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June 29, 2018
TORONTO – Unifor welcomes the federal government's pledge to offer up to $2 billion to aid Canada’s steel and aluminum workers and companies in response to U.S. imposed tariffs.
“The federal government has taken a necessary first step to help insulate our steel and aluminum industries from the damage inflicted by the Trump tariffs,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “Continued monitoring and ongoing assessment will be required though to ascertain if future financial support is needed over the duration of this trade dispute.”
Unifor also commends the imposition of retaliatory tariffs against U.S. products, to take effect Sunday. The union is calling for all funds collected on the duties to be re-invested to help affected workers, communities and companies.
Quebec is a major supplier of aluminum while Ontario is a supplier of steel and automobiles. Unifor represents more than 40,000 workers in the auto industry and an additional 4,000 members in the aluminum sector.
Ahead of the retaliatory tariffs, Unifor launched the ‘I Shop Canada’ social media campaign to promote made-in-Canada products and services.
“I Shop Canada is designed to provide a social media platform for consumers, workers and companies to get the word out on the products and services that employ Canadians so we can come together to support each other,” said Dias.
For more info visit the I Shop Canada Facebook page and see @IshopCA on twitter.
To view Unifor’s position on trade visit unifor.org/peoplestrade. Information on the union’s campaign against pulp and paper tariffs is available here.
Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
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For more information, please contact Unifor Communications Representative Kathleen O’Keefe at @email or 416-896-3303 (cell).
