Unifor is reiterating demands that Premier Ford protect frontline workers, as a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) shows Ontario leading in unallocated pandemic relief funds and lagging in provincial share of COVID-19 spending.
TORONTO—Today, Unifor’s Aerospace Industry Council released a new policy paper urging the federal government to immediately implement a substantial recovery plan for the sector in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating economic effects.
Flights and passenger traffic have already dropped by 90% from pre-pandemic levels
Government should consider science and data and consult with industry and unions before further action to avoid unintended consequences
January 22, 2021/OTTAWA – Canada’s largest airline industry association and the unions representing more than 325,000 Canadian workers today urged the federal government to consult with them before it enacts new measures to reduce travel.
St. John’s – The Newfoundland and Labrador PC Party says the province needs more full time jobs, but their payroll tax cut plan will do more harm than good says Unifor.
TORONTO – Porter Airlines is using the pandemic as an excuse to stop paying workers using the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and terminating health care coverage for its furloughed workers.
Members of Unifor Local 88 who work at the CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ontario have voted to ratify a new agreement with General Motors that brings $1 billion in investments to begin large scale production of electric commercial delivery vans.
January 15, 2021 INGERSOLL—Unifor Local 88’s bargaining committee, representing 1,900 workers at the CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ontario has reached a tentative agreement with General Motors today. “This tentative deal delivers significant investment, new products, new jobs, and job security, achieving our union’s key bargaining priorities during these challenging times,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. General Motors has agreed to invest $1 billion dollars to begin large-scale commercial production of EV600, an all electric van, starting next year.
St. John’s – As Newfoundland and Labrador begins a provincial election, workers in the province will look to parties for policies that ensure good jobs for all, and supports key industries.
TORONTO – Air Canada's decision to suspend Jazz flights to Yellowknife, Kamloops, Gander and Goose Bay regional airports is one more blow to remote communities already suffering from the current crisis in the airlines industry.
Unifor believes the recently announced workforce reductions at Air Canada could have been lessened if the federal government had developed a plan to support Canada's aviation industry.
OTTAWA – Unifor, ACPA, ALPA and CALDA continue to call on the federal government to make a direct and meaningful financial contribution to our devastated industry, commensurate with the contribution made by other countries to their own sector.
WINDSOR – Unifor, its Local 2458, and the wider Windsor community began the New Year in mourning of health care worker and fellow union member Sheila Yakovishin, 60.
“On behalf of our union, I express the deepest condolences to Sheila’s family and all those who knew and loved her. Unifor mourns with you, as we decry her preventable death,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
TORONTO – Unifor renews demands on the federal government to provide financial support for the airline industry as the industry prepares for all international travelers to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test on arrival.
"Yesterday's announcement is important to protect the public safety of all Canadians, but at the same time, the federal government's continued refusal to provide adequate financial support for the 300,000 airline workers puts the very future of Canada's airline industry in jeopardy," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
ST. JOHN’S—Unifor says the joint federal and provincial efforts to secure funding for Canada’s East Coast offshore oil industry should help protect good jobs.
The governments announced this morning that Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. will receive $38M in funding from the Oil and Gas Industry Recovery Assistance Fund.
WINDSOR— Staffing levels at The Village of St. Clair are below crisis levels and action is demanded from the provincial government, says Unifor.
“This is a matter of life or death,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “The current owners of The Village of St. Clair are no longer capable of providing the necessary care. The Government of Ontario must step in.”
Unifor has written to Premier Ford to ask that his government to take over control of the long-term care home’s operation.
TORONTO – Unifor, Canada's largest private-sector union and Aleafia Health Inc. (TSX: AH, OTC: ALEAF), have entered a long term partnership that through collective bargaining will seek to provide access for its members to medical cannabis coverage as part of their benefit and insurance coverage.
KINCARDINE– Sobeys grocery store workers in Kincardine, Ontario have voted to ratify a new collective agreement that achieves gains, including wage increases, schedule improvements, and benefit gains.
"Unifor continues to make strides in raising working conditions in retail work across the country, which is more important than ever during the COVID-19 era,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “There is still much work to be done to address low wages and precarious work in this sector and this remains a priority for our union.”
TORONTO – Unifor welcomes the Ontario government's long-term care staffing plan to establish an average of four hours of direct care for long-term care residents but remains concerned on its implementation timeline.
WINDSOR – A lack of access to PPEs at The Village at St. Clair, a long-term care facility, has contributed to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases.
“The Ontario Government made it clear that all health care workers will have access to proper PPE including N-95,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “This outbreak is evidence of a blatant disregard of the directive and the safety of residents and workers.”
There are currently 48 confirmed cases among the 256 residents at the facility and 25 among its staff.
OTTAWA—The federal government’s revised climate plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, commits to many important steps to cut pollution and create jobs, but leaves out details about labour market dislocation.
Negotiations to renew the collective agreement between Unifor Local 414 and the Sobeys grocery store in Kincardine, Ontario are approaching a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. Sunday December 13, 2020.
WINDSOR – Health care workers represented by Unifor Local 2458 will escalate actions by holding a rally outside of Fairfield Park long term care home to demand a fair and equitable collective.
OTTAWA—Unifor is urging all members of parliament to support Canada’s workers and swiftly pass a private member’s bill introduced today by Scott Duvall, NDP MP for Hamilton Mountain, to ban employers in federally regulated sectors from hiring scabs during a legal strike or lockout.
OTTAWA - Over the past three months, NAV Canada has announced their intention to close seven air traffic control towers and reduce the level of service at their respective airports. Additionally, NAV Canada has served the Union notice of their intent to further reduce the air traffic control workforce outside these units.
OTTAWA – Airline workers remain in the dark following yesterday’s financial update, wondering when the government plans to establish a national aviation recovery strategy.
Health care workers at Brouillette Manor held a rally outside the facility demanding a fair and equitable collective agreement after contract negotiations came to a standstill.
