By Gerard Di Trolio, David Bush and Doug Nesbitt The announcement on Sunday night that GM will close their Oshawa plant at the end of 2019 is devastating news for the thousands of autoworkers and their families in Oshawa. Site of the 1937 strike against against GM that marked the first big breakthrough of industrial Continue readingBuckle up: GM declares war on Oshawa
Unifor
By Nora Loreto On day 597 of a lockout of workers by D-J Composites in Gander, N.L., Unifor Local 597 hosted a barbeque to boost morale. It was earlier this summer, and the lockout had almost reached two years. Iggy Oram, plant chair, told the crowd there wasn’t much that the 32 aerospace workers could Continue readingNaming and shaming scab labour
Since April 27, over 350 miners in Goderich, Ontario have been on strike. The union, Unifor Local 16-0, is fighting against concessions demanded by Compass Minerals which owns the salt mine, the world’s largest. The town of 8,000 and surrounding area has rallied to the miners’ cause. Lawn signs supporting the workers have popped up Continue readingWeekend Video: The Battle of Goderich
By Bruce Allen About a hundred autoworkers, led by workers from Toyota, and their supporters rallied in front of Queen’s Park in Toronto on April 22. They were protesting the Liberal government’s decision to allow an “exception” for the auto industry for personal emergency leave (PEL) days. The exemption was brought into effect in January 2017. Continue readingToyota autoworkers take on Liberal’s ESA exemption
By James Napier Unifor claims to be the “largest private sector union” in Canada. It would be more accurate to describe them as the largest union-raiding organization in Canada. Unifor now spends more time and money raiding other unions than they do organizing un-organized workers. Almost 60% of “new” members in the first 3 months Continue readingRaiding over organizing for Unifor?
By James Napier The membership of Unifor Local 222 has issued a stunning rebuke to Unifor National President Jerry Dias. At the Local 222 general membership meeting on February 1, two motions were passed that opposed the sudden, destructive action taken by Dias on January 16, to pull Unifor out of the house of labour. Continue readingUnifor local 222 opposes Unifor’s split from the CLC
By Jonathan Rosenblum Dear Canadian union sisters and brothers, There’s a lot to admire about your labor movement. With community organizing, creative street heat, and militant strikes, you’ve just scored the biggest win yet in the Fight for $15, forcing a pro-corporate Ontario government to raise wages for 1.7 million workers and grant new card-check Continue readingDear Canadian unions: Don’t let a union split tear the labour movement apart
By David Bush When Unifor left the CLC on January 16 it cited the inability of the CLC and its affiliates to properly handle the process by which workers can change unions. This process is outlined in Article 4 of the CLC constitution. The disagreement over Article 4 is the only reason that has been Continue readingArticle 4, a smokescreen for labour’s civil war
“We hadn’t set up a new organization in order to be cannibals in the Canadian labour movement.” — Bob White, first president of the Canadian Auto Workers (now Unifor). By Doug Nesbitt, Gerard Di Trolio, Evan Johnston and David Bush Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, has left the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). Unifor’s website Continue readingUnifor-CLC split demands unity from below
By Chris Parsons With the holidays coming to an end, negotiations between the Irving family’s Halifax Shipyard Inc. and its unionized workers are set to resume this month with the help of a mediator. In December, the workers, members of UNIFOR Marine Workers Local One voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate after the Continue readingClass warfare and the Irving Shipyard
By Herman Rosenfeld A four-week strike at the CAMI assembly plant, that began on September 17th, ended on October 16th. Members of Unifor Local 88 voted 86% in favour of the tentative agreement bargained with the stand-alone GM plant. Located in Ingersoll, Ontario, close to London, it is a former joint venture between Suzuki and GM. Continue readingCAMI strike 2017: After another setback can Unifor move on?
By Gerard DiTrolio and Doug Nesbitt As negotiators from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico carry out secretive talks aimed at fixing NAFTA, a strike at an Ontario auto plant shows how difficult it can be to challenge the power amassed by corporations thanks to the trade deal. The 2,800 members of Unifor Local 88 walked Continue readingCAMI workers strike, but can’t get guarantee on jobs