TORONTO – Unifor National President Jerry Dias will make a major announcement on the next action in the union’s #SaveOshawaGM campaign.
WHAT: News Conference
WHEN: Friday January 25, 2019 at 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Dominion Ballroom, Sheraton Centre, 123 Queen St W, Toronto
WHO: Jerry Dias, Unifor National President
The news conference will be streamed live on Unifor Canada’s Facebook page. A dial-in number will also be available, interested media should contact Kathleen O’Keefe for details (info below).
MONTREAL—Bargaining for five new collective agreements began this morning in Montreal between Unifor National Council 4000 and CN and CN Transportation Ltd.
“Our hard working rail workers have made CN the profitable company that it is today and we will be seeking their fair share in wages and benefits in these negotiations,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
The council represents 3300 rail workers across Canada including workers at CNTL, Intermodal, and CN Savage Alberta Railway.
OSHAWA- Unifor members are currently engaged in an action at General Motors headquarters in Oshawa in response to the company’s continued resistance to upholding the commitments of the 2016 collective agreement.
TORONTO- Thoughtless cuts to post-secondary education by Ford’s PC government threaten workers on campus and attack students’ access to education.
In an announcement on Thursday, January 17, the provincial government shared a plan of cuts to funding for colleges and universities. The announcement included:
WASHINGTON D.C.—Unifor is showing international solidarity with U.S. Indigenous peoples by sending a delegation of Canadian activists to the January 18 march in Washington D.C.
“Unifor activists are passionate about human rights,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “We’re proud to stand with Indigenous peoples everywhere in their struggle for justice and respect.”
TORONTO – A growing number of Canadian consumers support an outright boycott of General Motors (GM) vehicles if the automaker does not reverse its plan to close the Oshawa assembly plant, according to an Ekos Research poll commissioned by Unifor.
DETROIT- As auto parts supply workers staged a walk-out to protest General Motors’ (GM) plan to close the Oshawa Assembly Plant, Unifor warned GM that action will continue in the fight to stop the closure.
“GM just hopes we will be quiet and go away, the chances of that are zero,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “We will get General Motors’ attention today, tomorrow and the next day.”
Unifor can confirm workers at Inteva Products in Whitby walked off the job today at 8:30am today in protest of GM’s plan to end production at Oshawa Assembly after December 2019.
The plant supplies car program components to 2 GM assembly plants – Oshawa and Detroit-Hamtramck. Both plants are targeted for closure as part of GM's November 26, 2018 restructuring announcement.
HALIFAX – Recommendations from the Nova Scotia Expert Panel on Long-Term Care highlight the need for a serious investment in the province’s long-term care system, including a call to increase staffing and deal with troubling recruitment and retention issues.
Unifor, which represents over 2,000 workers in long-term care facilities across Nova Scotia, said while the panel did not address funding specifically, it is clear that many of its recommendations can not be achieved without an increase in provincial long-term care budgets.
ORILLIA—Casino Rama’s refusal to meet provincial norms has forced members of Unifor Local 1090 to vote overwhelmingly in favour of a strike if a fair collective agreement cannot be negotiated by the end of the month.
“Unifor members are pivotal to the success of Casino Rama,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “They deserve a fair collective agreement and are prepared to escalate job action to get it.”
DETROIT – Unifor National President Jerry Dias to provide an update on the Save Oshawa GM campaign, which calls on General Motors (GM) to reverse its decision to close the Oshawa Assembly Plant.
“Maintaining this course of action will hurt workers, the economy and the company itself,” said Dias. “It is not too late for GM to keep building vehicles in Canada, so Canadians will want to keep buying its products.”
DETROIT – Unifor National President Jerry Dias to provide an update on the Save Oshawa GM campaign, which calls on General Motors (GM) to reverse its decision to close the Oshawa Assembly Plant.
“Maintaining this course of action will hurt workers, the economy and the company itself,” said Dias. “It is not too late for GM to keep building vehicles in Canada, so Canadians will want to keep buying its products.”
DETROIT – Unifor National President Jerry Dias will be available to media following today’s discussions with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and with Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains on the future of the General Motors Oshawa Assembly Plant.
Dias is in Detroit to participate in the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council’s annual meeting, held during the North American International Auto Show’s media preview.
January 11, 2019 WINDSOR – Thousands rallied against General Motors (GM) blatant corporate greed today as the automaker held an investor event on its future plans, which include abandoning workers at the Oshawa Assembly Plant.
TORONTO –A new independent study verifies a closure of the General Motors (GM) Oshawa Assembly Plant would create an economic shock, resulting in 24,000 lost jobs and a loss of $1 billion per year in government revenue.
“We’re looking at tens of thousands of jobs and a direct hit to the GDP,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “Should GM proceed with plans to close Oshawa, the economic impact would be substantial, both in the short and long term.”
WINDSOR – Unifor National President Jerry Dias will be available to media in Windsor, Ontario following a meeting between the union and General Motors (GM) on proposals to save the Oshawa Assembly Plant.
“Unifor presented General Motors with solid options to maintain production in Oshawa last month,” said Dias. “Our position is clear that we expect GM to allocate product and continue plant operations past 2019.”
WHAT: Unifor comments on meeting with General Motors
TORONTO – Unifor continues a major advertising campaign today with the debut of a new 30-second television commercial condemning General Motors for the decision to abandon the Oshawa assembly plant while the company continues to expand production in Mexico.
“We are making sure Canadians understand that GM is betraying Canadian taxpayers and the automaker needs to realize that if they expect Canadian consumers to remain loyal to GM vehicles, they need to be loyal to GM workers and keep building here,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor’s National President.
VANCOUVER—Unifor is disappointed with the referendum results but says it is hard to ignore that four in ten British Columbians wanted a fairer system of voting.
“Unifor members rose to the occasion, and despite falling short, we’re proud of our role in the campaign to make B.C.’s elections fairer,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
TORONTO – News from meeting between the union and General Motors (GM) at its Detroit headquarters.
Unifor also unveiled a major advertising strategy today.
The advertising blitz targets both Canadian and American audiences with television, radio, print, digital and out-of-home advertising. This major paid-advertising campaign is driving a message to a broader audience to engage and inform consumers as part of the union’s #SaveOshawaGM campaign, a nationwide call to support autoworkers and to keep good jobs in Canada.
MONTREAL— A new tentative collective agreement has been reached between Unifor Local 100 and CN.
“Congratulations to the bargaining committee, who have been working very hard over the last two months to make significant gains for our members,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
Unifor represents 2100 workers at Local 100 who work at CN across Canada.
Negotiations began October 5, 2018. The last collective agreement expires at the end of the month.
MONTREAL – As Unifor members were protesting in seven Canadian cities, VIA Rail Canada awarded a $989-million contract to a German company that will build trains for Canada’s passenger rail service.
“This is a betrayal of Canadian workers and taxpayers who fund VIA Rail and who expect this crown corporation to show some loyalty by creating jobs here to build our economy,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor’s National President.
MONTREAL – Today Unifor members who work for VIA Rail Canada will send a strong message to their employer and the federal government at train stations across Canada.
“This crown corporation should be creating good Canadian jobs and building a national rail service that we can all be proud of, not contracting out work to foreign multinational companies,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
TORONTO – Unifor and the union’s Social Justice Fund have donated $146,000 to women’s shelters across the country in recognition of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
VANCOUVER - Unifor applauds introduction of CleanBC plan and encourages the swift implementation of its ambitious programs.
“CleanBC is a measurable plan designed in collaboration with workers that will re-establish B.C. as a climate leader,” said Joie Warnock, Unifor Western Regional Director. “The plan shows promise of cutting carbon pollution while ensuring that the B.C. economy will continue to grow and support workers with good, green jobs.”
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