REGINA—5,000 striking Crown workers will be back at work on Tuesday after Premier Scott Moe left the province in the middle of the largest strike action in decades.
“Premier Moe caused the strike, and now he has fled the province and his responsibilities” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
Unifor retains the legal right to resume picket lines if necessary.
KAMLOOPS—Unifor 10-B members working at Dearborn Ford (a subsidiary of Cam Clark Auto Group) have voted to ratify a new three-year collective agreement that includes wage increases and a pension enhancement.
“The new collective agreement at Dearborn Ford is the result of tough bargaining and impressive solidarity,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “The bargaining committee and the entire unit should be proud of their work.”
REGINA—Unifor’s various offers to find a resolution to the ongoing contract dispute with Crown employers have all been rebuffed by the provincial government, leaving the union with no other option than to strike.
“Contract negotiations must be about a give and take—but the Moe government’s refusal to bargain fairly is driving Saskatchewan towards a major service disruption,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Unifor has presented creative offers to find a path forward, but the government seems intent on forcing a strike.”
REGINA—Employers have called off contract talks after they steadfastly refused to move off of a government-imposed wage freeze.
“Work-to-rule” job action is scheduled to begin Monday at 12:01 a.m., with escalation planned for the end of the week.
“Picket lines are our last resort, but we’ve said from the start that wage freezes were simply not fair,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Considering the Premier gave himself a 2.3% raise this year, Crown workers’ demands are more than reasonable.”
REGINA—After bargaining for the last nine months Unifor Local 594 has declared an impasse with the employer at the Co-op Refinery Complex.
“Unifor members are the key to safety at the refinery. It’s only reasonable that a company making billion-dollar profits puts a deal on the table that properly addresses the needs of their workers,” said Scott Doherty, Assistant to the Unifor National President.
ST. JOHN’S—Members of Unifor Local 2121 have ratified a four-year collective agreement that boasts an 11.75 per cent increase over the life of the contract.
“Unifor is Canada’s energy union,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Workers on Hibernia help generate incredible wealth and they’ve earned the significant wage increase.”
REGINA—The Moe government’s refusal to abandon wage freezes for Crown workers has forced the union from SaskEnergy, SaskPower, SecurTek, DirectWest, SaskWater, and the Water Security Agency to file notice of job action.
They join SaskTel, making a total of seven Crowns that could be in some form of job action or work stoppage beginning Monday at 12:01 a.m.
HALIFAX – Unifor Local 2215 members at IMP Aerospace voted to accept a last-minute offer from the company, hours before strike action was to begin.
“Our members were firm in rejecting the company’s previous offer and were ready to hit the picket line Friday morning,” said Linda MacNeil, Atlantic Regional Director. “A strike is a last resort, so they are glad the company reconsidered and came back with a more reasonable offer.”
REGINA—Unifor negotiators are working down to the wire but time is running out for the Scott Moe government to make a fair offer to nearly 5,000 Crown workers with strike mandates.
“It’s not a hard formula: show Crown workers the respect they deserve and we can avert province-wide job action,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Without a serious offer, Scott Moe will engineer service disruption that could have been avoided.”
REGINA—Negotiators for Unifor, including National President Jerry Dias, will be making an announcement regarding the ongoing bargaining with seven Crown corporations in Saskatchewan.
“Saskatchewan Crown utilities and services are the envy of other provinces,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “The hard-working men and women that deliver high-quality public services have earned a fair contract.”
Nearly 5,000 workers from SaskTel, SaskPower, SaskEnergy, SaskWater, the Water Security Agency, SecurTek, and DirectWest are in a legal strike position.
TORONTO— DHL must share gains from the explosion of e-commerce sales and end regional disparities as Unifor begins contract talks with the world’s largest shipping company.
“DHL is a successful global giant, but it is the workers on the ground that make that success possible,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Fair compensation is an important goal for this round of negotiations.”
SASKATOON—Unifor and several like-minded organizations devoted to fighting climate change will hold a conference to discuss next steps for the economy and mobilizing for a worker-centred approach to green jobs.
REGINA—Unifor members at four more Crown corporations have voted overwhelmingly to strike if necessary, bringing the province-wide total to seven.
“Scott Moe is steering Saskatchewan towards a major service disruption,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “All because he refuses to grant Crown workers the same pay increase that he gave himself.”
Hundreds of members of the Windsor community and people from across Ontario assembled near the Nemak plant in solidarity with workers protesting the company’s decision to break the collective agreement by announcing their intention to close the plant.
WINNIPEG—Canada’s largest union in the private sector has vowed to continue to fight for public Manitoba Hydro, health care, and other valued public services.
“Manitoba Hydro is a fantastic public utility that hundreds of thousands of Manitobans and Manitoba businesses rely on,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “It delivers affordable power and good jobs. Strengthening Manitoba Hydro and health care should be a priority for the next government.”
VANCOUVER—Fish harvesters and allied workers from British Columbia’s coast are sounding the alarm about an unfolding disaster in the salmon fishing industry that has led to widespread closures and economic hardship.
“Small coastal communities are suffering from the worst commercial fishing season in fifty years,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Region Director. “No matter the region and no matter the salmon species, runs have plummeted. It’s a crisis and governments must act to support workers and their communities.”
TORONTO- Lana Payne, Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer, will speak to thousands of Unifor members at the union’s annual Labour Day rally in Toronto. Media and the public are invited to attend a family-friendly rally and march, featuring Unifor leadership and activists on Labour Day in Toronto. “On Labour Day, we come together to appreciate the hard-fought gains of working people,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer.
VANCOUVER - Unifor urges the B.C. government to expedite the process of introducing paid domestic violence leave so it will no longer be one of the last holdouts in supporting Canadian women in receiving this much-needed support.
KAMLOOPS—Members of Unifor Local 10-B working for Dearborn Ford (a subsidiary of Cam Clark Auto Group) have voted overwhelmingly to reject the company’s so-called “final” offer, bringing the bargaining closer to job action.
“Cam Clark Auto Group doesn’t get it: we are not taking concessions. We will only settle for fairness,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
TORONTO— Unifor forestry members are urging the province to take immediate action in the efforts to re-start the Fort Frances pulp and paper mill, and protect the rights of the publicly-owned forestlands in the region.
Unifor warns contract chaos is threatening reliable school bus service in the Durham and Kawartha regions, just days before the school year is set to resume.
Jerry Dias was acclaimed as National President of Unifor and Lana Payne was chosen as Secretary-Treasurer of Unifor at the union’s National Convention in Quebec City.
QUEBEC – Thousands of workers rallied outside Bell Canada headquarters in Quebec City, demanding an end to job erosion.
“Bell benefits from the hard work and innovation of Unifor members,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Instead of treating them with respect, the company has continually eroded our jobs and inflicts a stressful work environment on current employees.”
Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement, will speak to delegates at the Unifor Constitutional Convention in Quebec City on Wednesday, August 21, 2019.
QUEBEC CITY – Prime Minister Trudeau will address Unifor delegates from across the country at Unifor Constitutional Convention in Quebec City on Monday, August 19, 2019.
The Constitutional Convention, the third in the union’s history, will take place August 19-23, 2019 at the Québec City Convention Centre, 1000 Boulevard René-Lévesque E, Québec.
REGINA—The bargaining committee for Unifor says the latest offer from SaskTel is totally unacceptable.
“SaskTel’s offer is an insult to all our members who work at this very profitable Crown corporation,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “There has been little movement and nothing that would bring us closer to a settlement.”
WINDSOR–Unifor members at Nemak of Canada Corporation in Windsor gathered for a special membership meeting today to respond to the company’s plans to close the plant in 2020. “Nemak cannot shut down its Windsor plant after taking millions in government handouts and posting revenues of over $4 billion world-wide,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
