Saint John - Unifor is applauding the New Brunswick government’s $71 million investment to improve child care in the province, including today’s announcement of free childcare for all families with children under five, earning less than $37,500.
“As a long-time advocate of accessible, affordable, high quality childcare, Unifor is very pleased to see these important steps being taken by the government of New Brunswick,” said Lana Payne, Atlantic Regional Director.
We wish you a Happy New Year and hope you have enjoyed some time with your friends and family. As the Bargaining Committee met with Bell in Toronto during the week of December 18, you showed great solidarity and strength.
Toronto—Unifor supports the Government of Canada’s new complaint to the World Trade Organization WTO) over the United States’ unfair trade tariffs on the forestry sector.
“The U.S. is trying to bully us, and we’re not going to stand for it,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Canada’s forestry sector is following the rules and we’re confident that we will prevail—again—in international tribunals.”
Peterborough—One of the region’s largest employers announced the unjustified closure of the Nephton mine near Havelock just days before Christmas.
“Shutting the Nephton mining operation simply does not make sense, and this decision will inevitably haunt Unimin,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Worse, this announcement comes with no commitment of job protection for the hundreds of affected families.”
Toronto—During the busiest season of the year for Canadian airports, Unifor is raising concerns about the dangers of abandoning the not-for-profit model of the nation’s airport network.
“Airports are gateways for millions of passengers and billions of dollars in goods,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Airport security and service should take priority over making a quick buck.”
Given the numerous common issues in Ontario and Quebec, we have agreed to a set of bargaining rules of engagement in order to showcase our solidarity and strengthen our position during negotiations with the Company.
By Ignatius Oram Unifor Member, Unit Chair of Local 597
I am one of 32 workers who were locked out a few days before Christmas last year by my American employer, D-J Composites, which operates an aerospace manufacturing plant in Gander, Newfoundland.
St. Johns – Unifor has filed a second unfair labour practice complaint alleging bad faith bargaining against an American based employer that locked out 32 aerospace workers one year ago today.
"D-J Composites refuses to abide by the normally accepted practices for collective bargaining, and clearly has no intention of fulfilling its obligations to these workers under the province’s employment laws,” said Shane Wark, Assistant to Unifor’s National President, at a rally on the steps of the Confederation Building in St. John’s.
St-John's - Members of Unifor local 597 will mark the one-year anniversary of the day their American-based employer locked them out, with a bus ride from Gander to the Newfoundland and Labrador legislature in St. John’s for a solidarity rally.
“If the province had stronger labour laws there is no way this American company could get away with its shameful union busting and would have to instead negotiate fairly,” said Lana Payne, Atlantic Regional Director.
The Unifor ACL bargaining committee made progress on several issues this week and both sides have agreed to extend discussions into January.
“We have accomplished long awaited results this week in signing off on multiple issues, including paid domestic violence leave for members, agreements on performance management and the formation of a joint committee on mental health,” said Bobby MacDonald, Chair of Unifor ACL.
Negotiations between Unifor and First Student Canada underway
Toronto – Negotiations are currently underway between First Student Canada and Unifor Local 4268, representing school bus drivers in the Bowmanville, Kincardine, Port Elgin, Wiarton and Owen Sound regions.
“We just ratified a collective agreement with First Student drivers in the Durham Region so it’s our goal to build on that success to achieve wage increases and the elimination of unpaid driving hours in these additional regions,” said Debbie Montgomery, President of Unifor Local 4268.
Halifax - On December 6, Unifor and Bell Aliant honoured the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with concrete action by negotiating paid domestic violence leave.
Vancouver — In a written submission to the Fair Wage Commission, Unifor is recommending an immediate adoption of the $15 minimum wage to alleviate poverty and stimulate the economy.
“Any way you look at it, B.C.’s current minimum wage is a poverty sentence,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “There is no time to waste. B.C. should raise the minimum wage to $15 now.”
The Nova Scotia Council of Health Care Unions, and the employers, (NSHA and IWK) have completed three days of conciliation and plan to meet again in January for another five days. The three days of meetings in November provided good discussion and some progress. However, a lot of work remains.
To date the parties have held 27 bargaining sessions to conduct a very complex set of negotiations that require bringing together collective agreements from all four unions (Unifor, NSGEU, CUPE, and NSNU) in the acute care and community care sectors.
When people are hurting, such as after a natural disaster, the normal human reaction is to find a way to help.
In fact, for most people, the immediate reaction is not whether they should offer help, but to think about how they can help out best.
In La Doré, Quebec, where the major employer is a Resolute Forest Products sawmill, the obvious way for them to help victims of a devastating hurricane last August in Florida was to send down some of the softwood lumber they produce at the local mill.
