September 30, 2017 INGERSOLL – Unifor National President Jerry Dias will join the picket line at the General Motors CAMI plant on Sunday to update members of Local 88 on contract negotiations. Media are welcome to attend. "The successful conclusion of these talks is vital to the future of the entire community," Dias said.
September 26, 2017 Toronto – The U.S. decision to impose massive preliminary countervailing duties against Bombardier’s C-Series plane is a short-sighted move that puts the continent’s aerospace industry at risk, Unifor says. “The simple fact is that no country can have a viable aerospace industry without the involvement of government,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “Boeing knows this as well as anyone else. The U.S. government invests $50 billion a year in aerospace, and Boeing gets a big chunk of that.” The U.S.
September 25, 2017 Kamloops— Members of Unifor Local 10-B voted 80 per cent in favour of a new four-year contract that helps secure the future of the pulp mill with significant investments over the next two years. “Our new collective agreement is good for workers and good for the community,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
September 23, 2017 Burlington – A Unifor team, led by Unifor National President Jerry Dias, raised $90,000 for Halton Women’s Place at today’s “Hope in High Heels” fundraiser in Burlington, Ontario. “Unifor is proud to support Halton Women’s Place in their work to end violence against women and their children,” said Dias.
September 22, 2017 Ottawa – In a rally outside the Mexican Embassy in Ottawa today, Unifor members, including two busloads of striking workers from the General Motors Ingersoll plant, expressed solidarity with Mexican workers on NAFTA failures. “When the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed, we were told that it would lift up wages and bring Mexican workers out of poverty and that hasn’t happened,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
TORONTO – Workers at Toronto’s Bombardier aerospace plant will walk out of the facility Wednesday morning to call on Boeing to drop its trade complaint against the company. "The workers at Bombardier are well aware that Boeing has no case, and that workers will end up paying the price as corporations fight this out," said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
September 15, 2017 Toronto – Unifor members at Brink’s Canada Limited in British Columbia and Ontario have voted to deliver overwhelming strike mandates. “The physical safety of our members is at the core of these negotiations so there is no question that Unifor is prepared to take any and all necessary action,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. In Ontario, a total of 800 members at Unifor Local’s 27, 103, 112, 195, 229, 504, 598, 599, 1359, 1106 and 4266 voted 98 per cent in favour of a strike mandate.
Vancouver—An arbitrator has upheld the Container Trucking Act’s wage floor, resulting in $90k in combined damages assessed to trucking companies Aheer Ltd and Sunlover Ltd.
“Yet again, the greediest trucking companies have failed to suppress wages by looking for loopholes in the Container Trucking Act,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “The companies that think they are above the law should be banned from the industry.”
September 13, 2017 Toronto – Reports that the proposed $15 minimum wage will result in the loss of 50,000 jobs in Ontario are misleading says Unifor. “The reality is that 50,000 workers are not expected to lose their jobs,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “This figure is not a projection of actual lost jobs but rather a combination of estimates that includes potential, but not actual, future job creation and jobs lost to increased automation.”
Victoria—The B.C. budget update formalizes commitments to important gains for working people, says Unifor, Canada’s largest union in the private sector.
“British Columbians are getting the change that they voted for,” said Joie Warnock, Unifor Western Regional Director. “It is already clear that Premier John Horgan can deliver on policy proposals that will make life more affordable for British Columbians.”
September 11, 2017 Ottawa—Canada’s largest union in the rail sector says that Bill C-49’s amendments to the Canada Transportation Act constitute a landmark privacy violation and will not improve safety.
“Recording workers on the job is not a safety tool, it is a surveillance tool,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Managerial digital surveillance in the transportation industry is a dangerous precedent that will eventually spread to other sectors. This cannot become the government standard.”
September 7, 2017 MILTON - For the second day in a row, Unifor brought the call for Northstar Aerospace to fully fund the pension plan right to the company’s doorsteps, with a rally outside its Milton plant. “There are no fences and no security firms big enough to keep us from fighting for justice for these workers,” Unifor National President Jerry Dias told more than 200 people outside the Northstar plant in Milton this afternoon. The company erected two seven-foot fences around the plant and installed 24-hour security guards.
September 6, 2017 TORONTO - The union representing Chinese speaking journalists and media workers at Rogers' OMNI TV is taking legal action in response to the broadcaster's unprecedented subcontracting of its daily news coverage to its only competitor, Fairchild TV. "This $20-billion broadcaster is in violation of its CRTC licence to produce its own news coverage," said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. "Rogers promised the CRTC it would cover the news with its in-house staff.
TORONTO – Unifor is planning another action to demand that Northstar Aerospace fund a dramatic 24 per cent pension deficit for its retirees and members of the Milton plant, represented by Local 112.
“There is no financial reason for Northstar Aerospace to refuse to fund the pension plan. The only excuse is corporate greed,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “If Northstar won’t meet with us we will take our message to the corporate board to demand action.”
September 5, 2017 Vancouver—Edgewater Casino food service workers received a notice this week that the company is reneging on a job security promise involved with its move this month. “Paragon Gaming’s word isn’t worth a quarter for slot machines,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Food service workers deserve to be treated fairly. Contracting out is a new low for Paragon Gaming and will hurt both patrons and workers.” Paragon Gaming is relocating Edgewater Casino to a new $600 million facility in late September.
September 5, 2017 Mexico City – Unifor put a spotlight on labour rights by bringing workers issues to the forefront during the second round of renegotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement in Mexico City. “During this round of talks Unifor brought labour rights into discussion with Mexican workers, with NAFTA negotiating teams, and with international media,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
September 4, 2017 Mexico City – Unifor National President Jerry Dias has called on the Mexican government for the safe return of the President of the Los Mineros union, who has been living in exile in Canada. “Los Mineros is a leader in the fight for the rights of Mexican workers, but while I have the privilege of standing before you today your President is forced to live in exile in Canada,” Dias told the 500 conference delegates. “Unifor calls on the Mexican government to publicly state that Napoleón Gómez Urrutia can return to home to Mexico with a guarantee of his safety”.
MEDIA ADVISORY September 3, 2017 Mexico City – On Labour Day, Unifor National President Jerry Dias will open the Conference of the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Similar Workers of the Mexican Republic, known as “Los Mineros”. “Los Mineros is a leader in the fight for the rights of Mexican workers, but its President is forced to live in exile in Canada,” said Dias.
September 1, 2017 Mexico City – Unifor joined thousands of Mexican workers at a labour rights rally, as the second round of meetings to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement began in Mexico City. “Donald Trump talks of building a wall. We do not need a wall, we need a bridge,” Unifor National President Jerry Dias told the cheering crowd.
August 31, 2017 Mexico City – As the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade resumes, Unifor National President Jerry Dias will speak to thousands of Mexican workers at a rally for labour rights in Mexico City. “NAFTA may have brought jobs to Mexico, but it did not bring prosperity as international companies instead chose to pit worker against worker in a race to the bottom,” “said Dias. “Unifor stands united with the working people of Mexico.
August 29, 2017 Pittsburgh, PA — Leaders of the U.S. union United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) and Unifor signed a cooperation agreement to change and renew the North American labor movement, based on shared values and commitment to aggressive struggle, equity and political independence. “Working people in the United States, like working people in Canada, are confronted by rising inequality and a political establishment that refuses to confront that inequality head-on,” said UE General President Peter Knowlton.
Victoria—Workers at the Hotel Grand Pacific have voted 92 per cent in favour of a new three-year collective agreement that secures, among other things, wage gains and a pension plan.
“Unifor contracts in the hotel sector are a ticket to a living wage and job security,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Hotel workers deserve to share in the success and profits of their employers.”
August 25, 2017 Peterborough – General Electric has eliminated approximately 358 good manufacturing jobs as the company announced it will cease operations at its Peterborough, Ontario plant by the end of the third quarter in 2018. “General Electric has been an integral part of Peterborough’s history for over a century,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “Now the company is rewarding the loyalty of the community by pulling up the stakes and moving jobs out of the country.” The workers, members of Unifor Locals 599 and 524 were informed of the impending shutdown today.
August 22, 2017 Victoria—The bargaining committee of Unifor Local 114 have reached a tentative agreement with the employer. “The Unifor pattern agreement for hotel workers was always going to be the solution to this round of bargaining with the Grand Pacific,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Unifor is committed to fair contracts for hotel workers.” Earlier this month, Local 114 members voted to strike if necessary before the expiration of their current contract on September 1.
Victoria—Members of Unifor Local 114 working for the Hotel Grand Pacific have voted to strike if the employer refuses to bargain a fair deal by September 1 when the current contract expires.
“Other hotels in BC have signed onto a pattern agreement, but the Hotel Grand Pacific refuses to join the norm,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Local 114 members deserve what other hotel workers have achieved, so the Grand Pacific is risking a major customer service interruption to buck the trend.”
VANCOUVER—A planned bump in the minimum wage next month is a good step but the government must commit to a timeline to get to $15 per hour.
“British Columbia’s working poor deserve a $15 per hour minimum wage,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Too many workers, especially in Metro Vancouver, are making impossible choices between paying the rent and other bare necessities like medicine or groceries.”
REGINA— Right-wing Premier Brad Wall’s resignation won’t halt the Sask Party government’s reckless privatization and threats to the integrity of Crown corporations, says Unifor.
“Since the 2016 provincial election, Sask Party cabinet ministers have been sneaking around trying to sell off Crown corporations,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Brad Wall lied in the election and there’s no reason to believe that the rest of his caucus will honour their election promise to keep Saskatchewan’s Crowns public.”
