HAMILTON - On Friday April 20, Unifor launches its cross country town hall tour to explore a progressive trade agenda.
“Canada’s approach to trade has been flawed and now is the time to do things differently,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “There is an opening to talk about the failures of free trade and an opportunity to imagine a new approach – a different kind of trade agenda, one that is for people not profits, and that is truly progressive.”
TORONTO - Strategic investments in workforce development coupled with wise regulation will help Canada maintain its unique aerospace advantage, according to a new policy paper published today by Unifor.
“The success of the Canadian aerospace industry is no accident,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Maintaining our advantage will take collaborative planning from industry, labour, and all levels of government.”
April 11, 2018 TORONTO – Unifor National President Jerry Dias will lead a delegation of auto workers to meet with Ontario Labour Minister Kevin Flynn about personal emergency leave exemptions that unfairly punish those employed in the sector. “Employment standards should be fairly applied to all workers - full stop,” said Dias. “Auto workers have the same need for personal emergency leave as everyone else, they too have family members to mourn and care for.
TORONTO—Unifor has published a video with interviews of Canadians directly impacted by the new U.S. tariffs levied against paper mills in Newfoundland & Labrador, Québec, and British Columbia.
“Right now Donald Trump is poised to do irreversible damage to five small communities across Canada,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “The Canadian government needs to act, and it needs to act now to protect local economies and good jobs.”
REGINA—Unifor says Saskatchewan families are getting more of the same from rookie premier Scott Moe: public service cuts and reckless disregard for the province’s most vulnerable residents.
“Scott Moe’s imagination doesn’t go beyond cutting services and experimenting with privatization,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “It’s simply more of the same and more suffering ahead for Saskatchewan families trying to make ends meet.”
TORONTO- The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s rejection of Unifor’s complaint against Roger’s contracting out its Chinese language newscasts is a huge loss to local news says Unifor, Canada’s largest media union.
“Local news is essential and licensed news broadcasts are not playing cards to be swapped with the only competing TV station in the community,” said Jerry Dias, National President. “Rogers promised not to do this. They did it anyway.”
April 9, 2018
GANDER - Aerospace workers in Gander, Newfoundland voted 97 per cent against the latest offer from D-J Composites, their American employer who locked them out of work 16 months ago.
MONCTON – Workers at Moncton Honda have given their bargaining committee a strike mandate after negotiations between Unifor Local 4501 and the dealership reached an impasse.
“This is incredibly disappointing as the bargaining committee has given Moncton Honda every opportunity to reach a deal,” said Christian Laforge, Unit Chair, Unifor Local 4501. “Our members have been working without a contract since December 31, 2017 and yet the dealership is continuing to drag this out by refusing to address key issues.”
WINNIPEG—The union at one of Canada’s largest heavy-duty transit manufacturers has reached a tentative agreement with their employer, New Flyer Industries.
“I commend the bargaining committee for holding the line on their defined benefit pension plan,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “These Unifor members have earned their defined benefits plans, and it’s an issue worth fighting for.”
HALIFAX-Failing to make domestic violence leave paid leave allows a major barrier to remain for Nova Scotia women who need to flee violent homes says Unifor.
“Protected leave is important so women do not lose their jobs for missing work. but we know that economic security is critical when a woman decides to escape a violent situation and today’s legislation misses this critical fact,” said Lana Payne, Atlantic Regional Director.
TORONTO- The Ontario budget’s investments in public services show continued momentum towards social justice and the effectiveness of political activism.
OTTAWA – Unifor National President Jerry Dias will host NAFTA: A Worker’s View Roundtable, featuring Mexican and Canadian labour leaders, Canada’s Chief NAFTA negotiator Steve Verheul and members of Canadian civil society groups.
“This is a critical time for the voices of workers to be heard on the true impact of NAFTA in both nations,” said Dias. “There is real danger that the sudden push by the U.S. for a rush deal could lead to a further deterioration of living standards for workers.”
TORONTO- Unifor representatives will be available to comment following the release of the 2018 Ontario provincial budget.
“The Liberals’ announcement of free public childcare for preschool children shows the pressure that workers are putting on this government is being felt,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
March 27, 2018
TORONTO -Three of Canada’s largest unions today announced an alliance that kicks off an escalating campaign of membership mobilization to push Ontario hospitals to return to bargaining and treat their staff with respect.
March 26, 2018 TORONTO- The Ontario Liberals' last budget before the June 2018 provincial election must address inequality and the crisis in care, says Unifor.
OTTAWA – Unifor and Mexican labour leaders join together this week to warn MPs about the dangers of negotiating a NAFTA deal that fails to protect workers in both countries.
“The old NAFTA model was built on exploitation, as Canadian manufacturing jobs migrated to Mexico where multinationals are permitted to pay workers poverty wages,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “If a new NAFTA does not address low wages and labour rights in Mexico then both Canadian and Mexican workers will continue to pay the price.”
TORONTO – School bus drivers at First Student Canada and Parkview Transit, members of Unifor locals 4268 and 1285, have voted to accept new collective agreements.
“Unifor worked diligently to achieve significant gains in these two contracts as part of the union’s ongoing work to raise standards for school bus drivers across Ontario’s student transportation sector,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
WINNIPEG—Unifor says that mass resignation of the Manitoba Hydro board of directors is another signal that Premier Brian Pallister cannot achieve results that benefit the province.
“The Premier is causing chaos in the management of public services and Crown corporations,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Front line public sector workers do great work for Manitobans, but we can’t say the same for Brian Pallister’s performance.”
HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia government has failed to re-invest in key priorities such as long-term care, where wait lists are long and previous cuts have reduced the quality of care. “Once again the McNeil government has let down Nova Scotia seniors, their families and the overworked long-term care providers with a failure to invest in the sector,” said Lana Payne, Atlantic Regional Director.
VANCOUVER—In a written submission to the Labour Relations Code Review in British Columbia, Unifor is recommending restoring balance and fairness to the laws governing how working people form unions.
BOWMANVILLE – Unifor Local 4268 representing school bus drivers in Ontario has served First Student Bowmanville with a strike notice effective as of 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday March 21 2018.
OTTAWA - Unifor is calling on the federal government to intervene immediately to stop new anti-dumping duties imposed by the U.S. on pulp and paper mills in Newfoundland and British Columbia.
“Unfair tariffs aren’t just political theatre, they’re reckless policies that will close down mills and throw hundreds of Canadians out of work,” said Jerry Dias, National President. “This is completely unacceptable and Ottawa needs to push back hard against these heavy-handed tactics.”
SAULT STE. MARIE – After an all-day hearing at the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) there is still no decision on whether paramedics employed in the EMS division of Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services are in a legal strike position.
WINNIPEG—The 2018 Manitoba budget fails to address some of the province’s most urgent problems, especially in the north, says Unifor.
“Premier Brian Pallister is failing Manitoba’s most vulnerable,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “There is a stunning indifference to the struggles of Manitobans who are falling farther and farther behind.”
March 8, 2018 TORONTO – Unifor says the exclusion of tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. is simply a stay of execution.“This isn’t a victory, it’s a threat,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “The U.S. is now holding tariffs over Canada’s head at the NAFTA table ahead of the next round, which uncoincidentally will take place in Washington.” Unifor represents more than 40,000 members in the auto industry and thousands more in the steel and aluminum sectors, including 4,000 aluminum workers employed at Rio Tinto in British Columbia and Quebec.
VICTORIA—Unifor activists will present policy proposals on workplace health and safety reforms, economic security for women, and progressive labour law amendments during meetings this week in Victoria.
“Last spring, British Columbians voted for change. There is no time to waste when it comes to making workplaces safer and restoring workers’ basic rights,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
March 1, 2018
HALIFAX – Unifor is urging all members of the Nova Scotia legislature to pass an NDP private member’s bill that will ensure paid leave for victims of domestic violence.
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