OTTAWA – As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet gather in Hamilton for a three-day retreat, a broad coalition of unions and progressive groups says that implementing a comprehensive pharmacare program must be a top priority for the Liberal government. The cost-of-living crisis has significantly increased cost-related obstacles to Canadians’ access to prescription drugs, while high drug prices are draining billions of dollars from hospitals’ budgets.
DELTA, B.C.—Workers at the Cascades casino in Delta became Unifor’s newest members after the B.C. Labour Board certified the unit on January 24, 2023.
“Unifor is very proud to welcome a new group of hospitality and gaming workers into our union, joining thousands of Unifor members in the sector. We thank the Cascades workers for choosing Unifor and I know they are eager to get started on having a say in improving their working conditions,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
TORONTO- The Bank of Canada’s decision to impose a quarter-point interest rate hike willfully ignores inflation data, unfairly jeopardizes workers’ jobs and fails to address the root causes of price increases.
Unifor Council 4000 and Local 100 continued contract negotiations with CN the week of January 16-20 in Montreal. This was the first sessions with the assistance of Federal Conciliators.
Unifor filed a Notice of Dispute with Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) on December 16, 2022. The Conciliators were appointed on December 30, meaning the bargaining schedule and conciliation process has changed slightly from what we initially advised in the last RailLine update.
Nikki Moffat
Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive Vice President
Corporate Services
BCE and Bell
Dear Ms. Moffat,
In September 2010, Bell Let’s Talk began a new conversation about Canada’s mental health with the public. At the time, many people were not openly discussing living with mental illness.
Millions of Canadians, including leading personalities, engaged in an open discussion about mental illness, offering new ideas and hope for those who struggle, with numbers growing every year.
CROFTON, B.C.—The combined investments of the David Eby government, the federal government and Paper Excellence will help recall more than 100 workers at the pulp and paper mill in Crofton.
TORONTO –Unifor is looking at all options to protect media workers after Postmedia announced restructuring plans today, which includes laying off workers in the media sector.
"We will do everything in our power to protect our members working in the media sector,” said Unifor’s National President Lana Payne. “Journalists and media workers often put their lives on the line to provide fact-based reporting to the public and they deserve respect, not constantly worrying when the next axe in the newsroom will drop.”
HALIFAX- Members of Unifor MWF 1 ratified a new four-and-a-half year collective agreement with Irving Shipbuilding.
“On behalf of the union, I send my thanks and congratulations to the MWF 1 bargaining committee for what they achieved for workers at the Halifax Shipyard,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “In addition to important economic improvements, this agreement will support the growth of the skilled workforce in the shipyard, an anchor for good union employment in the Halifax region.”
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C.-The permanent closure of the pulp line at Canfor’s Prince George mill was preventable, says Unifor.
“Hundreds of families have been forced to deal with job loss due to an entirely preventable mill closure,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “Our union, along with many others, has been advocating for better and more sustainable forestry policies for years. It’s clear this government is not moving fast enough to repair the damage done by the B.C. Liberals.”
An elderly man in Fredericton, N.B. died alone in a wheelchair. Another patient died while waiting for care after hours in a hospital emergency waiting room. A 76-year-old man suffered a heart attack waiting in the ER waiting room. An 88-year-old woman, who is blind, is put into a bed in a storage closet.
Then, an ambulance was called to a residence in Greater Moncton which was dispatched from Saint John, 1.5 hours away. The child’s lungs collapsed and had to be rushed to the nearest children’s hospital, the IWK in Halifax, N.S.
The 200 Unifor members at Post Foods in Niagara Falls, Ont. voted 84% in favour of a new three-year agreement on Jan. 14, 2023.
Key victories include a 12% wage increase over three years, with 6% in the first year, and 3% in the second and third year. Members have improved working conditions and work practices, including addressing unscheduled overtime procedure and new language where the company must fist contact the union prior to contracting out work.
TORONTO- Unifor will continue to fight for public health care in the face of Ontario PC government’s latest steps into privatization.
“This is far from the first step of Ontario’s path toward private healthcare, but this must be where it ends,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “Public health care in Ontario is too important and we will not allow this government to bring us closer to an American-style for-profit system of health.”
Momentum to unionize continues to grow across Canada’s auto parts sector, after 600 workers at TRQSS Inc., a seatbelt manufacturer in Windsor, Ontario, voted to join Unifor.
“By joining Unifor, auto parts workers at TRQSS have taken an important step towards their objective of having the coverage, and security, of a first collective agreement,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “Momentum is clearly building across the sector. Workers are standing up for themselves and saying loudly and clearly that they’re better off with the protection union membership provides.”
VANCOUVER- Unifor Local 101R has reached a tentative agreement with Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), covering 1,200 workers at 18 locations from British Columbia to Quebec.
“These are hard working members who provide a vital service and I know the Bargaining Committee was determined to make progress during these difficult times,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “I thank the Committee for their outstanding work.”
A tentative agreement has been reached between Unifor Local 101R and Canadian Pacific Railway.
Details of the tentative agreement will be provided at ratification meetings, which will be held at multiple locations across the country in the coming days. Information on a ratification tour will be communicated as soon as dates and locations are finalized.
Unifor National President Lana Payne addresses the challenges and opportunities created by the shift to electric vehicles as a featured speaker at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago 29th Annual Automotive Insights Symposium. “We look at this shift toward zero emission vehicles as part of an inevitable evolution. We see the opportunities this shift presents to secure new work in plants. New tools and skills in the hands of workers. New openings for regional economic development and innovation.”
In the final weeks of December 2022, Unifor members at the Domtar mill in Dryden, Ont. voted overwhelmingly in favor of three new contracts with Domtar.
“Negotiating for sector-wide gains is a major advantage for workers,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “Unifor forestry members benefit from years of pattern bargaining and these Domtar Dryden agreements are a great example of the bargaining committee’s hard work and the strength of the pattern model. We are stronger together.”
The Unifor Legal Services Plan was created to provide quality personal legal services at affordable prices to eligible members of Unifor and their spouses and dependents.
“The Legal Services Plan is a negotiated benefit for Unifor members. If your contract doesn’t include the Legal Services Plan please make sure it’s a priority in your next round of bargaining,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President.
TORONTO—The Ontario Minister of Health was briefed on Bill 124’s ill effects rippling across Ontario’s health care system, newly obtained ministerial briefing documents have revealed.
HALIFAX-The union representing workers at the Irving Shipyard has reached a tentative collective agreement covering more than 1,000 tradespeople building the next generation of Canada’s naval fleet.
“The members of MWF-Local 1 at the Halifax Shipyard are a dynamic, diverse, and skilled group of workers,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “I congratulate the bargaining committee for their outstanding work in reaching a tentative agreement with Irving Shipbuilding.”
Unifor welcomes the announcement of financing support for NFI Group, the parent company of New Flyer, from the Government of Manitoba and Export Development Canada.
“Our hard working and highly skilled members at the New Flyer bus assembly plant have endured a tough period due to the pandemic and supply chain issues,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “With solid financial footing our members now stand ready to continue to build the transit of the future.”
Unifor’s 2022 Constitutional Convention, the first one since pandemic restrictions lifted, reunited members from across sectors and regions under the theme ‘Together’. Convention highlights included the election of the new Unifor leadership team, discussion on Canadian and international labour struggles, solidarity action for striking workers, and a tribute to frontline heath care workers.
Workers at Port Hawkesbury Paper have signed their first agreement in 10 years, making long-overdue gains for members of Local 972.
“I want to thank the bargaining committee for all of their hard work. We are very happy for our members at Port Hawkesbury Paper who have waited so long to see well-deserved wage increases,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “This group will now be aligned with the timing of negotiations across the Eastern pulp and paper Locals and we hope to see members of Local 972 benefit from future pattern negotiations.”
CAP-CHAT, QUE., – A deal has been reached between Unifor and Bois Chic-Chocs (Damabois), with Local 299 members voting 100% to ratify the tentative agreement presented to them at a meeting on Dec. 12, 2022, ending a six-week strike at the plant.
Ontario health care worker representatives joined with union leaders from Unifor, CUPE, SEIU Healthcare, ONA and OPSEU/ SEFPO to deliver an 'all we want for Christmas' holiday card that called on Premier Doug Ford to repeal Bill 124.
“Across the country, Unifor members are making their voices heard and pushing for the change needed in our workplaces and communities. Together we are making a difference everywhere.” Unifor National President Lana Payne reflects on 2022, a historic year with the highest number of labor disputes since the creation of Unifor, and looks ahead to the challenges workers face in 2023.
Today, December 20, nurses represented by the Royal College of Nursing union across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are staging the largest strike in the history of the National Health Service.
Unifor expresses solidarity with striking nurses and with thousands of workers from many sectors taking strike action this month in the UK. The strikes to demand economic and social justice for all working people were initiated by rail workers and have continued to gain support across the country.
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