National AccessAbility Week, May 31 to June 6, 2026, is a time to recognize the contributions, achievements, and leadership of persons with disabilities across Canada, and to honour the workers, allies, activists, and organizations doing the year-round work of removing barriers in every part of society.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L.— Unifor is welcoming today’s decision from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, to declare gender-based violence (GBV) an epidemic, marking another significant step forward in addressing a crisis that impacts workers, families and communities across Canada.
BURNABY—The employer’s lack of support for fair wages, benefit improvements, and scheduling has led members of Unifor Local 3000 at the Holiday Inn Express at Vancouver-Metrotown to vote in favour of a strike this summer if an agreement cannot be reached.
More than 70 local activists from across the hospitality sector gathered at the Unifor National Office in Toronto May 19–22 for a national bargaining strategy conference, bringing together local leaders, staff, and national officers from almost every province to shape Unifor’s bargaining strategy and priorities in the hospitality sector across Canada.
TORONTO—Unifor welcomes today’s federal defence procurement and policy announcements that put Canadian-built Bombardier Global aircraft, and the union members who build them, at the centre of enhancements to Canada’s defence and aerospace industry priorities.
Without exception, working people benefit from uniting together around issues of common concern, such as their wages, working conditions, or safety at work. We have seen this time and time again when workers come together in unions to bargain collectively and work towards better standards and laws for everyone.
The separatist referendum effort in Alberta accomplishes none of these objectives and only serves as a distraction from the real issues facing workers.
TORONTO – Unifor challenges government biases against workers in the union’s submission to the Employment and Social Development Canada’s consultation on modernizing the federal labour relations framework.
“Whatever your industry, however large or small your workplace, we want to hear from you,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Unifor’s national bargaining program pulls together recommendations so that workers across the country can push for a bargaining agenda that Protects Canadian Jobs.”
TORONTO—Unifor and Air Canada have reached a tentative agreement, which covers customer service agents who work at airports and call centres to provide services such as customer relations and customer journey management across the country.
The details surrounding the agreement will be released upon ratification.
Ratification meetings are scheduled June 1 to 12 at locations across Canada.
Nearly 6,000 Unifor Local 2002 members work at Air Canada locations nationwide.
TORONTO- Unifor welcomes a new Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirming the right to strike is protected under existing International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions and urges the Government of Canada to take note of this opinion.
Unifor is welcoming a federal government proposal to tighten the rules on aluminum imports, calling it a meaningful step toward protecting Canadian jobs and industry from unfair trade.
"Canadian aluminum workers produce some of the cleanest, highest-quality aluminum in the world. They shouldn't have to compete against shipments that hide their true origin to dodge our trade rules," said Unifor National President Lana Payne. "This is exactly the kind of action workers in our sector have been calling for, and it's a credit to every member who carried that message to Ottawa."
Unifor would like to express alarm regarding the U.S. government’s ongoing foreign interventionist policies in Latin America – particularly actions affecting the country of Cuba. This is not only fuelling a growing economic and humanitarian crisis in the country, but consequently, impacting workers and threatening jobs here in Canada as well.
VANCOUVER – Contract talks between Unifor and Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) have broken off, and the union is now moving to secure a strike mandate from transit workers, after the employer refused to withdraw a series of concessions on contracting out, workplace safety, worker dignity and union rights.
2SLGBTQIA+ people around the world, along with everyone who cares for and with these communities, have long resisted infringements on the freedom and safety of queer and trans people.
As Canada marks Paramedic Services Week, Unifor proudly recognizes the dedication, skill, and compassion of paramedics, emergency medical dispatchers, and frontline emergency services workers across the country.
Unifor attended Kruger’s press conference in Trois-Rivières on May 11, 2026, for the announcement of a major $333 million investment to launch a new biodegradable nonwoven materials production facility. The project will create 56 new permanent unionized jobs in Mauricie, a region that has been heavily impacted by the slowdown in forestry activities.
Invited to speak during the official announcement, Unifor Quebec Research and Strategic Planning Coordinator Simon Lavigne highlighted the critical role workers play in projects like this.
Congratulations on being named Journalist of the Year at this year’s National Newspaper Awards.
It is a deeply deserved honour, not only because of the extraordinary impact of your reporting, but because of the courage and discipline with which you carried it out.
Your year-long work on Alberta’s health spending scandal stood apart as a model of investigative doggedness and dedication to uncovering the truth.
On May 5 and 6, Unifor took to Queen’s Park to urge Ontario MPPs to pass Bill 55 and declare intimate partner violence (IPV) an epidemic.
In Canada, one woman is killed by an intimate or former intimate partner every six days. Declaring IPV an epidemic is an essential first step to put life-saving measures in place.
TORONTO- Unifor will commence 2026 Detroit Three auto negotiations on June 22, starting with Ford Motor Company. Unifor represents approximately 5,000 workers at various Ford of Canada facilities.
"Currently, the Canadian auto sector, and in turn our members and their families, face unprecedented challenges. Unifor firmly believes it is in the best interest of our members across the Detroit Three to work to establish the pattern agreement for 2026 auto bargaining with Ford Motor Company” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
Unifor statement on Personal Support Worker / Continuing Care Assistant Day, May 19, 2026
On May 19, Unifor proudly honours the dedication, skill, and compassion of Personal Support Workers (PSWs) and Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs) across Canada.
Unifor members rallied outside Belleville General Hospital this week after Quinte Health announced the elimination of 59 Personal Support Worker (PSW) and Health Care Aide positions across multiple hospital sites, a move the union says will further strain Ontario’s already overwhelmed health care system.
This National Nursing Week, Unifor proudly celebrates the nurses whose skill, compassion, and expertise are essential to strong health care teams and quality patient care across Canada.
From hospitals and social services, long-term care homes to clinics, community care, home care, and emergency services, nurses provide skilled, dedicated care every single day.
They are caregivers, advocates, mentors, and leaders who hold our health care system together through some of its greatest challenges.
MISSISSAUGA—Wage gains and structural fairness are key features of a new collective agreement voted on last night by Unifor Local 252 members. Ratified by 93%, it is the first union contract negotiated with Walmart in North America.
“Unifor members at Walmart are helping to lead the warehousing sector,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “These members were successful at radically re-shaping fairness in the workplace.”
TORONTO – Unifor Local 4268 members who drive school buses for Stock Transportation in Toronto have ratified a new three-year collective agreement that delivers wage gains and first-in-sector protections against AI-driven driver surveillance.
Following last week’s announcement that Agropur Dairy Cooperative will close its Sussex, N.B. facility in 2028, Unifor leadership met with members on May 6 to discuss the fight ahead and reaffirm the union’s commitment to supporting workers and their families through the difficult transition.
Unifor Telecommunications Council executive members brought workers’ questions to Bell management at the company’s annual shareholders meeting on Thursday May 7, 2026.
The union’s representatives submitted the following questions:
Vice President of the Society of Professional Engineers and Associates-Unifor Local 7474 (SPEA-Local 7474) Reza Ziaei told an audience at the Canadian Nuclear Association’s annual conference that a unionized workplace has helped foster mutually respectful labour relations and can be a foundation for long-term stability.
“From job security to structured and predictable labour relations, a unionized workforce is a very positive force within AtkinsRéalis,” said Ziaei. “Every worker at every skill level can benefit from having a union.”
