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Unifor has made great progress in Quebec since the union’s founding just a year ago, Quebec Director Michel Ouimet told Canadian Council.
Ouimet cited the reorganization of most of the union’s office spaces in Quebec (including those in Montreal), and implementation of the Quebec Council, which is now up and running.
Unifor is the largest union in the private sector in the Quebec Federation of Labour, where Ouimet is Executive Vice-President.
Unifor has worked hard to defend members in a number of battles, including ending the lock-out at Silicium, negotiating a pattern contract for the pulp and paper industry with Resolute and lobbying all levels of government.
Ouimet also urged locals across Canada to show strong support for Bathium workers, in a long dispute with an anti-union employer.
Ouimet, however, pointed out that there is still much work to do, defeating the Harper government in the 2015 federal election.
“Our next major political crusade both in Quebec and in the rest of Canada will be to get rid of the Harper government during next year’s federal election campaign,” he said.
“And thanks to our strategic plan, I am confident that together we will succeed.”
On politics in Quebec, Ouimet explained that there are two major rifts in Quebec: the national issue, which is unique to Quebec, and the split between left and right.
After the NDP swept Quebec in the 2011 election, some predicted the death of the sovereignty movement, but support for independence has continued to be strong in polls year after year.
