Health care workers at peopleCare long term care home in Tavistock, Ont. have voted to join Unifor.

“Health care workers across the country are demanding more for themselves and those that they care for,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “Joining a union is the first step in improving the working and living conditions in long-term care homes. I welcome our newest members at peopleCare and look forward to bargaining a first collective agreement that respects, protects and adequately pays our members.”

In the coming weeks, Unifor will focus on electing workplace representatives and continue with ongoing membership outreach for collective bargaining preparation.

“These workers now join the 30,000 health care workers who are already part of Unifor,” said Naureen Rizvi, Ontario Regional Director. “Our members at peopleCare can now draw on the depth of experience and knowledge of health care workers across the country to negotiate a contract that best reflects their true value.”

The new members include registered personal support workers, health care aides, screening and recreating functions to the residents of the facility.

Ornge paramedics, members of Unifor Local 2002, won their arbitration over a wage re-opener clause that hinged on Bill 124, Premier Doug Ford’s disastrous anti-worker wage-suppressing legislation.

The paramedics’ last round of collective bargaining happened under the cloud of Bill 124 and the pandemic – when paramedics faced increased personal risk, overwhelming demand, and high stress. Ornge members voted 94% in favour of strike action if they were not made exempt from Bill 124 that capped their wage increases to 1%.

In September 2021, an arbitrator issued a consent award which included a wage re-opener clause to pay an additional 1% annual increase in 2020, 2021 and 2022 should Bill 124 be “repealed, amended, or rendered inoperative” within 5 years from the signing of the contract.

Unifor and other Ontario unions issued a constitutional charter challenge to Bill 124, and in late 2022 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that Ford’s legislation unduly infringed on workers’ rights – making the bill inoperative. Following this ruling, Ornge members returned to the arbitrator seeking retroactive payments from the employer.

The employer argued the bill was under appeal and therefore they should wait before issuing payment, in case the Ontario government was successful in its appeal. However, in his decision, the arbitrator sided with the workers saying, “Any objective balancing of interests favours the employees who should not have to await the eventual judgement of the courts.”

“These are the victories that fuel us and prove that we must never give up,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “It was shameful that Ontario’s public sector workers were kept from respectable and reasonable wage increases because of unconstitutional legislation. My heartfelt congratulations to the bargaining committee and each and every paramedic at Ornge for fighting back.”

The arbitrator directed the employer to pay the amounts owing to all current and former employees within 30 days of the January 30, 2023 decision.

“Unifor is pleased with the outcome of this award and will be looking for recompense for our Ornge members,” said Tammy Moore, Unifor Local 2002 President. “Ornge prides itself on saving lives, restoring health, creating capacity and preserving dignity; it’s time Unifor members at Ornge be part of the Employer’s mission.”

Read the full decision here.

They huddled in sleeping bags in the back of their cars and set up tents in parking lots in locations across Canada in a show of solidarity to tackle homelessness.

Unifor locals, members and staff participated in Raising the Roof’s “One Night” event on Feb. 7, 2023 to raise awareness and money for the organization’s homelessness prevention programs. The union’s fundraising efforts reached over $70,000.

“A growing number of people still face the ongoing challenge of being unhoused, and bearing the brunt of multiple social and economic crises that result in poverty and no roof above one’s head,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.

“As our union, it’s our responsibility to recognize the many intertwining challenges and systems that cause homelessness and poverty, and to ensure our commitment to addressing them in Canada lives on beyond this event.”

At the 2022 Unifor Convention, delegates adopted an action plan which included a commitment to foster relationships with anti-poverty organizations, and develop its advocacy program on affordable housing.

The event – which took place in Winnipeg, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Toronto – fell on the 26th-annual Toque Tuesday, with Raising the Roof providing volunteers a small taste of what hundreds of Canadians experience each night by having them sleep rough for just one night.

At the Humbertown Shopping Centre parking lot in Etobicoke, Ont., John McVey, a Political Mobilization Committee activist from Unifor Local 222, was preparing himself for a long night.

“Friday night when it was really cold snap – I can’t even remember, it was -31C kind of temperature, that’s all I think about,” said John McVey. “There are people out there on benches, wrapped into whatever they can and we’ve got to find solutions to these problems.”

McVey said he became involved in the cause because homelessness is on the rise, especially in his city, Oshawa.

“The temperature was fortunate for us. But the experience still wasn’t comfortable so it leaves you realizing how fortunate we are,” he said.

In Canada, more than 235,000 people experience homelessness in any given year, according to StatsCan and 25,000 to 35,000 people may be experiencing homelessness on any given night.

Unifor Local 26 President Donovan Nezbeth said “One Night” was an opportunity to raise awareness of the homelessness crisis in cities across Canada.

“The fact that we could raise funds by actively taking part in a demonstration of sleeping in our cars made it even more attractive to me,” he said. “Active participation to help others is very rewarding for both the giver and receiver.”

ST. JOHN’S-Unifor is calling on the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and the President and Vice-Chancellor of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador (MUN) to act to resolve the issues of striking Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association (MUNFA) members.

“MUNFA members concerns have been ignored for too long, including the growth of precarious employment and erosion of stable jobs at the university,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “Our union stands in solidarity with striking faculty workers who deserve to have their demands taken seriously at the bargaining table, including a simple yet vital change to the governance of MUN.”

In a letter addressed to Premier Furey and Memorial University President and Vice-Chancellor Vianne Timmons, Payne and Atlantic Regional Director Jennifer Murray highlighted the increasingly corporatized nature of the university environment, primarily through the over-use of contract faculty.

“What message is MUN sending to students when its administration relies on people who work four or eight-month contracts?” said Murray. “It’s time the MUN Act was amended to make room for faculty voices, to improve their job security and offer fair compensation.”

Unifor has sent messages of support to MUNFA members and supports their calls for transparency, inclusion, and fair wages.

Read the letter here.