On paper it looks like Canada’s real hourly wage flat lined between September 2019 and September 2022 with a paltry increase of just 13 cents. But without changes in the composition of the labour market the average hourly wage would have been even worse.
On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers we represent in the province of Ontario, our five unions are requesting an urgent joint-meeting to discuss the ongoing healthcare and staffing crisis.
During the week of October 17 through 21, 2022, the Unifor Family Education Centre hosted four courses for women: Women’s Activist, Collective Bargaining, Women’s Advocate 40-Hour Basic Training, and the first 3-Day Women’s Advocate Update Course held in three years.
Workers at Unifor Local 6006 won a number of significant gains with a new three-year contract with Commercial Bakeries Corp. in Toronto.
“Congratulations to the bargaining committee for negotiating a strong deal for Local 6006 members,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “The biggest challenge was the difference in priorities between the committee and the company. The strength and solidarity of the union is what made it possible for workers’ needs to be addressed.”
Wages, an RRSP match program and improved benefits were among the gains in the latest contract from food services company, Aramark Canada Ltd., which was ratified by Unifor members on Oct. 22, 2022.
“Congratulations to the bargaining committee for negotiating the best deal for their members,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “The bargaining committee fought for our members tooth-and-nail down to the wire and were able to avoid a strike.”
Subject: Supporting Strong News and Print Industries in Alberta / Saskatchewan / Manitoba
I write to you today on a matter relating to the media and news print industries. Unifor is Canada’s largest private sector union representing 315,000 members across Canada, working in 20 economic sectors. In the media, our union represents more than 12,000 workers, including more than 6,000 members in the news and print industries.
PETERBOROUGH—Job security and wage increases are key gains in a new collective agreement ratified today by Unifor Local 306-O members at Covia Canada Limited.
“As the Nephton mine’s closure approaches, it is a priority to ensure there are no negative consequences for Unifor members,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “The new agreement is a terrific example of what can be done with long-term planning and respect for workers.”
REGINA—A Labour Relations Board ruling says evidence showing Co-op Refinery acted in bad faith was “too voluminous to spell out in detail”.
“Nobody is surprised by this ruling. Time and again during the lock-out the Co-op management acted without integrity and in bad faith,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President.
MONTREAL—Unifor opened bargaining for a new collective agreement with CN this morning in Montreal.
“The fact is that during a time of record inflation CN is reporting record quarterly earnings,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “Without our members at the helm, this company wouldn’t have been able to get even close to that, and they deserve to be compensated fairly and treated with respect.”
Workers at the Autoport vehicle processing and transshipment facility, located in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia voted in favour to ratify a new two-year collective agreement.
“The bargaining committee dealt with difficult issues at the table this round, but with the support and solidarity of our members, we were successful in achieving an agreement that respects and values our members,” said Scot Spike, President of the Autoport unit Lodge 1 at Unifor Local 100.
The bargaining committee was successful in achieving many improvements including:
After eight long months of negotiations, your Bargaining Committee reached a tentative agreement on October 7, 2022. This past weekend we held our ratification vote, and we are pleased to announce the new two-year collective agreement has been ratified.
The Bargaining Committee was successful in achieving many improvements including:
Unifor local leaders from across the auto parts industry gathered in London to hold the sector’s second-ever joint bargaining strategy conference and adopt a common set of goals at the bargaining table.
“Bargaining as a united auto parts sector is crucial,” Lana Payne, Unifor National President, told conference delegates. “We have to push employers to stay in Canada, build in Canada and grow good union jobs.”
TORONTO—The Ontario Ministry of Health proposal to amend the Ambulance Act to employ nurses, physicians and respiratory therapists, along with paramedics for Ornge air flight ambulances will not improve patient outcomes in the province.
Congratulations to the bargaining team of Unifor Local 39-X on the ratification of a four-year agreement with Rothsay-Darling, after a round of tough negotiations. The new contract – hard fought for by the union – will enhance the 92-member unit’s wages and benefits and includes language that improves the day-to-day operation of the workplace moving forward. The members work at the Rothsay-Darling plant in Moorefield, Ont., which provides rendering, recycling and recovery solutions to Canada’s food industry.
WINNIPEG—The Manitoba government’s refusal to fund a living wage at the Association for Community Living (ACL) has resulted in Unifor Local 468 members rejecting the employer’s latest contract offer.
“During the pandemic the Stefanson government was quick to call health care workers heroes, but at the bargaining table its totally different tone,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “Offering health care workers one dollar above minimum wage will not cut it. Health care workers deserve a living wage.”
On September 14, 2022, Unifor and CP opened contract negotiations. At the opening of contract talks your bargaining committee made it clear to the employer that its heavy-handed disciplinary actions must immediately stop and our members are expecting improvements in wages and benefits.
Unifor says Sunwing Airlines has not done enough to fill open positions by intending to hire permanent pilots who would be covered by the union’s collective agreement, instead opting to use temporary foreign workers. Read our letters to the company and the Canadian government asking them to stop this practice.
Unifor's letter to Len Corrado Président, Sunwing Airlines Inc.
Len Corrado
President, Sunwing Airlines Inc.
Re: Sunwing Application to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program Dear Mr. Corrado,
JOLIETTE, QUE. – Gathered last night – October 6, 2022 – at a special meeting, the members of Unifor Local 177 voted in favour of the conciliator’s recommendation, ending the 16-month lock-out.
“We’re proud of the determination of our members who stood strong and never gave up. Thanks to their tenacity, this conflict came to a favourable conclusion. It’s now time to heal the wounds and get back to a normal life,” said Daniel Cloutier, Unifor-Québec Director.
Unifor proudly celebrates Continuing Care Assistant (CCA) Week, October 10-15, 2022, organized by the Health Association of Nova Scotia (HANS) as part of Continuing Care Month.
"We share our gratitude and respect for CCAs this week as we continue to support these workers in gaining the recognition and working conditions they deserve,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “I want to personally thank CCAs for their dedication and deep commitment to care. Our communities are more compassionate because of you.”
Unifor members attended the inaugural International Black Health Conference in Halifax, N.S. to discuss strategies for improving access to health care in Black communities across Canada.
The conference – from Oct. 6 to 8, 2022 – is the first in Canada. Its main goal is to create better health outcomes across Black communities, inform clinical practice, initiate policy change, and showcase achievements and promising practices, which will be documented in a report available to the public in early 2023.
Unifor stands in full support and solidarity with protestors bravely taking to the streets across Iran in the wake of the murder of 22-year old Mahsa Amini on September 16th, at the hands of Iran’s Guidance Patrol (commonly known as the ‘morality police’), after allegedly failing to adhere to the country’s strict dress code.
TORONTO-Unifor is calling on the federal government to renounce an ‘incredulous’ recommendation by the National Supply Chain Task Force to develop an alternative model of labour relations intended to diminish workers’ fundamental right to strike and to publicly recommit to basic workplace rights afforded to Canadian workers.
Orange Shirt Day is a reminder of the colonial violence that still haunts survivors and their families today. The Songhees Nation hosted the South Island powwow on September 30 as a show of unity and perseverance. Watch Unifor activists participate in the day's activities.
HALIFAX –Unifor is congratulating Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) on their long-fought victory for wage increases following today’s Nova Scotia government announcement to invest an additional $75 million annually in the sector.
“Accessible, affordable, quality child care is what underpins our workforce and it doesn’t work without living wages for ECEs,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “Respecting child care workers will ensure the success of the Canada-wide $10-a-day child care plan and strengthen the Canadian economy.”
HALIFAX––Unifor has reached a tentative agreement on behalf of workers at the Autoport vehicle processing and transshipment facility, located in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia at the mouth of the Halifax harbour.
“With the united support of the membership behind them the bargaining committee was able to secure a tentative agreement that addresses key priorities for the workers,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
More than 150 health and safety representatives and leaders gathered at Unifor’s Family Education Centre in Port Elgin, Ont., for the 2022 Health and Safety Conference. Held biannually, this was the union’s first in-person health and safety conference in four years, but in that time, the pandemic meant the national union and local leaders were more occupied with health and safety issues than ever before.
Unifor Local 222 members at Mills Motors recently ratified a collective agreement, focusing on job security at the automotive dealership.
“The ongoing supply chain shortages and other economic interruptions have squeezed automotive dealerships, and by extension, workers. Congratulations to the bargaining committee for securing this contract amidst difficult times for the auto industry,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President.
Local 100 and Autoport Eastern Passage Bargaining and Strike Vote Results
The bargaining committee at Autoport Eastern Passage has been negotiating with the employer since February 15, 2021. The collective agreement expired on December 31, 2021.
Accessibility
Documents can be requested in alternative/accessible formats by emailing communications@unifor.org
