by

Speak out against scab labour: Local 597 needs your help

Presidents_message

Dear members,

Unifor has started an important conversation on the controversial use of scabs in Canada. We need Unifor members to stand up for locked-out workers right now. Aerospace members from Gander, NL, from Local 597 were locked-out by their U.S.-based employer in December of 2016.

They have watched their neighbours cross their picket line day after day as the employer escalated the use of scabs in recent weeks and months. This behaviour is unacceptable. The choice to cross a picket line degrades the bargaining power of unionized workers, and pits worker against worker resulting in a race to the bottom.

Last Thursday, your union stepped up the support for members in Gander and shared a video that showed the names and faces of the people who chose to cross the picket line. Everyone in their community already knows who they are, and their continued actions hurt the families who have been locked out for the past 92 weeks. Now, these scab workers and some others have expressed anger over Unifor’s decision to name and shame them.

Let me be clear, you cannot expect privacy when you choose to cross a Unifor picket line and hurt the families of locked-out workers. We showed this in Goderich, and we’re showing it again in Gander. The law is on our side. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that those crossing a picket line would reasonably expect their image could be captured and disseminated; a union’s collection of personal information such as images at a picket line is protected expression. We have a right to defend our members and their Charter protected rights to collective bargaining.

Lana Payne asked the public over the weekend, where was this outrage when workers rights were violated? These members are fighting back against an employer that wants to bust the union, and have taken a stand every day for their fundamental right to have a union. This group was locked-out after refusing to accept a contract that would have slashed wages and attacked seniority. Since then, D-J Composites has dragged on this lockout by failing to bargain in good faith and by hiring scabs.

Meanwhile the provincial government and Premier Dwight Ball watched this injustice drag on and refuse to defend these workers and fix the provinces’ labour laws. This lockout has been allowed to continue for too long.

Over the last two years, you have written letters and emails to Premier Dwight Ball, you petitioned D-J Composites CEO Rezaul Chowdhury, and our friends at UE down in Kansas even visited the D-J Engineering facility in the CEO’s hometown.

These workers need your support once again. Speak out on Twitter, Facebook and join the national conversation. Show members of Local 597 that the Unifor family is united with them in their struggle. Now more than ever Rezaul Chowdhury and the D-J Composites bosses must hear that our union does not back down.

In solidarity,

Jerry Dias

National President

by

Pharmacare – Take Action Now

news3pharmacare-en_0

Dear members,

Together, we have advocated long and hard for national pharmacare, with employers, with governments, and with our community and social partners. We have unanimously passed recommendations at our Canadian and Regional Councils, and we clearly understand the multiple benefits. These efforts are showing results; the drive to have universal prescription drug coverage has kicked up a notch.

Now, the federal government is actively seeking input from Canadians about what a national pharmacare plan can look like for our country. Join this important conversation – participate in this online survey today.

Why should I participate?

As workers, and as Canadians, it is imperative your voice is heard during this public engagement. The call for a national pharmacare program in Canada is not only rooted in the well-established economic benefits of implementing such a program, but it is also based on the principle that all Canadians should have equitable access to medically necessary prescription drugs without financial or other barriers.

Here is why we need pharmacare:

A healthier population

Canada is currently the only developed country with a universal health care system that has no universal prescription drug coverage. Building a stronger health care system for all Canadians to have access to the medication that they need is an important step towards ensuring a healthier population.

Inconsistent coverage

Prescription drug coverage for Canadians is inconsistent at best, and nonexistent for too many. Pharmacare must adhere to the principles of the Canada Health Act and be part of our single-payer system.  Simply filling in the gaps won’t work. It will not be transferable, and certainly won’t have the benefits of bulk purchasing power.

Cost-savings

Studies consistently show a national drug plan through bulk purchasing could lower the costs of drugs enough to finance a full pharmacare system with no increase to government costs, and in

Fact a net savings of $11 billion a year for federal, provincial and territorial governments, the private sector and individual Canadians.

Pharmacare, like our public health care system, does not need to have demeaning means testing, nor should it have prohibitive co-pays. In fact, these would simply add to administration costs.  In addition, of course the cost-savings of a healthier population are immeasurable. 

How can I participate?

We suggest reading the attached backgrounder on pharmacare for an overview of the issue. To participate, you can:

The deadline to participate is September 28, 2018.

The time to act is now.

We need public national pharmacare program that is universal, affordable and inclusive. We know that Canada needs pharmacare for a healthier population, for comprehensive coverage and for savings. Now tell the federal government the same, at: https://www.letstalkhealth.ca/pharmacare

In solidarity,

Jerry Dias

National President

by

1996-O Mobilization

1b 2a

The Local Executive are pleased to announce the formation of the first ever Unifor 1996-O Mobilization team. This team will be at the forefront representing you on both National and Local initiatives. We are very proud of each of you. Now let’s get to work!

 

In Solidarity,

Lee, Brian, Chris

 

by

Culture an essential part of a new NAFTA

Presidents_message

A country and its culture is distinguished from another by the stories it tells – about itself and about its place in the world.

Those are stories told through books and magazines, television and film, through broadcast and printed journalism, through music and live theatre, and more.

In Canada, we are lucky to have rich source of storytellers across this country, telling incredible stories. We can be proud of this, but pride is simply not enough when you live next door to the largest producer of cultural goods in the world.

Canadians consume American culture every day. For the most part, that is a good thing. We get some incredible movies, TV shows and more from south of the border. We are better off as a nation by having such easy access to American media.

The problem is when we get too much, and when it overwhelms our ability to tell our own stories. With their much-larger production and marketing budgets, American cultural industries have a great advantage over Canadian media companies.

With their massive home market of some 350 million viewers, American media companies are able to dump their products in our market at prices well below production costs here – and without investing in infrastructure here, including journalism.

It is for this reason that federal and provincial governments have for years helped to sponsor Canadian cultural content through funding, minimum content requirements and regulatory measures. The market alone cannot ensure an even playing field.

Because of the vital role they play in defining our national character, cultural industries were exempted from the original North America Free Trade Agreement. With that deal now being renegotiated, it is imperative that the exemption stay in place.

Certainly, the world has changed since the original NAFTA came into effect in 1994. Back then, there was no Netflix and no Internet as we know it today. In 1994, the idea that you could stream TV, movies or the nightly news through your computer sounded like science fiction. Today, it seems like everybody is doing it.

To me, all that makes the need for a cultural exemption even greater, because the threats to our cultural industries have never been greater.

No one knows for sure what the future holds in terms of new technologies and new ways to consume media. The only way we can hope to react in an effective way is to maintain a clear and wide-ranging cultural exemption in NAFTA like we’ve had for the last quarter-century – one that allows us to support and promote our cultural industries, free of US interference and influence.

Despite the uncertainly of what new technologies might be coming, there are strong measures Canada can take now, and which I am pushing for as I return to Washington for the ongoing NAFTA talks this week.

First and foremost, no NAFTA deal can get in the way of supporting local news, sports and entertainment. We need to be able to tell our stories from communities across Canada, large and small, and that means standing up for local news.

Nationally, we need to support the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC and Radio Canada play a vital role in keeping Canadian informed about other parts of the country, and giving a Canadian perspective on news from around the world.

More than that, as a national broadcaster committed to reaching every corner of Canada, the CBC plays a vital role in stitching together our ever-evolving sense of what it is to be part of this country.

Because our private broadcasters also play an important role in telling Canadian stories, NAFTA must not contain anything that would leave them exposed to being purchased by American media conglomerates.

We need to have a level playing field between Canadian broadcasters and media streaming broadcasters such as Amazon, Netflix and Disney. Canada is still debating how to best achieve this, but we cannot allow any trade deal – NAFTA included – restrict what governments can do to protect Canadian interests.

Similarly, the alarming growth of offshore pirate broadcasters, who peddle in media they have not paid for, demands action to ensure the creators of that content are properly supported. NAFTA cannot impede this.

Culture doesn’t always grab the headlines at trade talks the way auto or agriculture does, but it’s a big industry employing thousands of Canadians – including thousands of Unifor members at newspapers, broadcasters, and on TV and movie sets.

We cannot afford to simply assume that culture will continue to be exempted in an renewed NAFTA. After all, U.S. chief negotiator Robert Lighthizer has been quoted as saying that “the cultural exemption is very often just cultural protectionism.”

The Canadian negotiating team remains committed to defending Canada’s right to promote our identity though a homegrown culture industry. This is good to see.

As these trade talks reach their conclusion, as they seem to be, we must all support that stand.