Unifor delivered a strong deputation to the City of Toronto’s Budget committee to warn that excessive delays in the purchase of at least 60 new streetcars is putting the Thunder Bay Bombardier plant where they are manufactured in jeopardy.

“The Ford conservatives are refusing to act while good manufacturing jobs in Northern Ontario are disappearing,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “All levels of government must work together instead of punishing Northern Ontario for decisions made in Toronto.”

The union has been calling on the City of Toronto and the federal and provincial governments to take responsibility for the worst transit congestion in Canada and protect good paying manufacturing jobs in Ontario by completing the necessary Bombardier streetcar order.

“Jobs are on the line – the Bombardier plant is at risk of closing, there simply isn’t enough work to keep the facility open into 2021,” said Dominic Pasqualino Unifor Local 1075 President. “We can’t wait any longer – trained workers are going to move on and they, and these jobs, will never return.”

The Thunder Bay Bombardier plant is the largest private sector employer in the region. It has a more than 100-year history of providing good jobs that has enriched the lives of Ontarians through fair wages and supply-chain demand.

“Canadian content in government purchases play an important role in Ontario’s economy,” says Kaylie Tiessen, Economist and Unifor National Research Representative. “Jobs at the Bombardier facility support an additional 1.5 to 2.8 job in Ontario, with many in the greater Toronto area. If the plant closes, it is workers across the province who will bear the burden.”

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) states that new streetcars constitute an urgent and unfunded need in its recent capital budget.

“The city is putting riders and workers through the ultimate stress test,” continued Pasqualino. “If our elected leaders keep shirking responsibility, workers will be out of a job and we’ll have lost one of Canada’s exclusive manufacturers for our city’s streetcars and subway systems.”

REGINA− Unifor announced an escalation of job action and turned the tables on Federated Co-operatives Ltd. (FCL) by effectively shutting down the refinery as hundreds of union activists surrounded the 544 acre facility.

“Co-op executives locked our members out six weeks ago and today we are locking them out. No fuel will be leaving this refinery,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President at a rally in Regina. “This tremendous display of solidarity is sending a message to this greedy multi-billion dollar conglomerate to get back to the table and bargain a fair deal.”

Several hundred Unifor members from coast to coast to coast have come to Regina to support refinery workers locked out since December 5, 2019.

“We are so grateful to all the members who dropped everything to come and help us fight to protect our pensions,” said Kevin Bittman, Unifor Local 594 President. “This kind of solidarity is truly inspirational.”

“Until FCL returns to the bargaining table with a fair offer for our highly skilled refinery workers, we’re not going anywhere,” added Dias.

For the past 46 days, FCL has relied on the use of scabs and management to run the refinery.

Unifor will also continue to encourage the public to boycott Co-op gas, retail, and home supplies outlets across Western Canada. For more information about Unifor’s Boycott Co-op campaign visit BoycottCoop.ca.

Today’s announcement was streamed live on Unifor’s Facebook Page. Photos from the rally will also be available on Facebook. Facts about the dispute can be found at http://unifor594.com.

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.