Unifor Local 1996-O

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LOCAL 1996-O EXECUTIVE ELECTIONS 2019 June 10 – 14, 2019

Sisters and Brothers,

 

Polling in work centres will commence from June 10th 2019 to June 14th 2019.

Balloting at each Poll station will start at 06:30hrs until 18:00hrs (Note poll closes at 1800 hrs no votes will be accepted after this time)  Also please have your employee card or photo ID ready to present at the polling station.  You will need to sign for your ballots and must vote at the ballot station once you receive your ballots NO EXCEPTIONS.  If you are not ready to vote do not accept your ballots.

Voting lists will be produced by common locality so you must cast ballots in your common locality work centre only on the day of the poll.

Note:  Eg. Structured Cable operations are mostly done from 416 West Horner locality, however not all Structured Cable Techs/Pullers share Horner as their locality within Local 1996-O. If you are unsure please view the current company provided seniority list on the iNet for verification.

The Election count will take place on June 17th 2019.

 

Polling will be done at each common locality on the following dates:

Note* 416 West I&R technicians (Horner/Arrow) must vote at their assigned work centre only.

Horner               June 10, 2019

Arrow                 June 10, 2019

Royal Windsor  June 11, 2019

Brampton          June 11, 2019

Core                    June 12, 2019

Markham           June 12, 2019

Argentia             June 13, 2019

Orangeville        June 13, 2019

Birchmount       June 14, 2019

1996-O, 2019 Election candidates are as follows:

President:

  • Lee Zommers
  • Colum Lynn  

Vice President:

  • Sanjay Singh
  • Paolo Romano
  • Andrew McMahon

Treasurer:

  • Brian Lowery
  • Louis Donisi  

Secretary:

  • Chris Glover
  • Nelson DaSilva
  • Lloyd Bishop

 

 

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Unifor fights Ontario public sector wage cap

Doug Ford wage capUnifor is mobilizing to fight Doug Ford’s wage cap on Ontario’s public sector limiting workers to an annual one per cent increase

 

Unifor vows to oppose Conservative attack on Ontario public sector workers

June 5, 2019

TORONTO- In face of attack on workers’ rights, Unifor vows to mobilize and grow resistance to Conservative cuts.

“The largest threat to the future of Ontario’s public services is Ford’s Conservative Government, not workers advocating for better and safer working conditions,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.

“For overworked, underpaid workers in long term care homes, for paramedics, teachers, hospital workers and every dedicated public servant who keeps us safe and healthy, this Act is a disastrous and offensive slap in the face,” Dias continued.

It would force a one percent wage cap across the public sector in Ontario, including unionized and non-unionized workers, for any currently expired or expiring collective agreements over the next three years. This applies to the public service, as well as hospitals, Ornge, some long-term care homes, boards, commissions, agencies, school boards, universities and colleges, and children’s aid societies.

“This government has shown its disdain for public services and public education. First they attacked the jobs of workers in the sector, and have now turned their attention to this unilateral attack on wages,” continued Dias.

This proposed Act, if adopted, would violate a landmark Supreme Court ruling in Health Services and Support-Facilities Subsector Bargaining Association v. British Columbia, 2007, that found that free and fair collective bargaining is a charter protected right of all people in Canada.

“Ford has been clear about his conservative agenda from day one. Every move this government makes is to help out big business, and throw hardworking people under the bus,” said Naureen Rizvi, Unifor’s Ontario Regional Director. “Unifor members in long-term care already campaigned for years to make their working conditions safer and to improve wages across the sector, but now any chance of bargaining better wages is being thrown into question.”

Unifor calls upon all Ontarians, working in the public and private sectors, to once again make their opposition known to MPPs and decision makers. Ontarians are participating in days of action June 7 and 8, 2019 in communities across the province, to oppose conservative cuts.

“I am expecting a long, difficult summer for Conservative politicians in Ontario,” continues Rizvi. “If one thing has been made clear in recent weeks, it’s that Ontarians do not accept attacks to our public services, and we will fight back with all the power that we hold as a movement.”

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

 

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Unifor member survey on retirement security

 

Unifor has commissioned EKOS Research Associates to conduct a survey of members about your needs and challenges when it comes to retirement security, and how Unifor can best meet those needs.

Please click on the link below to begin the survey. Your input will be critical in helping us elaborate a strategy for Unifor to meet member needs and strengthen our community in the decades to come.

 

Click here,to start the process

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Scheer should know shrinking media hurts democracy

Jerry May 2019

Thu, 05/30/2019

I read the tweet, and did a double take.

Here was Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, Canada’s anti-progressive, media-bashing “Trump in the North,” railing against Unifor — Canada’s largest media union — for being invited to identify an expert to sit on a technical panel to define what constitutes quality journalism.

The contempt in his tweet would have you think that Unifor, itself, was somehow responsible for administering a program that is a lifeline to struggling news organizations, many of which can barely keep the newsroom lights on.

News flash: We’re not. And Scheer knows that. But, hey, why not play fast and loose with the facts when it fuels Conservative Party fundraising, and fosters endless strings of conspiracy theories? A well executed playbook from the Republicans down south.

Part of me understands Scheer is simply playing the new game of politics. I get it.

But I get angry at what this blatant, intentional mischaracterization means for October’s federal election campaign. I’m always up for a fair fight. Go ahead and criticize the government’s plan to protect Canada’s independent press. Let’s weigh the merits of this plan against another and have a healthy debate.

But trashing a plan with misstatements and half-truths, and no plan of your own, is a different kind of fight — one Canadians must not be willing to play.

Scheer’s tweet circulated a satirical photo of elected Unifor officials taken in 2018, spoofing a controversial Maclean’s cover featuring Scheer, Doug Ford and a gaggle of Conservative Party cousins, billing them as “The Resistance.”

Scheer incorrectly stated Unifor officials have been “appointed to help decide” how new federal funds to support struggling news organizations will be distributed.

False.

The truth is this is an independent panel of technical experts, including journalists, to define the terms of quality and professional journalism — a task best left to professionals, not politicians. Figuring out what constitutes proper journalism is a necessary precondition to any financial support — lest we cut cheques to every basement-dwelling news blogger.

Unifor, with a balance of seven other organizations, including journalist associations, worker organizations and media publishers (yes, the same ones who disproportionately endorse Conservative parties come election time), will recommend who can assist in these preliminary, technical discussions.

The panel has until the end of July to offer its directional guidance, and then will disband.

A completely separate panel will then be responsible for allocating funds. Unifor will have absolutely no role on that panel, nor should we.

There’s a lot at stake. More than 250 news outlets have either closed or merged in the last decade. Newspaper revenue dropped 64%.

Here’s what Scheer needs to understand: Losing news gathering capacity sucks the oxygen from our democracy and allows fake news to propagate.

Does Scheer really believe his own rhetoric? Does he really want to see the demise of our Fourth Estate? Scheer puts the very principles of truth and democracy at risk with this own brand of fake news.

He should be ashamed of himself.

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