Unifor thanks all paramedics for their exceptional courage and compassion on the occasion of Paramedic Services Week, which runs from May 23 to May 29, 2021.
Paramedic Services Week serves to spotlight our professional paramedics. The theme for this year's Paramedic Services Week "Paramedic as Educator – Citizen Ready" this year's theme hopes to demonstrate the important role that paramedics play as educators to the public.
TORONTO – In a major victory for hard-hit airline workers, 531 WestJet airport agents in Calgary and Vancouver are now members of Unifor, the Canada Industrial Relations Board has declared.
“Today these workers have gained a voice in their workplace during a challenging time in their industry. WestJet workers are dedicated employees who have a great deal to offer as the airline moves forward,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
In 2018, almost 300 members of Unifor Local 16-O working at for Compass Minerals in Goderich, ON went on strike after rejecting a company proposal that included mandatory overtime, 16-hour shifts and 72-hour work weeks. The US- based employer brought in scabs in an attempt to keep the mine operating, leading to heightened tensions on the picket line and safety concerns in the workplace.
TORONTO – Unifor will be holding an online news conference Friday morning, streamed live on Facebook to announce a major organizing win in an industry battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is always good news when workers join a union – and during a pandemic the key to building back better will be for more workers to gain a voice in the workplace by joining a union,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
After nearly three weeks on the picket line, more than 470 workers who went on strike at a Nestlé Canada manufacturing plant in Toronto, have reached a three-year tentative agreement with the chocolate giant.
Negotiations with the company continued this week via zoom. Despite the challenges related to COVID 19 and the current government restrictions, discussions have advanced and at an adequate pace. We are working hard to reach a negotiated agreement.
We thank you for your patience and support, as we continue to fight for your priorities. We will be sure to keep you informed of future developments.
NORTH SIDNEY—Continued random alcohol testing of Marine Atlantic workers is a flagrant privacy violation and contradicts newly-established labour precedent, says Unifor.
“The continued testing by Marine Atlantic is a clear violation of workers’ privacy and the arbitrator studying this issue agrees,” said Brian Jobes, Local 4285 President. “We have escalated this issue to the highest levels of our union.”
This column originally appeared in the Toronto star.
There’s a reason why they’re called scabs.
“Just as a scab is a physical lesion, the strikebreaking scab disfigures the social body of labour,” writes Stephanie Ann Smith in Household Words.
I could not have said it better myself. Scabs tear apart communities, pull down workers and prolong disputes – something, we at Unifor, know all too well.
The vote against Harris should be part of a broader reform in long-term care
19 May 2021—A coalition of unions, representing a majority of Chartwell’s long-term care (LTC) staff, is calling on shareholders to vote against the company’s Chair of the Board Mike Harris at its annual meeting tomorrow. They hope the withhold vote against Harris will be part of a broader reckoning in the long-term care sector, which was particularly hard-hit by COVID-19 due to long-standing structural problems in the industry.
In celebration of Personal Support Worker Day on May 19, 2021 Unifor salutes the contributions of the thousands of Unifor members who work as Personal Support Workers (PSWs) in Ontario, and Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs) in Nova Scotia.
We are especially proud this year to recognize PSW’s who have been on the front lines putting themselves in danger ever day by providing care for others during this unprecedented pandemic. In many health care facilities, PSW’s have been the backbone, providing care throughout the pandemic.
TORONTO, ON, May 18, 2021 – Health-care workers who have been there for patients and their families in every corner of Ontario throughout the COVID-19 pandemic are telling the Ford government that its wage restraint program profoundly devalues the contribution they’ve made, and that it must go now. For nearly 16 months, front-line health care staff have overcome challenge after challenge battling the coronavirus. Nearly 23,000 health-care workers have been infected with COVID-19, and 24 have died.
May 15, 2021 TORONTO – Members of Unifor Local 100 have voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with VIA Rail that will continue to build on gains for a prosperous future. Unifor entered negotiations at the height of the pandemic, working relentlessly to secure an increase of pay and benefits for workers. “Our members have been working hard throughout the pandemic to assist in the safe transportation of people. We owed it to them to get a comprehensive deal that they could confidently rely on during these unprecedented times,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
Unifor is urging the federal government to send Canadian observers to oversee the upcoming union vote at the General Motors (GM) plant in Silao, Mexico.
Unifor marks the 2021 International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOT) with solidarity for people of all sexual and gender minorities.
Unifor remains resolved to continue the fight against homophobia and transphobia through social change and the fight for human rights for all.
As we resurface after the pandemic and begin to build a better world, we must do away with the inequalities and oppression that lead to discrimination.
The bargaining committee will return to the table next week via zoom. We remain committed to addressing the top priorities as voted upon by membership, which is securing work, job security, addressing wages, and mental health concerns. We will not bargain with ourselves, nor accept concessionary changes to our collective agreement designed to pit worker against worker.
VANCOUVER—A new report published by the B.C. Container Trucking Commissioner will help close many loopholes and improve the standard of living for truckers, says Unifor.
“Container truckers’ concerns about enforcement and fairness have been heard,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “The move to hourly rates makes sense and the ministry must ensure that no truck driver loses out when this system is fully implemented.”
