Government and Democracy

Letter to the Minister of Labour Filomena Tassi, It’s Time for a Real Federal Ban on Scabs

The Honourable Filomena Tassi, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Labour

Dear Minister Tassi,

Re: It’s Time for a Real Federal Ban on Scabs

I’m writing to you on behalf of more than 315,000 Unifor members across the country, working in every major sector of the Canadian economy, to ask you to take action to help restore balance for all workers. As you know, in May, our union launched a public campaign to advocate for anti-scab legislation to stop employers from undermining the power of union members.

Don’t be fooled by Facebook’s latest ruse

This column from Unifor National President Jerry Dias and Daniel Bernhard, executive director of FRIENDS of Canadian Broadcasting, first appeared in the Toronto Star.

If Facebook’s latest plan to pay 14 Canadian media outlets for their content was a good-faith effort to support Canadian journalism, it would not have sworn participating outlets to secrecy, just to kick the tires on their offer.

Facebook is hiding these deals behind non-disclosure agreements because its real intention is not to pay for news, but to avoid paying for it.

Bill 124 Fightback - Ontario Region

We’re organizing a round of phone zaps to make sure our government representatives hear us loud and clear.

Anti-scab legislation restores balance of power during labour disputes

This column originally appeared in the Toronto star.

There’s a reason why they’re called scabs.

“Just as a scab is a physical lesion, the strikebreaking scab disfigures the social body of labour,” writes Stephanie Ann Smith in Household Words.

I could not have said it better myself. Scabs tear apart communities, pull down workers and prolong disputes – something, we at Unifor, know all too well.