and change the model for international trade deals. The opening of the Council coincided with the first day of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to the U.S.
Dias expressed his anger over the politically motivated tariffs on the metals and on Canadian pulp and paper, pointing out that these unjust duties threaten the livelihood of entire communities.
“We are now being attacked as a nation by the Trump administration in a way that we’ve never been attacked before. There will be hundreds of thousands of Canadian jobs impacted. There is only one thing we can do and that’s fight back,” Dias said.
During his keynote speech, New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant thanked Unifor for the union’s work on trade, singling out efforts to achieve a more progressive North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and new softwood lumber agreement. Gallant went on to stress the importance of cooperation between government and labour to bring about change.
“We’ve created something great by working together,” Gallant said. “We need your help, we need your ideas…together we have accomplished a lot but there is a lot to do.”
Gallant also acknowledged Unifor’s push for the province to expand its current domestic violence protection to include paid leave. Delegates took the message online as it trended during a tweet up that called on New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador to make domestic violence leave paid leave.
Delegates were touched and motivated by a presentation by members of Local 597 who have been locked out by their American owned employer D-J Composites since December 2016. Shane Wark, Assistant to the National President, said it isn’t in the members of Unifor’s blood to give up and that the workers will never capitulate to the company’s bully tactics.
“We will not break, the union will not break,” vowed locked out worker Donna Fretwell.
On the final day, the issue of harassment and sexual harassment was brought to light during a candid panel discussion titled #MeToo: Building Respectful Workplaces and a Better World. Delegates then voted unanimously to pass a Regional Director Recommendation to support gender equity and commit to the goal of creating workplaces free of harassment, bullying and violence.
The Council ended with chants of solidarity as Atlantic Regional Chair Ian Hutchinson called on delegates to bring the message of activism for change back to the four Atlantic provinces.
To view a photo gallery of Atlantic Regional Council visit Facebook.com/UniforCanada
