Local President, Sam Snyders and Vice President, Lee Zommers presented a $3000 cheque to Food Share Toronto on behalf of Local 1996-O.
People helping People! Thank you Unifor Social Justice Fund for your commitment to our community!
#smallworld #greatday Unifor Local 1996-O Unifor Canada FoodShare Toronto
On Wednesday, December 17th team UNIFOR Local 1996-O donated the food and served lunch and dinner at The St. Francis Table, a restaurant dedicated to providing meals and a welcoming environment for the needy in our community. It was a great…success providing hot meals for over 240 patrons.
Local President Sam Snyders, “Thank you to all that attended and helped make the day a little special for both the patrons and ourselves. The smiles may last only a day for the patrons but we walked away with so much more!!” Also attending the event was Andrew Cash and Peggy Nash, both Members of Parliament. All are proud to have participated in shedding light on the good work at The St. Francis Table.
Today our basic rights to freedom of association, democratic representation in the workplace, and free collective bargaining may be easy to take for granted as having always been with us. But these rights didn’t just happen, or arise as gifts from enlightened employers or kindly governments.
Like so many other advances in human rights, each and every step on the path to social progress came through hard-won struggle. The basic labour rights that all Canadians enjoy today were fought for by the generations of working men and women who came before us.
Many have heard about the watershed 1946 decision of Justice Ivan Rand, who was appointed arbitrator to end a 99-day strike at Ford Motor Company in Windsor, Ontario. His decision to address basic union security — including a crucial requirement that everyone who was covered by a collective agreement had to pay union dues — was eventually extended across Canada and became known as the “Rand Formula.” But the struggle for union security in Canada started long before 1946 — and it didn’t end that year either.
At a time when powerful corporations and their friends in government are now trying to roll back the clock on workers’ rights, we have much to learn from the inspiring, and often untold, stories of the workers and activists who came before us, and from learning how our rights were won.
From Where Did Our Rights Come From – The Rand Formula and the Struggle for Union Security (pdf).
Unifor Local 1996-O joined Breakfast Television and City TV for their annual Spirit of the Season holiday party. Local President Sam Snyders and V.P Lee Zommers made an on-air donation of $5000 to the Daily Bread Food Bank on behalf of the Unifor Social Justice Fund. Daily Bread Food Bank is a registered charity that is fighting hunger in our communities. Every year thousands of people across Toronto rely on food banks. Daily Bread provides food and support to almost 200 food programs across Toronto and is the largest provider of food relief in the GTA.
With Sam Snyders and Lee Zommers
Most recently Bell Technical Solutions sent out an email to BTS employees advising employees to review the code of ethics in an electronic format. This newly introduced format included an acknowledgement through an electronic signature agreeing to such documents. At no time should an employee be asked to provide a signature by reading an online document that they may or may not agree to. It is the Local’s position that the company should remove the required signature field.
I suggest any member not wishing to sign the electronic format contact their manager for direction. If directed to provide a signature seek out your union steward or the local executive.
I will be advancing this issue for further clarification and consideration.
In Solidarity,
Sam Snyders
President, Local 1996-O