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Unifor welcomes the approximately six new members who work for the Corporation of the Municipality of Calvin, Ont. (near North Bay).

The workers had a unanimous vote count on June 28, 2023, to join Unifor. The certification covers municipal workers for the township. The unit will be assigned to an existing local shortly.

Unifor Local 103 led the organizing drive during May 2023. After a new municipal council was elected began to make negative changes to employment contracts, the municipality’s workers began the union drive to protect job security, wages, and time off.

Unifor Local 2002 is pleased to announce that its Ornge paramedic services members have ratified a new collective agreement by 83.9%.

“We are so proud of the hard work the bargaining committee performed for our paramedic members,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.

“Paramedics responsible for life-and-death patient care and medical transfers deserved the respect of a contract that speaks to their interests. Proud to see they got that. Congratulations!”

Unifor is sending solidarity and empathy to the University of Waterloo community following yesterday’s stabbing on campus.

Accounts of the perpetrator’s entrance into a classroom describe him asking about the subject of the class, and upon hearing it was a philosophy course on gender issues, proceeding to close the classroom door, pull out two knives and attack the professor and students, leaving three injured.

Halifax-Talks that began earlier this year between the Nova Scotia Council of Nursing Unions (NSNU, NSGEU, CUPE and Unifor) and employers (Nova Scotia Health and the IWK) came to a halt earlier today, without reaching a final agreement.

After a lengthy round of negotiations, which were delayed in part due to the pandemic, the teams representing nurses who work in hospitals, satellite clinics and public health throughout the province’s acute care sector came to an impasse.

Unifor has joined the movement to grow diversity, equity, and inclusion in forestry. By participating, the union will support the work of provincial governments, corporations and communities to make forestry an industry where everyone feels welcome.

In a monumental display of solidarity, frontline grocery workers at Metro have embarked on contract negotiations this week, fortified by a historic strike vote and widespread public support.

Public support amplifies for grocery workers

Unifor Local 100 reaches tentative agreement with Hudson Bay Railway

Winnipeg – Wednesday, June 28, this morning, the Unifor Local 100 Bargaining Committee reached a tentative agreement with the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) to renew the Collective Agreement that expired on December 31, 2022.

Unifor represents freight car mechanics, electricians, machinists, and servicepersons who work in northern Manitoba for the Hudson Bay Railway.

The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the Local 100-51 membership at HBR.

Unifor applauds Mexican auto parts workers at global automotive supplier Fränkische after joining the Sindicato Independiente Nacional De Trabajadores Y Trabajadoras De La Industria Automotriz (SINTTIA) union following a closely watched vote on June 26. The vote followed the launch of a union-initiated investigation by the Canadian government into labour abuses by the company and its incumbent union in March.
 

WINDSOR—Unifor is extremely disappointed that Windsor Salt has resorted to bargaining in the public. Such tactics are counterproductive and doomed to fail.

“Windsor Salt has yet again made it more difficult to reach an agreement to end the 132-day strike with these kinds of actions,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. 

“Our members have been on strike for 18 weeks. They deserve a fair collective agreement—not disrespect.

TORONTO - Unifor served the Detroit Three (D3) automakers, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis notice to bargain today on behalf of 18,000 members whose collective agreements are set to expire in September 2023.

For too many of our members and media workers this has to feel like Groundhog Day. 

News of the proposed merger between Postmedia and Nordstar is brutal on top of the other job losses and cuts in media since the start of this year. 

The sector has been in a continuous and sometimes rapid decline. We at Unifor are deeply concerned about the continued consolidation of our Canadian news media. 

 Our priority is jobs and journalism. 

Unifor applauds last week’s passing of Bill C-18: The Online News Act as an important next step towards supporting local news and Canadian content in the media.

“The government has made it law for digital platforms, such as Google and Facebook, to pay their fair share. This is something Unifor members have fought hard for and now we need to make sure it works,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President.

REGINA—Unifor has uncovered more contracting out of permanent, unionized jobs on the site simplyhired.ca, the fourth such discovery this year by the union.

“Scott Moe needs to answer to SaskTel customers and the people of Saskatchewan: why the rush to replace good jobs with low-bid contractors and out-of-province firms?” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director.

OTTAWA-On June 22, the bargaining committee for Canada Coast Guard Marine Communications and Traffic Service Officers at Local 2182 reached a tentative agreement with the Government of Canada that will see no concessions and a 10.75% wage increase over four years.

KITCHENER, ON – Front-line hospital workers marched to the office of St. Mary’s General Hospital president Mark Fam on Monday afternoon and delivered a petition calling on management to take a stand against the provincial government’s plan to privatize hospital services.

Unifor strongly opposes Bell Media’s application to the CRTC to eliminate all regulatory requirements for local news at all of its CTV, CTV2 and Noovo stations across Canada. We will do everything in our power to ensure that Bell Media continues to live up to its legislated obligations to fund and create local news and programming.
 

The 30 maintenance workers at Saputo Dairy Ltd. Supply of Canada GP in Edmonton, Alta., will join the production workers who have an existing separate certification of this location with Unifor Local 445.

“It’s about time,” said Unifor Local 445 President Guy Desforges.

Unifor locals and members – from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia – put their best foot forward during the Tears for Hope relay race on June 17.

The Tears to Hope Society provides support to the families and loved ones of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, and gender diverse people (MMIWG2S). The charity relay event raised funds to help support a healing centre in northern British Columbia.

NEW WESTMINSTER—Workers in Metro Vancouver could become the first employed by Amazon to enjoy the benefits of a union after Unifor announced plans to start a drive.

“Joining a union will ensure that workers at Amazon can flex their united strength and push this notoriously difficult employer to improve working conditions,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “They took risks during COVID-19 to ensure millions of us could stay home and get key deliveries on time. It’s time they get the chance to benefit from a solid, enforceable collective agreement.”

The Canadian Air Traffic Control Association (CATCA-Unifor Local 5454) reached a tentative five-year agreement with NAV Canada in Ottawa on June 16.

“Congratulations to the bargaining committee on an outstanding job to get a deal that recognizes the very important work done by Canada’s first-class air traffic controllers,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.

“CATCA members provide critical services needed for safe travel in our country. They are professionals who see collective bargaining as one way to improve that service to Canadians.”

The 200 members of Unifor Locals 222Q and 216 at Kruger Wayagamack, a paper mill in Trois-Rivières, Que. ratified a new agreement by 92.3% (222Q) and 93.4% (216) on June 19, ending a three-week strike.

“The members of the negotiating committees are very happy with the result,” said Joël Vigeant, National Representative and Forestry Coordinator for Unifor Québec. “It's not easy to decide to go out on strike, but battles are worth fighting. We had clear expectations, and those expectations were met.”

Workers at Kruger Wayagamack began their strike on June 1.

June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a day to celebrate in the enduring culture and achievements of Indigenous peoples.

Earlier this month Unifor partnered with the Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network to sponsor Indigenous Day Live on June 17, a cultural and artistic show with the theme “Celebrating Our Youth.” The event celebrated Indigenous youth and their important contribution to communities and their role as future leaders.

TORONTO – Unifor believes the government’s new Air Transportation Accountability legislation doesn’t address the root problems of air passenger travel – working conditions in the sector.

“They’re missing a huge piece of the puzzle,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. 

Toronto, ON—Metro grocery workers unite in demand for fair pay, access to benefits, and stable work hours in a historic strike vote ahead of their first contract negotiations since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

Unifor Local 2169 members voted 93% in favour of ratifying a new collective agreement with Boeing on June 17 after three weeks of successful negotiations.

Bill 124 is back in the courts. The Government’s appeal will be heard by three judges of the Ontario Court of Appeal from June 20-23.

The Government will go first because they are bringing the appeal. That will take most of the first day. The unions will then respond on Wednesday and Thursday.

Unifor’s team is confident and prepared to defend members’ constitutional rights once again. We expect that we will have our turn on Thursday morning.

On June 20, we observe World Refugee Day, a crucial opportunity to raise awareness and advocate for the rights and well-being of refugees worldwide.

According to the UNHCR, the number of refugees surpassed 35 million by the end of 2022, with an additional 108.4 million people forcibly displaced from their home countries due to various reasons such as war, conflict, famine, human rights abuses, and climate change. Shockingly, the global displacement crisis now exceeds the scale seen during World War II.

TORONTO – Unifor has partnered with the Canadian Red Cross in providing vital emergency as wildfires continue to threaten numerous communities in Alberta, Quebec and the Atlantic Region, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

Lana Payne, Unifor National President, shared the views of workers and the union during a meeting with Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada, earlier this week. 

Payne and the Unifor team discussed the challenges workers are facing as a result of a series of interest rate hikes including climbing mortgage and rent costs. The team stated concerns that the rising interest rate could trigger a recession, that would put people out of work or cause businesses to create fewer jobs. 

TORONTO – The 1,400 members of a Unifor Local 2002 unit have voted 80% in favour of ratifying a new four-year contract with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA).

“I’m so proud of the bargaining committee at Local 2002,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “This agreement is groundbreaking in the aviation industry and sets a new standard for what we can accomplish moving forward. It is a testament to the committee, who has tirelessly represented the members’ interests throughout the negotiation process.”