Unifor National President Lana Payne and Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi toured Pelee Island Winery, represented by Unifor Local 200, meeting with members and seeing first-hand the skill and dedication they bring to Canada’s oldest and largest winery.
WINDSOR—The ongoing dispute at Titan Tool & Die continues to escalate after the company locked out approximately 25 Unifor Local 195 members on Monday August 11, 2025, following the company’s demands for sweeping concessions and emptying the plant of tools, equipment and work. Locked out workers have between 30 and 40 years of service and an average age of 59 years.
Wesley Lesosky President, Air Canada Component of CUPE
Brother Lesosky,
Re: Unifor in Solidarity with Air Canada Component of CUPE
On behalf of Unifor’s 320,000 members across Canada, including our 17,000 members working in the air transportation sector, please accept our support and solidarity as you continue your fight for a stronger, fairer collective agreement.
Unifor condemns the chilling actions of the anonymous figures who targeted and harassed Carrie Tait, a Globe and Mail journalist who has been investigating political interference at the Alberta Health Agency.
On July 10, 2025, an anonymous X account called, “The Brokedown,” posted surveillance photos of Tait in a dog park and at dinner. They also referred to her daily routines and threatened to “start exposing Carrie Tait’s sources in the continuing health care saga.”
Working people and communities across Canada continue to be adversely impacted by wildland fires, including forest fires and grassland fires. Forestry workers and forestry-dependent communities have experienced the devastating effects of forest fires, including loss of livelihoods, loss of homes and community infrastructure, and short- and long-term health challenges.
DUNCAN, B.C.—Transdev transit workers have voted down tentative offers that failed to close the wage gap with B.C. transit counterparts in Victoria and Vancouver. In the same vote, held August 7, they also opposed binding arbitration. This follows last month’s rejection of the provincial mediator’s recommendations.
The strike, which began February 8, centres on securing fair wages in line with other transit workers across the province.
Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer Len Poirier and Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi toured Grand River Transit (GRT) facilities in Kitchener alongside members of Unifor Local 4304 to recognize their work and engage with them directly about current workplace conditions and challenges.
“Unifor members at GRT play an essential role in keeping Kitchener-Waterloo moving,” said Poirier, who began his own career in the transportation sector as a truck driver in 1986.
VANCOUVER—Amazon has failed to overturn the B.C. Labour Relations Board’s ruling and the company suffered a scathing indictment from the Board about its conduct during the Unifor unionization drive at the Delta B.C. facility (“YVR2”).
TORONTO—Unifor, Canada’s forestry union, welcomes the federal government’s new measures to support Canada’s softwood lumber industry, including an emphasis on income supports for workers, product and market diversification, and a commitment to using Canadian lumber and wood products more effectively.
Colourful costumes and beats of masquerade bands came together to create magic at the annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival on Aug. 2, 2025, at Exhibition Place.
“The energy of this event–this celebration of diversity, community, and joy–is incredible and inspiring,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Our union is proud to walk and dance in solidarity with our members and their families in the Grand Parade.”
WINDSOR—Wage protections, paid holidays, and improved benefits are highlights of a new three-year collective agreement reached with the Best Western Plus Waterfront in Windsor, ending a two-month strike.
“It was very important for these workers and Unifor to take a stand at a hotel where members were facing rollbacks. They stood together and stood firm,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Members across the country rallied behind these determined hospitality workers to support their fight for fairness.”
KITIMAT, B.C.—Wages, improvements to benefits, and pension adjustments are the highlights of a new collective agreement ratified by Unifor Local 2301 members during voting on July 25–29.
“Unifor members at Rio Tinto are responsible for the safe and productive operations of a key facility in Kitimat,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Congratulations to Local 2301 on making key gains in their new contract.”
Unifor Local 8300 members working in environmental, housekeeping and laundry services at Compass Group for the Hillel Lodge long-term care facility in Ottawa have ratified their first collective agreement. Members will see substantial wage increases as well as an additional statutory holiday in this two-year agreement.
CHATHAM, ON—Unifor Local 127 members at Dajcor Aluminum began strike action after the union learned the company was planning to remove equipment and bring scab labour into the facility.
“Any attempt to remove equipment from a Unifor facility or bring in scabs will always be met with the swiftest possible response from our union,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “This is a clear case of escalation that calls for action. Our members have every right to defend their jobs, their plant, and their community from these deceitful tactics.”
Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi met with long-term care workers at the Ontario Finnish Resthome in Sault Ste. Marie, joining members of Unifor Local 1359 for a workplace tour and important discussions about the future of care work in the province.
During the tour, Hashi met with frontline staff and union leadership to hear directly about the day-to-day realities of working in long-term care and to discuss Unifor’s ongoing advocacy for better working conditions, increased funding, and stronger supports for both residents and staff.
HAMILTON—The abrupt closure announcement by Biox Corporation is the latest example of a failure to secure Canada’s domestic energy supply, says Unifor.
The union is urging federal and provincial officials to make simple regulatory changes that could help re-start the facility and lay the groundwork for securing Canada’s energy future.
Unifor is saddened to learn of the passing of labour activist and former national leader of the Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU), Garry Worth.
Garry is remembered as a dedicated rank-and-file leader who spent his life fighting for workers’ rights. He began his activism as a millwright at the Weyerhaeuser mill in Kamloops in the early 1970s, during the time the plant was joining the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada (PPWC), part of the CCU.
The U.S. trade war against Canada has become the fight of our lives. That’s why, throughout this year, Unifor’s fight to protect every Canadian worker, job and industry has intensified and evolved, expanding in scale, urgency and determination.
Tariffs threaten every sector, whether directly or indirectly. Every worker is affected. Unifor has prioritized the development of long-term strategies that aim to protect jobs amid the ongoing trade conflict, and build a stronger, more resilient Canadian economy for future generations.
TORONTO—Unifor is calling on the federal government to negotiate a long-term agreement for softwood lumber exports to the United States that will avoid the rollercoaster of duties and threatened tariffs currently causing chaos in a sector that relies on long-term planning.
Re: Supporting Ontario’s Forestry Sector and Communities
I am writing to respectfully request action from the Ontario government to support the province’s forestry sector, forestry workers, and the numerous forestry-dependent rural communities across Ontario.
Lana Payne - Op-ed contributor Originally published in the Detroit Free Press July 24, 2025
Canada and the U.S. have, for half a century, built cars and prosperity together. During that time, auto unions on both sides of the border have fought for better working conditions and fair-trade agreements that raise living standards for workers.
ABBOSTFORD, B.C.—Unifor Local 114 members at Cascade Aerospace voted in favour of a new three-year collective agreement, bringing a two-week strike at the aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility to an end.
“Aerospace jobs are among the most difficult, demanding, and highly technical in the country,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “I am incredibly proud of members for standing shoulder to shoulder throughout this dispute—not just for themselves, but to help raise standards across the entire Canadian aerospace industry.”
Re: Supporting Canada’s Forestry Sector and Communities
I am writing to request urgent action to support Canada’s forestry sector, forestry workers, and the hundreds of forestry-dependent rural communities across Canada.
CORNER BROOK, N.L. - Unifor is encouraged by Kruger Inc.’s announcement that it plans to invest up to $700 million in its Corner Brook, N.L. mill to modernize the facility.
LA DORÉ, JULY 24, 2025 – In response to the blockade set up the Mamo First Nation at the Domtar sawmill in La Doré, Unifor condemns the government’s total lack of social dialogue in its reform of the forestry regime. According to the union, the development of this reform in the absence of any real consultation with stakeholders, particularly First Nations, has resulted in a predictable conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s misguided tariff strategy continues to wreak havoc on the Canadian economy, threatening the prosperity of families and communities across the country and putting tens of thousands of Canadians out of work.
This weekend was full of Pride as Unifor members participated in both the Halifax Pride and St. John’s Pride parades.
Members of the Atlantic Regional Council’s LGBT Standing Committee organized the floats and got the word out to Locals to join in demonstrating the union’s continuing and ever-present commitment to inclusion and equality.
WINDSOR—Unifor members at NextStar Energy have voted 88% in favour of ratifying their first collective agreement, marking a historic milestone for workers at Canada’s first large-scale electric vehicle battery cell manufacturing facility.
“Bargaining a first collective agreement is never easy, and this one took place in an exceptionally difficult economic and political climate,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “The work of our bargaining committee at NextStar Energy ensures that as the electric vehicle sector grows, good union jobs grow with it.”
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