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The 95 employees at Toromont Industries in Bradford, Ont. have chosen Unifor to fight in their corner.
“In order to build collective worker power, organizing is a key first step,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “We welcome our new manufacturing members and applaud them for standing up and fighting for their rights and for a better future. We look forward to you bargaining your first collective agreement as Unifor members.”
Unifor applied for certification at the Ontario Labour Board on May 14 to represent approximately 100 workers.
The workers voted May 23 and 24 to join Unifor.
In 2022, the company invested $70 million into the groundbreaking of a new 137,000 sq. ft. Toromont Cat remanufacturing facility in Bradford West Gwillimbury, which remanufactures Caterpillar heavy equipment.
The job positions are mostly Skilled Trades or Semi-Skilled and range from component cleaner to component re-builder.
Many of these workers were former members of Local 112’s Toromont Concord branch.
The organizing drive began in late Oct. 2023 when it became clear Toromont had no intention of respecting any union presentation in Bradford. This group was not confident in their trust of Toromont management and wanted the protection that comes with a collective agreement.
“We all know there is strength in numbers,” said Unifor Organizing Director Justin Gniposky. “This is a critical victory for these workers, Local 112, our union and for the unorganized Toromont workers across Canada seeking union representation.”
