Journalism is under attack - literally and figuratively, and that makes freedom of the press more relevant and important today than it ever has been.
Totalitarian regimes and terrorists are attacking and even killing journalists. Right-wing politicians and online harassers are abusing and harassing journalists, police forces are arresting journalists for just doing their jobs and social media platforms are implicit in inciting harassment and spreading misinformation to make it harder to discern the truth.
Toronto- Health Canada announced their approval of the Canadian Blood Services’ (CBS) move to behaviour-based screening questions for blood donations, ending the homophobic blood ban.
“This announcement is a long-fought victory for workers and advocates, and for Canada’s safe supply of blood and tissue donations. These new policies will now reflect science, not outdated and discriminatory assumptions,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer.
Today’s announcement did not include a timeline of the same regulatory change for Héma-Québec.
TORONTO- Premier Ford’s faux provincial budget, tabled today in the Legislature, missed the mark for workers, forming a weak foundation to the Progressive Conservatives’ election platform.
HALIFAX— Unifor is disappointed by Northern Pulp parent company Paper Excellence’s decision not to make a special pension payment for its workers in today’s British Columbia Supreme Court filing.
On April 28, during negotiations, Unifor took a moment of silence to recognize workers lost on the job, on the Day of Mourning.
Each day we benefit from the labour of thousands of essential workers who give large proportions of their lives to provide us with everything that makes up modern life. Every year, hundreds suffer injury or illness because of their working conditions, and some of these workers die on the job.
Unifor Local 5555 has ratified its latest collective agreement with McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., winning significant gains in wage increases and racial justice bargaining language.
“Congratulations to the bargaining committee on ratifying its latest agreement,” said Deb Tveit, Assistant to Unifor’s National President. “The members ratified the best monetary package they’ve had in over 10 years. The last time they saw a 3% increase was in 2006.”
TORONTO– School bus drivers at Stock Transportation in Toronto have voted to provide a strong mandate in support of strike action if the company fails to reach a tentative agreement by the negotiation deadline of 12:01 a.m. May 6, 2022.
“These frontline workers are simply asking for a fair wage, guaranteed minimum hours and safety on the job,” said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Naureen Rizvi.
TILLSONBURG, ONTARIO—Approximately 160 Unifor Local 1859 members at auto parts manufacturer THK Rhythm Automotive ratified a collective agreement today, ending a three-day strike at the plant.
Unifor members from across Ontario met in Toronto April 25 and 26 to train and plan for the upcoming provincial election.
Members are booked off from work to canvass members in target ridings in the provincial election to support the union’s goal of preventing a second Doug Ford majority government.
Ontario Regional Director Naureen Rizvi kicked off the day by highlighting the importance of this election, especially in order to represent the workers who have been targeted and let down by Ford over the last several years.
During Asian Heritage Month in May, Unifor joins with our members to celebrate accomplishments and honour people's diverse experiences from all across Asia including north, southeast and west Asia.
Unifor wants members to share their stories, hear others’ experiences and take away the lessons learned from each other in the workplace to build our solidarity. Let's embrace the history of our workers’ successes and understand the challenges and barriers faced by Asian and South Asian members of our communities and of our union.
In the spirit of International Workers Day, May 1, 2022, Unifor joins with workers around the world in calling for peace and worker rights.
We stand with the workers and people of Ukraine who in this moment suffer the scourges of war with bombardments and assaults on cities and towns throughout their country resulting in a humanitarian and refugee crisis. According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, 5,085,360 refugees fled Ukraine between Feb 22 and April 20, 2022.
This is a day to reflect on the importance of our environment and the clear connection that it shares in the life long health of all of us and our families. As well, we recognize how social activism and overall concern for a safe environment will ensure our victory over the threat of the COVID-19 virus and all other global health challenges to the human race in today’s overstressed environment.
On the heels of the $5 billion Stellantis-LG battery plant announced for Windsor, Unifor auto workers gathered in London to discuss both the opportunities and challenges of transforming Canada’s auto sector.
Members of VersaCold Logistics in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, ratified a new collective agreement with their employer that will deliver strong gains over the next four years.
“Our bargaining committee worked hard, and took advantage of the strength and capacity of Unifor to improve these cold storage warehousing jobs,” said Bill Maddox, Local 1015 Unit Chairperson. “These members work hard and are an essential part of the local food supply chain. It’s essential that work is valued.”
Highlights of the new collective agreement include:
In two recently ratified collective agreements, Unifor committees at Locals 444 and 1090 achieved agreements that will go a long way to help members recover from lengthy pandemic-related lay-offs.
In Windsor, Unifor Local 444 members at the Caesars casino ratified a new three-year collective agreement by 93% on March 20, 2022. The contract is filled with improvements, including wage increases each year, a pension enhancement of 1%, and a signing bonus of up to $1,600 per member.
Unifor, through the Women’s Department, has partnered with the Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children (CREVAWC) at Western University to examine sexual harassment in the hospitality, gaming and airline sectors.
Through an anonymous survey, the group aims to identify actions to prevent and respond to sexual harassment and violence at work and to support workers.
During a time when the Newfoundland and Labrador unemployment is nearly 8 percentage points higher than the national average, the Bay du Nord approval will ensure the province’s energy sector remains a source of hundreds of good paying, unionized jobs. Hundreds more jobs are sure to be created by indirect economic activity.
TORONTO- Unifor’s Ontario Regional Director and Human Rights Director wrote to Ontario Premier to demand the province immediately adopt the ONDP’s Bill-86, Our London Family Act.
“By refusing to support Bill 86 in the legislature last week, Ford revealed that his party and government does not consider the safety and well-being of Muslims in Ontario to be an imminent priority,” said Naureen Rizvi, Unifor Ontario Regional Director.
During the week of April 11-15, your bargaining committee worked through multiple items and prioritized making a clear presentation of the membership’s position on teleworking. In our region, approximately 550 members are deemed to be remote or mobile, while others have been directed to return to the office with no recourse based on a policy (Bell Workways) that is entirely employer-directed.
As a reminder, Bell owns its policies, which are only limited by language we negotiate into the collective agreement and/or applicable laws.
Premier Andrew Furey’s new budget is titled “Change is in the Air,” but it’s still unclear if his government is blowing towards implementing additional damaging PERT report recommendations or towards a fair and inclusive economic recovery for all.
Budget 2022 indicates the government is ready to make some significant transformations, but not yet ready to decide which direction that change will lead. I’m left with more questions than answers about which path they will choose or if they will opt to do the bare minimum on both – essentially sticking with the status quo.
MONCTON-Unifor members at Acadia Toyota in Moncton, N.B., ratified an agreement today with their employer, ending a five-day strike.
“We are pleased to see a deal reached that responded to the workers’ demands for increased pay and improvements to personal days,” said Linda MacNeil, Unifor Atlantic Regional Director. “There is power in withholding our labour and in standing together to fight for what’s right. Thank you to every Unifor member and retiree who visited the picket line or sent messages to offer their support and solidarity.”
Canada’s largest private sector union is relieved the provincial government is restoring the Ontario Northland passenger rail line, which has been out of service since 2012.
In Canada, this year Equal Pay Day is April 12, 2022. Equal Pay Day marks the day that the average woman must work in order to have earned what the average man did in 2021. It’s 2022 and unions and other progressive organizations are still fighting to close the pay gap in Canada. We pride ourselves on so many progressive labour conditions but when it comes to ensuring women are paid equally we still fall short.
As part of ongoing efforts to bargain better outcomes for patient care and hospital staff, health care unions launch television ads aimed at the OHA
TORONTO, ON – Three unions negotiating with the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) to resolve the ongoing hospital staffing crisis, job safety concerns and pandemic-related mental health supports, today launched a province-wide television advertising blitz to fix the mess and save hospital care in Ontario.
Recap: last year upon the completion of provincial bargaining, the public health restrictions in place meant we did a one-year roll over collective agreement that was ratified by the membership with a wage increase that expired on March 31, 2022.
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