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October 30, 2020 by 1996-O Executive

Long-term care unions urge government to listen to experts on minimum care standards and pass Bill 13

October 27, 2020

TORONTO, ON – CUPE Ontario, SEIU Healthcare and Unifor held a joint press conference on Tuesday morning, calling on the Ontario government to legislate a minimum care standard of four hours of hands-on care in long-term care homes by immediately passing Bill 13, the Time to Care Act.
Based on the latest pre-pandemic calculations by the Ontario Health Coalition, Ontario’s long-term care homes average about 2.7 hours of daily care. The calculation is based on worked hours of care, as opposed to paid hours.

“We need to give seniors in Ontario a guaranteed care standard to help enhance the quality of working and living conditions in long term care. The lack of a staffing standard means that the care levels are left up to the individual facilities to establish, and we know that virtually across the province, staffing levels are dangerously low. It’s high time the government takes action by passing Bill 13,” said Candace Rennick, Secretary-Treasurer of CUPE Ontario.
The legislation, an NDP private member’s bill introduced by Teresa Armstrong, will be debated during second reading on Wednesday evening. The unions echoed the recommendations of the government’s own staffing advisory panel report released in July, and last week’s interim report by the Long-Term Care Commission. Both reports called for the implementation of a four-hour minimum care standard, with the latter stressing its immediacy.

“Families, experts, and frontline workers all agree that current staffing levels are too low to deliver quality care for our most vulnerable in long-term care. Inaction means denying seniors dignity and it means unsafe workplaces for health care workers. It doesn’t have to be this way,” said Sharleen Stewart, president of SEIU Healthcare. “Bill 13 would afford frontline staff the time necessary to do the job well and do it safely. My message to the Ontario government and all members of the Legislative Assembly: pass this bill and give workers the time to care.”

“For years, health care workers, residents, their families and even opposition conservative MPPs in 2017 called for a legislated minimum standard of care in long-term care,” said Katha Fortier, Assistant to Unifor National President. “Bill 13 will finally implement long overdue improvements in these facilities and we expect the government to set partisanship aside to show those who live and work in long-term care the respect they deserve.”

Unions leaders were joined at the media conference by Dr. Pat Armstrong, the distinguished professor of sociology at York University, who has been researching long-term care for over two decades. Dr. Armstrong and 24 other academics recently released an open letter to the Ontario legislature, calling for action on Bill 13.

“COVID-19 has created a consensus on what research has been saying for decades; namely, without sufficient staff neither residents nor staff are safe, let alone thriving,” said Dr. Armstrong. “Recent research shows that staffing levels are strongly associated with COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care, emphasizing the importance of moving quickly to achieve these minimums.”

Ontario’s long-term care sector has not had a minimum care standard since the Ontario Progressive Conservative government eliminated it in 1996. Since then, healthcare unions and multiple advocacy groups have consistently called for a restoration of the staffing requirement. The Ontario Long-Term Care Association, which mainly represents for-profit providers, has consistently opposed a care standard.

Filed Under: Uncategorised

October 30, 2020 by 1996-O Executive

Aviation workers take to streets of Toronto and Montreal to demand support

October 26, 2020

TORONTO – Aviation workers will hold a rally and distribute leaflets in two provinces on Friday, to urge the federal government to create a national aviation recovery strategy.

Media are invited to attend the events that will feature Unifor leadership and front line workers.The rally will also be livestreamed on Unifor’s Facebook page

“Over the past seven months we have seen a transformation in the aviation sector like no other,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “The facts are now clear. If we want to save our aviation industry from total collapse, we need the federal government to implement an aviation strategy that focuses on workers and building the sector as a whole.”

Who: Jerry Dias, Unifor National President, Front line aviation workers
When: Friday, October 30, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. ET
Where: Toronto – Pearson International Airport Terminal 1. This is an outdoor event. All participants are required to wear a mask and socially distance from one another.

Parking: Please enter the T1 parking facility on Level 4 and obtain a parking voucher from the parking kiosk. Complimentary parking will be valid only between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Vehicles must park on Level 4 at the South end of the facility and the voucher will be required upon exit.

Due to enhanced COVID-19 measures put in place at Toronto Pearson Airport, participants must enter the Terminal facility via the South Bridge and proceed as directed.

Montreal – Minister of Transport Marc Garneau Constituency office
4060 Sainte-Catherine Street West, Westmount QC

Filed Under: Uncategorised

October 30, 2020 by 1996-O Executive

A new green auto strategy for Canada

The collective agreement ratified by Unifor members at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles this past weekend is a vital step in the rebuilding of the Canadian auto industry for the future.

The deal commits FCA to investing up to $1.5 billion in a new platform to build both Hybrid Vehicles and Battery Electric Vehicles in Windsor, with at least one new model by 2025.

It follows the pattern established by Ford members when they ratified a new collective agreement last month that also included a commitment to BEVs, and puts Canada well on the road to revitalizing the auto industry.

The collective agreements negotiated at Ford and FCA over the past month will resound throughout the Canadian economy, from resource extraction through manufacturing to research and development.

Once a thing of the future, BEVs are today widely recognized as a vital component of a modern auto industry. Canada is positioning itself to be part of that, with support from all levels of government and with both FCA and Ford committing to building BEVs and Hybrids in Canada.

BEVs mean not only revitalizing the auto industry, they mean injecting new business into the parts sector, securing new domestic supply chains and building new markets for the mining sector as it supplies components for the new vehicles, including a fresh market for Quebec and BC’s aluminum plants.

The ground has been prepared for all automakers and the industries that support them to be full partners in this country’s move to a new green economy as we emerge from the pandemic.

After all the pain Canadians have suffered over the past seven months, we must be sure that this country builds back better, with an economy that looks to the future and offers real opportunities for the next generation of workers. Rebuilding Canada’s auto industry with an eye to future electric vehicles is a big part of that.

The pandemic has battered our economy. Rebuilding won’t be easy. The fact that governments are committing so much money to green vehicle production shows that this is part of the long-term vision for the future – as it must be.

The fact is, zero-emission vehicles are expected to claim more than half the market by 2040 – just 20 years from now. For Canada to be part of that, and to ensure those who might be hurt by this change get the help they need, we need to start putting the pieces in place now.

Unifor have been an active part of that during our contract talks with Ford and FCA.

The federal and provincial governments have committed to supporting this industry with significant investments for companies getting into this emerging industry.

They have to. China is aggressively moving into zero-emission vehicle manufacturing. The European Commission has created the European Battery Alliance to build the industry there. Governments, in both cases, are involved in a significant way.

Canada will not be left behind, and is positioning itself to be a global leader in this new auto industry, and thankfully all levels of government are committed to supporting it.

These public investments, alone, do not constitute an industrial strategy – something Canada sorely lacks. They do, however, signal an important starting point. Our success hinges on all stakeholders rowing in the same direction. Other industries will have to come on board, as they adapt to a green future, as well.

There will, of course, be significant opportunities for the energy sector as vehicles running off batteries will need electricity to power them, whether that power comes from hydro, wind, solar, nuclear or fossil fuels.

At the same time, the move to a green economy will mean a move away from fossil fuels. The workers in that sector have literally fueled our economy for generations. They have the right to expect good jobs outside the energy sector as the green economy grows.

The opportunity for a green industrial economy is within our grasp. We have a responsibility to future generations to make it happen.

Filed Under: Uncategorised

October 15, 2020 by 1996-O Executive

MOA – Employees Working On Temporary L1 Technician Project (BTS)

Current MOA BTS L1 Project_Page_1 Current MOA BTS L1 Project_Page_2 Current MOA BTS L1 Project_Page_3 Current MOA BTS L1 Project_Page_4Current MOA BTS L1 Project

Filed Under: Uncategorised

October 15, 2020 by 1996-O Executive

Unifor Statement on Persons Day 2020

Unifor persons day

Each October 18, Canada celebrates Persons Day. This day marks the day that some women were declared persons under the constitution gaining the right to stand for or be appointed to public office including the Senate of Canada.

In the 91 years since that ruling, we see that women’s equality continues to be uneven – both in comparison to men and within women as a group. During the pandemic this fact has been increasingly highlighted.

Women in Canada face more exposure, higher death rate, and poorer labour conditions than men since the pandemic was declared. When we examine which women are most acutely affected, Black, Indigenous and women of colour are overrepresented. While some women have achieved some measure of equality, this is not true for women experiencing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.

In the shadow of these new and longstanding inequities, Canada’s federal and provincial governments still resist the change that is necessary in order to make things better.

The anniversary of the Final Report of the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry passed without concrete action.  The groundswell of support for Black Lives Matter has resulted in only a minority of governments taking concrete action including pledges to collect race-based data. A famous author’s attack on the lives and humanity of transwomen has gained traction in many corners. And a recent DAWN Canada report underscores that women and girls with disabilities face multiple barriers to accessing employment, health services, sexual and reproductive rights, and are also more at risk of experiencing gender-based violence.

Unifor leaders and members continue to mobilize for social justice throughout this pandemic. With our #BuildBackBetter campaign, we push for structural changes to address inequality, including gender inequality. Campaigns in our health care and retail sectors highlight how racialized and gendered these sectors are, and those effects on workers. Unifor pushes governments and employers to move beyond empty gestures of thanks and instead move toward living wages, dignity and decent working conditions. The temporary measures of pandemic pay must be made permanent for the front line workers whose value should have been recognized all along.

On Persons Day, when elections are taking place in two of our provinces, the importance of electing progressive governments is paramount. We mark the anniversary of the first women being able to stand for office and we highlight that we have much more to do to ensure diversity within decision-making positions. Critical issues such as reproductive rights, child care programs, pay equity and paid domestic violence leave risk being rolled back or never realized through the rise of conservative governments.

To truly acknowledge women as persons, structural changes that seek to disassemble the barriers built by racism, sexism and more need to be made. Activism, strengthening our unions, and electing progressive governments are key to this goal.

Unifor Statement on Persons Day 2020

Filed Under: Uncategorised

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