TORONTO – Leading up to March break and the busy summer travel season, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) decision to cap flights and the number of travelers fails both passengers and airport workers, says Unifor.

“The GTAA is punishing the traveling public by limiting flights and services as a band-aid solution to airport congestion, instead of fixing the problem by implementing common sense solutions to improve job quality and hire needed workers,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.

“We need to end the chaos in airports – but a travel cap merely limits supply instead of meeting the demand. At the core of things, this is a failure to keep the aviation industry attractive to workers.”

Unifor has repeatedly called on the aviation industry to change its failing workforce strategies by ending the practice of contract flipping and paying airport workers a living wage.

The GTAA first announced the caps in August 2022 as a stop gap measure to limit baggage handling and security screening needs during peak times.

“Seeing that the plan hasn’t evolved since first announced last summer, shows just how little effort government and industry are putting into solving the underlying problems.” said Payne. “These measures just contribute to angry and frustrated travelers. Putting on a cap today isn’t relieving the pressure for air travel tomorrow.”

Unifor has provided recommendations to airlines, airports, and the federal government consistently over the years. The problems facing the industry are not new but were exacerbated by decisions made during the pandemic to treat the workforce as disposable instead of with respect for the work they do.

The union is asking the federal government to require a minimum living wage at Canada’s airports, which would be $23.15 at Toronto Pearson, end the worst effects of contract flipping by implementing full successor rights, limit the number of ground handling companies that can operate at the airport and develop a solution to the escalating problem of on-the job-harassment.

Unifor also maintains that employers including in air traffic control have been relying on extensive and unfilled overtime to avoid hiring, putting higher demands on the remaining controllers.

“The effects of operating with no resilience in the system have resulted in chaos and now a limit on supply,” said Payne. “Surely, the industry can do better.”

TORONTO–The news of layoffs and restructuring at Global News this week chips away at already barebones newsrooms and puts democracy at risk as the number of media workers dwindles in the industry, says Unifor.

“It is becoming impossibly difficult for media workers to face the news of restructuring and layoffs on a regular basis,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “Journalists are the backbone of our democracy. We need to save local news by investing in newsrooms – not cutting them. We will continue to support our members during this devastating time.”

The Corus Entertainment cuts impact online journalists and online video journalists. Global has also decimated its award-winning sports department in Edmonton, the only local television sports coverage in the city.

Unifor has over 800 media members at Corus as part of Local M1 across the country.

The union has been part of an active campaign to ensure the Broadcasting Act mandates the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) to support local news, including by “developing, financing, producing or promoting local news and information programming,” with the creation of a news fund.

“We need to save local news,” says Randy Kitt, Unifor’s Director of Media. “The CRTC has allowed foreign broadcasters to systematically dismantle the business model for local news in this country and Bill C-11, as much as its needed and should be expanded, doesn’t address this problem.”

Bill C-11 is supposed to modernize the Broadcast Act to bring foreign internet streamers (such as Netflix) into Canada’s regulatory system. If foreign streamers are now allowed to compete directly with Canadian broadcasters, they should have the same responsibilities as Canadian broadcasters to support the telling of Canadian stories that should include local news.

Unifor represents more than 10,000 media workers, including journalists in the broadcast and print news industry.

TORONTO– Unifor members working at CN voted overwhelmingly in support of strike action amid ongoing negotiations in which CN has tabled a package of broad concessions.

Local 100 members voted 98%, and Council 4000 members voted 97% in favour of strike action. The earliest possible date of job action would be March 21, 2023, following a 72-hour notice.

“CN continues to report record quarterly earnings as a result of the work of Unifor members. In a time of massive profits, rail workers deserve to be compensated fairly and treated with respect. With these strike mandates they have shown they are united in these demands,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President.

Revenues at CN Rail reached $17.1 billion at the end of 2022, an increase of 18% from 2021. Meanwhile, profits reached $5.1 billion by the end of 2022 (increasing by 4.5% from 2021). A further $2 billion were paid out in shareholder dividends in 2022.

Unifor has five collective agreements with CN Rail, which cover mechanics, clerical workers, excavator operators. All 3,600 Unifor workers in Local 100 and Council 4000 are covered by these agreements – four of which will be negotiated during this current round of bargaining.

“Members are well-aware of the insulting concessionary package that CN continues to push at the bargaining table and with this vote, they’re uniting to push back,” Cory Will, President of Unifor Local 100.

Unifor’s two national bargaining committees have engaged in six bargaining sessions since the parties formally opened negotiations on Oct. 19, 2022. On Dec. 9, 2022, the union filed for conciliation to help progress negotiations.

The bargaining committees are set to meet with the employer again during the week of March 13.

“Unifor’s bargaining committees remain fully committed to reaching a collective agreement that recognizes the value and contributions of rail workers,” said Dave Kissack, President of Unifor Council 4000.

The union is asking CN to remove the concessions and negotiate a collective agreement that values their workers.

Unifor Local 100 represents skilled trades in mechanical shops and Unifor Council 4000 represents intermodal, clerical, mechanics and excavator operators. Unifor is the largest union at CN.