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The primary objective in the current Ontario election is to keep Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak from becoming premier, Unifor National President Jerry Dias says.
To do that, he is urging Unifor members to vote for incumbent NDP candidates, or the local candidate most likely to beat the Conservative candidate.
“This is an election like no other,” Dias said. “The threat that labour faces in this election from the potential of Hudak becoming premier is greater than we’ve seen before.”
Dias said Hudak cannot be trusted. He will attack workers’ rights, implement cuts to health care and give more power to corporations over everyday necessities including energy and health services.
And while Hudak has backed away from plans to scrap the Rand formula in Ontario, he has been clear in his continued support for the plan, Dias said, adding that if Ontario starts restricting basic labour rights other provinces will soon follow suit.
Dias called Hudak’s million job plan unbelievable and unrealistic, and his pledge to fire 100,000 public sector workers would throw the province into recession while gutting education, increasing class sizes and hurting access to health care.
While strategic voting has always been controversial, Dias said more unions are on board with the idea in this election.
“There is strong support for this strategy across the labour movement,” Dias said. “The stakes are just too high.”
