November 22, 2019 – 12:00 AM

TORONTO—Unifor stood in solidarity with elected student leaders from the Canadian Federation of Students and the York Federation of Students at a media conference this morning to announce the successful legal challenge of the Doug Ford government’s Student Choice Initiative.

“From day one, we called on Doug Ford to scrap this unlawful attack on Ontario’s post-secondary students and institutions,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “We welcome the Ontario divisional court’s unanimous and decisive ruling that the governments’ attack violated the bedrock principles on which Ontario universities have been governed for more than 100 years.”

The Ford government sought to undermine student organizations across the province and the democratically allocated student funds for a wide range of services at post-secondary institutions across Ontario.

The funds went directly to benefit student unions, campus radio stations and newspapers, sexual assault survivors’ services, women’s and LGBTQIA-positive spaces, Public Interest Research Groups and many others.

“The Ford government has been dealt a serious blow in its attempt to silence students and de-fund groups that disagree with their conservative agenda,” said Naureen Rizvi, Unifor Ontario Director. “I am proud that workers and students stood shoulder to shoulder to fight for our fundamental rights to organize.”

The Ford government directly threatened students’ unions across the province by creating conditions to defund them, intervening in institution and student union independence.

November 27, 2019 – 3:00 AM

VANCOUVER—Unifor Local 111 and 2200 have reached a tentative agreement with Coast Mountain Bus Company, ending a 26-day strike by nearly 5,000 transit workers.

“Transit workers stood up for one another and fought hard to get a fair contract,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Total service disruption was a last resort, so our members are relieved that they can return to serving the public.”

The tentative agreement, reached at 12:30 a.m., will avoid a three-day strike action during which no busses would have been on the road. Unifor members will report to work for their normal shifts on Wednesday. Details of the agreement will be made available following ratification votes happening in the coming days.

“This contract recognizes that Unifor members are the backbone of the Metro Vancouver transit system,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Western Regional Director and lead negotiator. “We look forward to being an integral part of an expanding system that keeps this region moving.”

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.

November 28, 2019

HALIFAX – Unifor leadership is expressing its continued support for the Northern Pulp effluent treatment facility (ETF) project currently under review with Nova Scotia Environment (NSE).

“We remain confident NSE will assess the project and come to an appropriate decision, and we trust it will be one that protects the environment, respects community concerns and supports the more than 2,700 jobs at stake across the province,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “We want our members to know we fully support them and we believe this mill can coexist in its community just as dozens of other pulp and paper mills currently do across Canada.”

Unifor submitted commentary to Nova Scotia Environment during the open consultation period, highlighting the mill’s excellent record of improved performance, the importance of keeping high-demand paper product production within the bounds of Canada’s world-leading environmental regulatory jurisdiction, and the Nova Scotia forestry sector’s reliance on Northern Pulp.

“Every time NSE has come back to the company to request information during this process, Northern Pulp has delivered,” said Linda MacNeil, Atlantic Regional Director. “If we let this mill close, the entire province loses. The last thing we need is to throw out a good proposal from the anchor of the province’s forestry sector for lack of a little clarification.”

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy, including 230 workers at Northern Pulp and more than 23,000 forestry workers from coast to coast. 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.