From June 20 to July 1, 2022 both Council 4000 and Local 100 conducted strike votes with VIA Rail members across Canada. The results for the vote were 99.4% in favour of strike action at Local 100 and 99.3 % in favour of strike action from Council 4000 members.
This is the strong mandate Council 4000 and Local 100 bargaining committees need as we continue to meet with the employer this week in Montreal. Your bargaining committees are committed to meet with VIA Rail right up to the strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. on Monday July 11, 2022.
TORONTO – Sunwing pilots filed a complaint at the Canada Industrial Relations Board Monday, July 4, 2022, alleging their employer bargained in bad faith during a recent round of negotiations because the employer already knew the company was being sold to WestJet.
“Despite management reassurances that the company was not a candidate for a sale or merger, Sunwing was sold to WestJet shortly after the collective agreement was signed – a huge slap in the face,” said Scott Doherty, Unifor’s Executive Assistant to the National President.
Bell Clerical and Bell Aliant commenced bargaining in February. From the start, it was the desire of our bargaining committees to utilize the collective power we have in numbers at some point in bargaining. Both groups have bargained separately thus far.
Our bargaining agendas include common themes of better wages, work from home policy and job security. Both bargaining tables also share a common denominator: Bell’s lead negotiator is the same at both tables.
AJAX—Wage increases and sweeping improvements to benefits are features of a new collective agreement for Unifor members working at the Hilton hotel in Ajax.
“Protecting wages from inflation was a top priority in this round of bargaining,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer. “I congratulate the team at Local 1090 for negotiating gains in the new contract.”
TORONTO- Unifor will seek judicial review of an arbitration award that set the new terms of collective agreements covering hundreds of long-term care workers that continues a trend of failing workers in the sector.
TORONTO–E-commerce warehouse workers at HBC Logistics have voted overwhelming at 80% to accept a new tentative agreement, ending a nine-day strike action.
“These workers stood firm with the full weight of Unifor behind them to successfully fight for retroactive pay to cover the time that they worked during the pandemic without a contract,” said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Naureen Rizvi.
Windsor Star workers have overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year contract that provides annual improvements to wages, an additional statutory holiday and language aimed at protecting the news organization's journalists from online bullying and harassment.
“This collective agreement represents real gains in the media sector – both wage increases and addressing the harassment being faced by journalists today,” Unifor Secretary-Treasurer Lana Payne said. “Congratulations to all the members for this deal.”
Watch old friends reunite and new friends join the fold at Atlantic Regional Council in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador June 1-3, 2022. Delegates to the democratic body of the union vote on the priorities and projects the union will tackle in the coming year.
Pride activists are dusting off flags and banners after years of cancelled festivities and social isolation.
This past weekend’s Toronto Pride festival saw an estimated 1.8 million people come out to celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Unifor joined in the celebrations and marches, including an important emergency action on Saturday June 25, 2022 in support of reproductive justice.
TORONTO–Striking e-commerce warehouse workers at HBC Logistics will vote on a tentative agreement reached between the company and Unifor Local 40’s bargaining committee.
“I congratulate the bargaining committee on reaching a tentative agreement for these workers, primarily women with the majority being newcomers, who literally carried The Bay through the pandemic,” said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Naureen Rizvi.
Kleenzone workers who provide cleaning services at the Sanofi Pasteur Plant in Toronto will achieve significant pay hikes and improved benefits through a new four-year collective agreement.
“With inflation as a key concern, these members stood together and pushed the company to improve wages,” said Mike Hill, Unifor Local 1701 President. “As a result, their bargaining committee was able to deliver an immediate $2 an hour increase with additional pay increases in each year of the contract.”
CHATHAM – Health care workers are taking their issues right to Chatham, Ont.’s Riverview Gardens after they say negotiations have broken down.
Negotiations have broken down between Unifor Local 127 and Riverview Gardens, a Home for the Aged operated by the municipality.
“Throughout the pandemic, our members have always put residents of long-term care first and they demand fair pay and respect,” said Katha Fortier, Assistant to Unifor’s National President. “It’s time Riverview Gardens listened.”
Today’s U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will cause harm, medical risk, and preventable death for American women and trans people, and embolden organizations who want the same for us in Canada.
Safe, accessible reproductive care should never be up for debate, let alone criminalised or limited for those who need it.
Wage increases and a comprehensive benefits package are highlights of a new three-year first collective agreement with Plains Midstream near Windsor.
“The members of this unit identified problems in the workplace, organized a union, and bargained a solid collective agreement,” said John Dagnolo, Unifor Local 200 president. “They should be very proud of taking action to have a voice in their workplace.”
The federal Ministry of Labour’s ongoing inspections to uncover violations of new laws to protect truck drivers are important for maintaining good wages and preventing fraud, says Unifor.
VANCOUVER—Container truck drivers’ concerns are being ignored as the Port of Vancouver forces through a program to retire trucks arbitrarily, says Unifor.
“The program is a farce. Not only does it ignore the financial concerns of truck drivers, it exempts more than 98% of trucks on B.C.’s roads,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. “It’s ‘greenwashing’ at its worst. The Port’s plan imposes massive costs on truckers and will have no real effect on emissions.”
WINNIPEG—Unifor Local 681 will hold a rally at Manitoba Hydro Place as part of the second day of picket line action against the employer and join the leader of the opposition to call for a legislative committee to hear testimony on the impasse.
“With record profits forecasted for the employer, we call on Premier Heather Stefanson to answer questions about why gas workers in the province are being denied the same wage increases awarded to other Crown workers,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director.
TORONTO–More than 330 e-commerce warehouse workers at HBC Logistics (The Bay) began strike action at noon today. Negotiations broke down suddenly after the company refused to offer an increase in compensation for the past year, when workers continued to provide services without a contract during the pandemic.
More than 70 members, staff, and union leadership joined an Education Department webinar about the gender fluid traditions of First Nations. It was coordinated as one of the ways Unifor is celebrating both National Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Pride month.
The session was the fourteenth in the Turtle Island series led by Unifor Indigenous Communities Liaison Gina Smoke.
Last week, your Bargaining Committee made headway on a number of priority areas.
We raised our concern in regards to recent modifications in Consumer Service Representative classification.
Many facets of the work of technicians were also explored with the employer.
After weeks of slow movement from the Company, their representatives showed an opening for a change in pace. There is a lot of Bargaining going between Bell Canada and Unifor:
The deadline to complete a survey on sexual harassment in the workplace for workers in the hospitality, gaming and airline sectors has been extended to June 30, 2022!
The Toronto Caribbean Carnival is the largest event of its type in North America, attracting over two million people annually and Unifor is a proud participant.
Over the past six years, Unifor alongside the Executive of Local 40, has organized a mas band contingent to represent the union in the Grand Parade.
Your Bargaining Committee is happy to report the results of the strike vote. More than two-thirds of the membership voted, with 65% voting in favour of strike action.
This historic vote will send Bell Canada a clear, direct message to bring a better deal to the table. In this round of negotiations we’re clear that it’s Our Bell, and Our Jobs.
Unifor Local 681 members at Manitoba Hydro began rotating strikes on June 17. Watch the rally and hear about what's at stake for these members who worked during the pandemic on the front lines of in-home service.
After two long years of racism exacerbated by the pandemic, Black, Indigenous and Workers of Colour (BIWOC) gathered in Port Elgin to share their trauma.
The three-day BIWOC conference – which took place in-person June 17 to 19, 2022 – had a poignant theme this year: “Practicing radical self-care is an act of activism.”
TORONTO– Unifor members in the Bell Canada clerical unit returned a strike mandate on Sunday June 19, just ahead of this week’s negotiations with the company.
The approximately 4,200 workers in the bargaining unit perform clerical and other duties, and live and work across Ontario and Quebec. More than two-thirds of the membership voted, with 65% voting in favour of strike action.
WINNIPEG—Premier Heather Stefanson’s grudge against Manitoba Hydro workers has resulted in legal strike action and customer service disruptions, says Unifor.
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