Unifor Local 1996-O

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Grim report predicts closures of radio and TV stations due to COVID recession

TORONTO—An expert report released today by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters paints a grim future for Canadian democracy, predicting more newsrooms to close as broadcasters bleed revenue to foreign giants such as Facebook, Netflix and Google.

“The COVID-recession is poised to kill off more media jobs at TV and radio stations, and it’s time for urgent action by the federal government, which we have been saying for years,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “Our newspapers are already in a downward spiral, so the question is who is going to be left watching the politicians and the powerful to preserve our democracy.”

The detailed report prepared by respected media expert Ken Goldstein found the COVID crisis may vapourize $1 billion in broadcasters’ expected ad revenue in the next two years. He projects the continuation of massive business losses leading to closures of radio and TV stations across the country. Rural stations and independently owned news organizations are especially at risk according to the report. Radio stations have experienced revenue drops of 63% while television ad revenue is down 44% as advertisers conserve cash due to the pandemic.

“COVID has sped up the unravelling of media’s business model, thanks to Google and Facebook sucking ad dollars out of Canada,” said Dias. “Just in television local news, we’ve seen a 23 per cent decline in editorial and operations jobs since 2014. The numbers in print journalism are worse, more like 44 per cent.”

The key insight of the report is not only that small independent stations are in peril, but radio and TV outlets owned by big media companies like Bell, Rogers, Quebecor and Corus are losing their ability to transfer profits from sports and entertainment programming to cover losses in their perennially unprofitable news operations that Canadians rely on, especially during a pandemic. Western and Atlantic provinces are home to the greatest number of unprofitable TV stations which makes them vulnerable, and more at risk of closing predicts the report.

Dias is again calling for the federal government to deliver short-term financial relief to Canadian media outlets, and long-term solutions to stop the erosion of the advertising revenues that pay the bills to fund local journalism.

“The place to start for the federal government is by implementing the recommendations of the report of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Reform committee tabled last January,” said Dias.

The report calls for sweeping reform, and companies like Netflix would have to invest in Canadian content.

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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BTS Bulletin

August 19, 2020

 

TO: ALL BTS LOCALS AND NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES

 

 

Brothers and Sisters,

 

Re: BTS BULLETIN

 

As you all are aware we have been met with many challenges this year with our employer. The COVID-19 World Pandemic and its impact to the workload has been amongst the more notable problems. Across Ontario we have seen our members experience a significant loss of work due to the workload falling short of the regular forecast adding unforeseen financial stress for many. As a result of the low workload volume, members who would have normally been banking  hours in their TGP banks to use when we slow in the winter have had very little opportunity to do that this year. Overtime as we know has been in short supply and not nearly as abundant as in past years and as such, the current average for TGP banked hours is around 6 days or less. The positive side to that if any is that we have not experienced the forcing of unwanted overtime around Ontario either.

 

In discussions with the Employer we have been told that the expected forecast beyond the Student Inward season will be lower than earlier anticipated, and as such we recognize that this will be a big concern for the RPT members in the province should the hours drop to the minimum guarantee under article 16.04 e) ii for the period October 15th 2020 to May 15th 2021 of only 2 days per pay period.

 

As we go forward entering in to what should be one of our busiest periods of the year, we felt that the membership should be aware of the projected realities of the load beyond the Student Inward. We also suggest that members may want to take the opportunity to work all the hours they can get, including the overtime hours while they are available since by all indicators we are setting up for a slow winter. Ultimately this is a decision that each person will make based on their own situations. As a committee we felt that providing the information to allow members  to make informed decisions was required.

 

We would also remind you that in March of this year an Averaging of Hours Agreement with the Employer was signed to allow members to work beyond the Canada Labour Code limit of 48 hours per week. This will allow employees to work much more overtime now while it’s available than they would be permitted to with this agreement in place. Having said that, please remember that only you can choose to work beyond 48 hours in a week, the employer cannot force, compel or pressure you into working beyond. Only you can make that choice.

Please share this information with all your membership in your Locals.

 

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining Committee

c.c.       Chris MacDonald

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BTS Student Hours Bulletin

August 19, 2020

 

TO: ALL BTS LOCALS AND NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES

 

 

Brothers and Sisters,

 

RE: STUDENT HOURS

 

On our last provincial update call held on July 30th 2020, we explained a number of issues we were having with the Company regarding students receiving hours of work that they were not entitled to work under the terms of the Collective Agreement. Additionally, we are aware now that a number of students have graduated since April of this year and will continue into December, some of which have now become RPT employees via the recent postings around Ontario.

 

We continue to discuss the issue of what was done and our view that damages should be paid  to RPT employees in the province where this has happened. The Company is currently reviewing what we have put forward to them and have not yet came back with a final position. We asked on the call that those Locals who have students, look within your respective Locals to identify if this happened and to quantify any potential damages your members would be looking at.

 

Having said that, it appears to the Committee that the Employer is stalling out discussions with the Union as a potential delay tactic and as such we suggest that the Locals who have identify grievable issues in relation to the student hours to proceed with the filing of these grievances.

 

When the Company has gotten back to us and discussions have concluded we will advise you of their final position.

 

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining Committee

 

c.c.       Chris MacDonald

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Unifor urges Trudeau to escalate tariff response

August 17, 2020

Canada’s aluminum workers welcomed the federal government’s initial response to unfair U.S. tariffs but say more can be done.

“It was encouraging to see swift action from the government in response to Trump’s bogus tariffs,” said Marty McIlwrath, president of Unifor Local 2301. “But a bully only understands force, and Canada’s final response to unfair tariffs must inflict maximum damage on U.S. industry to get Trump’s attention.”

U.S. tariffs on Canada’s export of P1020 aluminum are set to be implemented on August 16. On August 7, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that the government would respond with countermeasures soon. Details on the counter-tariffs are limited so far, but Unifor insists the Government of Canada must take an aggressive position.

“The objective is to get Trump’s unfair tariffs removed immediately, so our response must be tough,” said Renaud Gagné, Unifor’s Quebec Director.

Unifor has published detailed review of the issues behind the ongoing dispute, which goes back as far as 2017.

Without any direct evidence to support their claim, the American Primary Aluminum Association (APAA)— which represents only two aluminum companies—claims a “surge” in Canadian aluminum imports has caused aluminum prices to collapse.

In reality, the Canadian share of U.S. primary aluminum imports has been falling. Canada’s share of domestic US consumption of primary non-alloyed aluminum has fallen from nearly 50 per cent in 2010 to 43 per cent in 2019, while the share of non-Canadian foreign imports has skyrocketed. Unifor says that global economic conditions have eroded the American capacity to produce aluminum, and massive increases in Russian and Chinese imports have made up the difference.

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Time for a cautious return to air travel

Thu, 08/13/2020

The world is emerging, slowly and carefully, from almost six months of pandemic-enforced isolation. We’re expanding our bubbles – a phrase few of us would have understood only months ago – and seeing relatives we’d dared not visit until just recently.

How open our communities depends on which province we live in – and beyond that which country or region. Travel between regions, and especially across international borders, remains limited.

We’ve come to rely on Zoom, Webex, Stage 10 and other platforms few of us were familiar with before COVID-19. But technology can only take us so far when communicating with others. At some point, you just need to go there.

Going anywhere is obviously difficult these days, however, and action needs to be taken to ensure travel and tourism return.

Air travel was hit hard and fast by the pandemic as international and domestic travel ground to a halt.

Today, we need all levels of government to get behind developing a detailed plan for opening up the travel sector, and strong funding support for the industry.

To do otherwise will put at risk an industry that moves millions of Canadians across the country and around the world, and employs thousands.

The first priority needs to be passenger safety. There can be no air travel industry and no tourism and hospitality industries if passengers don’t feel safe getting on a plane.

There are several measures that can be taken to achieve that, including passenger screening that includes rapid testing and temperature checks, masks, PPE, stringent and visible cleaning protocols and strict measures to limit contacts on and off aircraft.

We also know that not all jurisdictions are recovering at the same rate. As much as we look in horror at what is unfolding with our nearest neighbour to the south, parts of Europe are returning to the beach and gathering in cafes in ways that seemed unimaginable only recently.

Perhaps travel could return to places that have controlled the virus as much as we have, without needing to quarantine on return, including travel between provinces.

Blanket travel restrictions no longer make sense as parts of the world open up. Other countries are ready to accept Canadian travellers. If they can show that they have controlled the virus, travel should be allowed.

This is not to say that we should throw open the borders, of course. Travel restrictions to the U.S. continue to make sense. For other countries, there are several options that are worth exploring, including a negative COVID test before leaving and/or on return and safe travel corridors directly to other countries that have the virus under control.

Other countries are beginning to implement such measures, and Canada should follow suit. Automatic 14-day quarantines make no sense when we have science-based alternatives.

None of this will come cheap, and none of it can be fully absorbed by an industry that was already operating on tight margins before the pandemic. Government assistance will be needed.

Air travel was shut down as part of a public health emergency, which made sense, but at enormous cost to the airlines and the travellers and workers who rely on it. Reopening air travel is no less a public health concern – and a viable Canadian air industry is as much a vital part of our economic well-being as it has ever been.

Restoring the industry is a public must, and about much more than getting workers – including Unifor members – back on the job.

It’s about enabling business people to make the trips they need to help ensure we build back our wider economy. It’s about helping ordinary Canadians visit relatives abroad and reconnect with children and parents.

We all know the heartbreak of not being able to visit elderly relatives in long term care homes. Imagine not even being able to have a window visit for six months.

So much of our modern society has come to rely on relatively easy access to air travel.

While no one is saying we should return immediately to what we had back in March, we do need to begin the important work of rebuilding this industry – and we need to start now.

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