Unifor Local 1996-O

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Black History Month – Viola Desmond

Black History Month in Canada

Black History Month is observed across Canada every February. Black History Month in Canada provides an opportunity to share and learn about the experiences, contributions and achievements of peoples of African ancestry (see Black Canadians). It was initiated in Canada by the Ontario Black History Society and introduced to Parliament in December 1995 by Jean Augustine, the first Black woman elected as a member of Parliament. Black History Month was officially observed across Canada for the first time in February 1996 (see also Black History in Canada).

Unifor  1996-O Recognize:

Viola Desmond

Viola Desmond (1)

In Solidarity,

Equity Committee 1996-O

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Bell Mobility: CRTC’s MVNO proposal is ‘highly aggressive,’ puts spending at risk

By The Canadian Press

Wed., Feb. 19, 2020

GATINEAU, Que. – Canadian consumers won’t get better deals on wireless data if mobile virtual network operators are introduced into an already competitive market, but such a move would slow an ongoing major upgrade to the national communication backbone, Bell Canada and Bell Mobility executives testified Wednesday.

Speaking at the second day of public hearings before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in Gatineau, Que., Bell Canada chief executive Mirko Bibic said any form of MVNO mandate would an “aggressive” regulatory intervention.

Bibic reminded CRTC commissioners that Canada is taking “the next big step” in building its communications backbone, which requires simultaneously installing ultra-fast fifth-generation wireless networks and more fibre optic infrastructure.

“Those are two fundamental things for the next generation of the Canadian economy,” Bibic said.

Read the full article here….

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Del Monte workers join Unifor – Oshawa

Workers at an Oshawa warehouse for Del Monte have voted overwhelmingly to join Unifor, following certification vote ordered by the Labour Board because of the company’s actions.

“This vote really shows the power of workers to stand up and resist the intimidation tactics of their employer,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.

“Here we have a company that aggressively tried to keep its workers form unionizing, and yet they stood together and collectively gained a voice in the workplace. This is a real example of workers showing true solidarity.”

The 250 workers, employed by Premier Implementation Solutions to work in the canning company’s warehouse, voted 94 per cent in favour of joining Unifor.

The Ontario Labour Relations Board ordered the February 18 vote after the employer fired two workers who were active in the organizing drive. Those workers received a Unifor-negotiated settlement from the company before the vote was held.

Unifor organizers immediately stepped up communications with the diverse workforce at the warehouse, including flyers and other materials in English, Punjabi and Tagalog, the primary languages spoken in the warehouse.

“These workers were not going to be intimidated, and showed great resolve in voting to join Unifor,” said Unifor Organizing Director Kellie Scanlan. “I am proud to welcome them to our union.”

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Health care workers plan job actions at Schlegel Villages

February 17, 2020 – 12:00 AM

LONDON— Unifor Locals 302 and 504 representing health care workers at Schlegel Villages will hold membership meetings to plan job actions after contract negotiations broke down.

“Our members are feeling frustrated, underappreciated and outright disrespected by the employer,” said Glenn Westoby, Local 504 President. “Schlegel continues to pay wages that are below the standard in the sector despite repeatedly telling the union that they want to be leaders in the Long Term Care Industry. It’s most unfortunate that this sentiment isn’t reflected in the working conditions and compensation that Unifor members are seeing.”

Unifor submitted a report to the provincial government in December 2019 titled Caring in Crisis: Ontario’s Long-Term Care PSW Shortage that details the systemic shortage of Personal Support Workers (PSWs) across Ontario

“No longer is it simply an issue of working understaffed in long term care homes,” said Nancy McMurphy, Local 302 President. “The real challenge is frequently working two to three staff short on any given day. The residents are not receiving the care that they deserve and staff are left feeling hopeless and defeated.”

The union is committed to return to the bargaining table once the employer genuinely commits to addressing understaffing. However, the employer believes the best way to address understaffing is to reward workers with “Schlegel points”, a reward system to purchase items.

“Having a reward system to address understaffing is an insult not only to workers but to the residents as well. Understaffing in LTC homes is a systemic issue and a rewards system in no way alleviates the strain or stress put on workers trying to provide optimal care for residents living in these facilities,” said McMurphy.

Workers at Schelgel are prepared to take legal job actions in their fight for a respectful collective agreement, despite the employer threatening legal action and police enforcement.

Unifor Local 302 represents close to 400 members at the Village of Glendale Crossing in London and Pinehaven Nursing Home in Kitchener and Unifor Local 504 represents close to 250 members at the Village of Wentworth Heights in Hamilton. These two locals along with Local 2458 in Windsor form the Unifor’s Master Negotiations team.

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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In the Co-op dispute, the company can’t be let off the hook

Jerry Dias

Fri, 02/14/2020

By Jerry Dias, Unifor National President

By now, the entire country is aware of the ten week long lockout at the Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) refinery in Regina. What fewer people know is the length to which the company has worked to prolong it. It has deftly used numerous systemic advantages to try to break our union. FCL has been let off the hook time and again. It has to stop.

On December 5, 2019, FCL locked out 730 members of Unifor Local 594 after walking back on its promise to keep workers’ pensions in place.

It’s worth noting that these pensions are better than most Canadians enjoy, however most Canadians don’t work for an employer that rakes in $3 million dollar profit every day.

Unifor members on the picket line are fighting a bully employer that, thanks to legalized scabs, has been let off the hook to attempt normal, and arguably risky operation of the refinery using a replacement workforce with questionable qualifications.

FCL has been let off the hook by the Regina Police Department. Even before injunctions were issued, the police took it upon themselves to force refinery supplies through legal picket lines. They have consistently escalated tensions on the picket line with arbitrary arrests, including my own.

With free access to scabs and an aggressive local police force, it is no wonder that FCL has shown no interest in good faith negotiations. The whole deck is stacked in its favour, all it has to do is wait out refinery workers and their families while the system does their dirty work for them.

This corporate coddling must end. The scales must be re-balanced so that the company has an incentive to actually bargain.

Saskatchewan Labour Minister Don Morgan has appointed well-known mediator Vince Ready to bring FCL and Unifor back to the table. While I have a world of respect for Mr. Ready and we intend to pull out all the stops to get a deal, I’m not holding my breath.

Minister Morgan’s offer has a critical flaw, which is that the mediation process is non-binding. Yet again, FCL has been let off the hook.

If the twenty days of prescribed mediation doesn’t yield a settlement, Ready will prepare a report for the government that it is under no obligation to make public. We’ll be back to square one, except it will be Day 97 of a bitter lockout and the company will still have no incentive to bargain.

If mediation fails, Premier Scott Moe must legislate binding arbitration. The step is not unprecedented.

Last year, Moe introduced an emergency motion in the legislative assembly calling on the federal government to “immediately end the CN Rail strike through binding arbitration.”

Unlike the rush to use legislation against CN Rail workers after only two days on strike, the impasse with FCL is a clear case of a breakdown in negotiations with no end in sight.

With all of the systemic advantages I describe above, FCL CEO Scott Banda has repeatedly rebuffed Unifor’s offers. The most recent time we offered a path to $20 million in savings to the company, Banda responded with even more egregious concessions, including new job cuts.

Changing the terms of negotiations mid-stream is not a path to a settlement. It is a path to an even lengthier dispute. Surely the Premier understands this.

There is recent precedent to guide the way for Premier Moe. In 2018 after a 21-month lockout by aerospace parts-maker DJ Composites in Gander, Newfoundland, Premier Dwight Ball facilitated a process that ultimately led the company to agree binding arbitration.

In other Canadian jurisdictions, legislation triggers binding arbitration in lengthy disputes.

Under conservative premier Brian Pallister in Manitoba, the Labour Relations Act calls for binding arbitration after a dispute has gone on for longer than 60 days.

Let me be clear: arbitration should never be the first option in dispute settlement. However, when disputes drag on and there is no solution in sight, it is a necessary step in order to bring closure when one or more parties are proving intractable.

Unifor is calling on Premier Moe to do the right thing: stop letting FCL off the hook. If no deal can be reached with mediator Vince Ready, it is time for binding arbitration.

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