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More than 200 participants gathered in Unifor’s Family Education Centre in Port Elgin, Ont. for this year’s Retired Workers Council from Sept. 1 to 6 to celebrate Labour Day and discuss political issues.
“Retirees don’t just focus on themselves, they focus on community issues,” said Barb Dolan, Unifor Retired Workers Director.
“They’ve had the fights and struggles to get automatic dues check off, to get pensions and benefits. These are things being attacked today in the workplace and retirees won’t accept that. Or they see their grandkids can’t buy a house and they take a position on that. They bring their wisdom, and we have so much to thank them for.”
Unifor National President Lana Payne thanked delegates at this year's Retired Workers Council in Port Elgin on Tuesday for their continued activism, coming off the heels of Labour Day parade the day before.
"Thank you for your decades and decades of contributions to our union, to workers, to our movement. We stand on your shoulders,” she said.
In her address at the council, Payne said the fight continues against Conservatives such as Pierre Poilievre and their policies, which would negatively impact progressive laws and social programs. She said corporations are edging to strip union and strike rights away, but there have also been significant victories this year, such as the adoption of federal anti-scab legislation.
She left them with the hopeful message that positive change – in workplaces, in communities and globally – is possible because we, as a union, are prepared to fight for it.
“We will take on these fights because we believe. We believe in something bigger than ourselves. The union. Equality. Dignity. Respect,” she said. “Believe in what’s possible. Because I do. And know this, we are only getting started here.”
The Retired Workers Council discussed resolutions, including stopping human trafficking, advocating for affordable housing, C11: The Online Streaming Act, reducing greenhouse gasses and free transit for seniors, among others.
“The importance of Retired Workers Council yearly is to bring retirees together from coast-to-coast-to-coast to hear what problems we face in different parts of the country and how they solved them, or how we all together can help solve them,” said Retired Workers Council Executive Chairperson Les MacDonald.
“The most important issue seems to be loss of health care in all provinces in Canada.”
Born out of the executive’s elections in 2022, BIWOC and LGBTQ member positions were created.
“They are progressive. They know it’s the right thing to do,” said Dolan.
“Since then, we now have a BIWOC Caucus and LGBTQ caucus and Women’s caucus. These are all shifts they have never done before, but they welcome it and embrace it. They recognize that we’re evolving as a union.”
