Dear members,

United Nations World Water Day falls on March 22 every year. World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the people around the globe living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis.

Unifor is proud to host a webinar about the state of safe water in Indigenous communities across the county. Join this powerful discussion hosted by Gina Smoke, Unifor Indigenous Liaison with Pam Palmater, Mi’kmaq lawyer, Ryerson Professor and activist.

Learn about actions that Unifor members can take to push the federal government to live up to its Treaty obligations and ensure that all Indigenous communities have clean, safe water.

March 22, 2021 1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m. EST

This workshop will be hosted online through Cisco WebEx. Participants will be emailed information on how to join. You must RSVP online.

In solidarity,

Jerry Dias
National President

**

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on March 21^st – marred in history when police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid “pass laws” in 1960.

Unifor recognizes we must not repeat history and it has been very evident this year, we must be a part of the change needed to redefine public safety and divest from institutions that perpetuate racism and are still taking the lives of Black, Indigenous and people of colour.

This year, Unifor’s message is “Together for Racial Justice.” We understand that we must use our collective power to make change. It is about engaging the communities, trade unions, employers, workplaces and organizations to work together for meaningful lasting change.

#Together4RacialJustice aims to make real meaningful change in cultures that exist in workplaces and a society that devalue any person solely based on the colour of their skin. We often hear the word tolerance. Tolerance has absolutely nothing to do with racial justice, but everything to do with one’s attitude. It is not making the real changes need to end racism, more like ignoring the real issues and claiming to be not racist vs acting in a way that is anti-racist. It is vital that trade unions do not ignore the place in history we are in.

As the Covid-19 virus began to spread in early 2020, a parallel pandemic was unleashed – of hatred, violence and fear against Black, Indigenous and people of colour. Those who identify or were perceived to identify as Chinese were targeted by hate and wrongly blamed for the pandemic. Stark inequities, rooted in racism, quickly became clear. Black, Indigenous and people of colour and women are significantly at higher risk of infection and death.

Unifor is proud to join other unions across North America in a cross-border, multilingual webinar on the fight for racial justice as we near the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

On March 20, activists will come together to redefine public safety, to advance the interest of Black, Indigenous and people of colour in our society, workplaces and union. We will continue to work together to eliminate racism.

Unifor is encouraging members and activists to register and participate in the Together for Racial Justice Webinar on Zoom at 3 p.m. eastern time on March 20, 2021. This will allow us to have moments of reflection and recommit to being Anti-racist using Unifor’s six steps to support racial justice.

Unifor will continue in our quest for equity, equality and anti-discrimination and we call on each and every one of us to stand up against all forms of racism. On social media we will show our recommitment to ending all forms of racial discrimination by using the Unifor frame “Together for Racial Justice.”

Download the shareables

View the statement on our website here.

***

This column originally appeared in the Globe and Mail

The pandemic has demolished many conventional wisdoms when it comes to our economy, equality and work – especially essential work, so much of which is done by women.

Where would we be without the labour of women this past year? And yet as critical as that labour has been to the well-being of the country, we are still fighting for respect and fair pay.

Paid sick days have become the tip of the iceberg for much broader calls to improve employment standards and labour rights across the country. The base of the iceberg is the fight for fair wages and decent work for all. It’s why union women struggle to raise the minimum wage, campaign for the universal right to unionize and demand the right to identify and refuse unsafe work. In Canada, a handful of CEOs declare record profits year after year while the floor for minimum workplace standards is vanishing beneath our feet.

Just as we have seen throughout history, the current crisis weighs heavily on women, as well as non-binary and gender diverse people. Even more so on racialized women. Our workplaces are battlegrounds because bosses take more and more money for themselves while women have to fight for fair wages and access to adequate personal protective equipment. After decades of advocacy, we still do not have a meaningful and accessible system of childcare in this country and the gender pay gap continues to undermine women’s experience of work. All of this has been made far worse through this pandemic.

So when Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, appears to be at his wit’s end because people keep asking about paid sick days, let me share an ounce of truth: we’re not about to stop demanding or organizing.

Frankly, too many politicians have let ideology get in the way of a proper pandemic response. – one that puts people and workers first.

They have allowed the entire weight of a pandemic to fall onto the shoulders of women. Women are working harder than ever on the front line, and yet more than 20% of women are underemployed, evidence of the systemic barriers in our job market. More women than men have lost their jobs amid the crisis, dropping our labour market participation by a full percentage point.

We’re going backwards.

Union women have been fighting for workplace justice for decades. The very roots of International Women’s Day we celebrate on March 8 stem from the fight for fair pay, safe work and the right to a union for all.

More than 100 years after the first celebration of women’s achievements and potential, workplace struggles are just as important. Any personal support worker knows just how tragic and challenging this past year has been.

So while certain politicians will be remembered for having stood in the way of workers, women and everyone who hold up our communities in good and bad times, there are still a few things they don’t know.

One day we will have mandatory paid sick days in every province in Canada and employers will pay for them.

One day, employers will no longer be able to outsource their responsibilities to temporary agencies, scraping every dollar of profit they can from working class communities, leaving workers vulnerable to weakened workplace rights and permanently low wages.

One day in this country, we will usher in a universal pharmacare program that will drastically lower drug costs for average Canadians and secure the next building block of Canada’s public health care system.

Women, women’s democratic movements and workers’ organizations see the connections between decent work, affordable housing, racial justice, access to education, public health care and childcare, and the all-important safety net that lifts everyone up.

Women have been fighting for these things for a long time and we are not about to give up now.

While politicians come and go, the sisterhood continues uninterrupted – and so do our demands for gender justice.

And in these times of crisis, politicians can listen and act – or they can step aside.

Lana Payne is Unifor’s National Secretary-Treasurer.

View this column on our website here.

***

March 8, 2021

International Women’s Day is a global day to celebrate women and women’s achievements and to continue the push for gender justice.  It was started by working women to call attention to poor pay and working conditions. It grew to include a call for women’s rightful place in leadership and safety from violence. Today, it is a day to celebrate equality gains and recommit to action and persistence towards full equality for all equity-seeking groups.

When we work collectively, across our diversities, we are a force that makes change.

This year marks nearly one full year under the pandemic. This crisis has shone a light on pre-existing inequality and, in many cases, has widened it: racism, gender-based violence, unpaid care work, inadequate elder support and more. We need to address these inequalities and come out from the pandemic with a new society.

We did not let the pandemic stop us from organizing for a better world, getting elected to bargaining committees and local executives. We continue to fight for racial justice advocates, paid sick days, fair pay, pharmacare, better long term care and child care, against gender-based violence and much more.

This year we will celebrate the women of our union and the work they do every day to push back and make a difference.

View statement on our website here.

In solidarity,

Jerry Dias                                   Lana Payne
National President                 National Secretary-Treasurer

***

Help us win PAID SICK DAYS for all in Ontario! 

Ontarians need paid sick days now, and with your help we can win.

Unifor has been calling for paid sick days since the start of the pandemic last March. We are actively advocating public Boards of Health and City Councils across the province and adding our political voice to this momentum.

It’s time to pass MPP Peggy Sattler’s Bill 239, the Stay Home If You Are Sick Act. This NDP Bill ensures that no one has to choose between putting food on the table and going to work sick: with seven (7) permanent paid sick days plus fourteen (14) additional days during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s time to legislate paid sick days NOW.

In this phone zap, we will be calling the offices of PC MPP’s and encouraging them to support Bill 239 so workers don’t have to go to work when they are sick. We will then take a few minutes to phone our elected PC MPP representatives and demand that they legislate Paid Sick Days for all workers!

Bill 239’s next big test is on March 1.  It is important we let PC MPPs know before this date that Ontarians want and need this to pass.

This meeting will take place on zoom. We recommend that you connect to the meeting via a tablet or computer in order to leave your phone available to make phone calls. You must register in advance to get the meeting link.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting on February 25.

WHEN:

Thursday, February 25 from 6:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. ET

Click here to RSVP

I hope you to see on Thursday.

In solidarity,

Naureen Rizvi

Ontario Regional Director

February 18, 2021

TORONTO—Unifor urges immediate action from the federal government to protect jobs in Canada’s aerospace industry as De Havilland Canada announces it will leave the current Downsview production facility and suspend production of the Dash 8.

“Canada’s aerospace workers deserve better. We need the strongest possible government plan to support these economically vital jobs and protect our highly skilled aircraft manufacturing workers immediately,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Each day that passes without a comprehensive plan including significant government financial supports for Canada’s airlines and aerospace sectors means more unnecessary job losses, risks prolonging an economic recovery, and may do irreversible damage to our industrial capacity.”

The suspension of the Dash 8 program and facility exit will affect more than 700 members of Unifor Locals 112 and 673. The union remains deeply concerned with the company’s announcement that it will exit the facility without a firm relocation plan or a timeline to resume production.

Unifor released a comprehensive aerospace report last month detailing the union’s recovery plan for the industry in response to COVID-19. The report recommends the federal government immediately implement measures to support domestic aerospace manufacturing, including direct financial support that protects aerospace jobs and strengthens procurement policies using a “Buy Canadian” approach. Following the release of the report, the union engaged in its single largest lobbying effort to date, meeting with more than 100 Members of Parliament, Ministers and government staff to discuss the union’s recommendations and alert officials of looming production problems, including the Dash 8 production suspension.

Unifor continues to urge the federal government to support workers at the Downsview site by implementing Unifor’s economic recovery plan for Canada’s aerospace sector.

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.

To arrange interviews via Zoom, Skype or Facetime please contact Unifor Communications Representative David Molenhuis at david.molenhuis@unifor.org or 416-575-7453 (cell).

***REMINDER***The deadline for applications is February 15. Applications can be sent to employment@unifor.org

Unifor is pleased to announce that we have been successful in securing federal project funding from Heritage Canada through their Anti-Racism Action Program. These funds will be used over the next 15-months to support a series of activities and initiatives that we have developed to support racial justice across the Union – within our regions, Locals and communities.

Unifor is currently seeking five Racial Justice Liaisons, one per region (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairies/Territories, British Columbia) to provide project support and coordination and help our regional and national teams in implementing our anti-racism action plan.

This is a great chance for Unifor members to work closely with Boards, Regional Aboriginal and Workers of Colour Committees, Regional Equity Committees and the National Human Rights Department. Regional Racial Justice Liaisons will be working directly to support the development of an anti-racism program that will drive organizational change and make lasting impacts for Black, Indigenous and people of colour within both the union and our communities.

This is an exciting opportunity for a Black, Indigenous or Worker of Colour who is looking to learn new skills, increase their involvement and engagement within the Union and Locals, develop their leadership capacity, network and contribute to positive social change and racial justice.

Position Requirements

• Identify as Black, Indigenous, Aboriginal or a Worker of Colour;
• Available for 6-month contract;
• Interested in working on a national team to develop anti-racism policies, practices, education and training and foster local community partnerships;
• Work closely with Unifor Regional Executive Boards, Human Rights Department and Regional Equity Committees;
• Participate in online forums with Unifor members, leaders and community partners;
• Identify and bring forward policy recommendations and program initiatives to our anti-racism working group.

Unifor wants to ensure that we provide an equal opportunity for all applicants.  Please feel free to make any accommodation requests if needed throughout this process.  Please send your application to employment@unifor.org by 4:00pm, Monday, February 15^th, 2021 and indicate the job title and the Region you are applying to in the subject line.

Please feel free to apply directly to your regional council. For more information, please contact Christine Maclin, Unifor Human Rights Director at christine.maclin@unifor.org.

In solidarity,
Jerry Dias
National President

Unifor supports the rights of all people to access public mental health care free from barriers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed workers’ lives, from added stress to isolation, grief, and for many, the loss of workplace drug plan coverage.

To mark Bell Let’s Talk Day, Unifor encourages all people in Canada to not only reach out and build connections, but to demand strengthened access to mental health services and prescription drug coverage through our public health care systems.

Those services must be freely accessible for people to get support, free from discrimination, when facing mental illness or crisis.

One out of every five Canadians will experience mental illness in normal times. It is okay to feel out of sorts because of the global COVID-19 crisis. During the pandemic, we must normalize, listen to, and empathize with those experiencing distress. Additionally, we remind those experiencing mental illness to find supports, as limited as they may be, that work for them in order to navigate through this crisis. Now more than ever, we must find community and support one another.

Members can access COVID-19 Mental Health resources online. These resources include four pillars:

• Mental health and wellness
• Quarantine and isolation
• Challenging stigma, prejudice and racism, and
• Taking action.

The job of promoting mental wellness is up to every single one of us. Through their union workers can support one another as peers, but for sustained medical care we all rely on the same public health care systems.

View statement on our website here.

***

Greetings Unifor family,

Every day, we are reminded why our efforts to fight for racial justice are so very important, and why we must remain vigilant.

As you are aware, there have been many conversations about the Black Lives Matter movement since its founding in 2012. Its slogan has seeped deeply into our culture and conversation. Despite our familiarity with the saying, “Black Lives Matter,” as workers we must not co-opt the phrase for our own causes. 

We should all be aware of the impacts of our words, and the importance of the rallying cry: Black Lives Matter.

“Black Lives Matter” came to prominence after the murder of Trayvon Martin in the United States. It was not intended to take away from the fact that many Black, Indigenous and racialized communities have been demanding that their lives matter for hundreds of years.

Let me be clear – when people say that Black Lives Matter, they are not saying that other lives do not matter.  It simply refers to the fact that inequalities in our society, such as employment opportunities, housing, education, health, and violence at the hands of the police, have a greater and negatively disproportionate impact on Black, Indigenous and racialized communities.

When the slogan is appropriated for other causes (by adding words or deleting the word “Black”) it takes away from the importance of the movement and erases the experiences and the critical message Black people are striving to convey. 

Even if not intended, it makes a comparison that campaigns, job actions, and working conditions are somehow equal to the countless lives taken due to racism. Both are unfair and wrong, but are completely different.

We must support anti-oppression organizations and listen to impacted communities voicing concerns, solutions and next steps. In order to achieve equality and to ensure all lives really do have equal value in our communities, we must demand that Black, Indigenous and racialized lives are supported, valued and appreciated. Only then will we come together to take on the capitalist system that actually creates and reproduces all forms of inequality that we as a union must fight back against.

There is power in words.

As workers fighting for economic and social justice and equality we can find our own words to describe these battles, while we continue to proudly say that Black Lives Matter.

In solidarity,
Jerry Dias
National President

Greetings,

Globally workers, organizations, sports teams, business and unions continue to take direct action and demand racial justice. These demands are not new for many Black, Indigenous and racialized communities and advocacy groups and it’s a breathe of fresh air that these voices are being heard throughout the world.

We have all been proud to see unity from major league sport teams in the WNBA, NBA, MLB, and NHL showing their support through strike action, game stoppage and statements.

These compounding actions build on months of protest, and generations of organizing in opposition to racial oppression including anti-Black racism, colonialism and all other forms of racism.

Our union recognizes that racism is a tool of the capitalist system built and designed to divide people for the profits of a few, and we must never lose focus on that.

Our ability to change this system, and our own lives, comes from our collective power.

Unifor is a union for everyone, not just members, we aim to raise the standards for all workers in Canada.  We made demands of the Provincial and Federal Governments to not only recognize key historical days like Emancipation Day, but have also pushed for a Federal Anti-racism Action Plan.

Unifor is not a union that waits for a minimum standard, we create standards, and raise the bar through our collective action and collective bargaining.

Throughout the pandemic we have made racial justice part of everything we produce or every action that we take:

• Mental Health resources that recognize the compounding issue of racism on mental wellness.
• Education, including ongoing seminars on allyship, advocacy for migrant workers, and bystander intervention. Register today.
• We had a National Day of Action for Racial Justice on July 31^st where locals across the country held actions of raising funds for local businesses owned by Black, Indigenous and people of colour, and collaborating with local organizations.
• Endorsement of the Call to End Systemic Racism and Redefine Community Safety, recognizing the need to demilitarize the police, reallocate and invest in social systems in communities and the demand to decriminalize health and mental health.
• Hosting public conversations on racism, including Working together for Racial Justice at the Summer Summit.

Unifor’s Regional Equity Committees lead our equity work, and are adjusting to the new normal. I want to thank local unions who support member’s participation in these vital structures, and cannot wait to see the next 3-year goals that these committees will identify and take on.

Once again this past weekend, Unifor members across the country protested the racial injustices that exist in society and continue to demand real, systemic change.

We know that many of you are looking to see what you can do to help.  Connect with local Indigenous and BLM organizers to participate in the movement that we are witnessing today, and read more on Unifor’s updated Policy on Racial Justice.

We cannot let this flame of energy and motivation burn out. Labour unions have a responsibility to act when workers are harmed, and it is obvious to us that racism is a life or death issue for many of Canada’s workers.

In solidarity,
Jerry Dias
National President

Dear members,

On Friday, June 12, Unifor’s National Executive Board unanimously endorsed the new Racial Justice Policy. Considering the protests against racism globally, we as trade unionists must not merely name the problem, but work every day towards equality. We must reflect on the inherent structures of power that advantage some over others. We must understand the connections between capitalism and racism. We must use the power of love and solidarity to build the better world we know is possible. And we must listen. Listen to our friends, our sisters and brothers, who face racism every single day. We’re asking you to share this policy and to make it shareable in all workplaces and within your local.

In solidarity,
Jerry Dias
National President

Unifor emphatically condemns the most recent blatant acts of racism and racially-motivated police violence in the United States of America. 

But we also know racism is not just a problem in the United States. It is also the daily reality faced by Black, Indigenous and other racialized communities here in Canada as well.

Racism continues to govern the lives of Black, Indigenous and racialized peoples, and as we have seen in the case of George Floyd, racism is taking lives.

We must call the killing of George Floyd exactly what it is: anti-Black racism.

As trade unionists, we must not merely name the problem, but work every day towards equality.

We must reflect on the inherent structures of power that advantage some over others. We must understand the connections between capitalism and racism. We must use the power of love and solidarity to build the better world we know is possible. And we must listen. Listen to our friends, our sisters and brothers, who face anti-Black racism every single day.

We must recognize that our union must be one of many catalysts in society engaged in the undoing of discriminatory frameworks and systemic racism and in achieving an equitable society for all.

Today in Canada, the issue of anti-Black racism is also dominating our consciousness as citizens march seeking answers to the questions surrounding the death this week of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Toronto.

We must also challenge in Canada the systemic racism ingrained in institutions, policies and practices.

It’s why Unifor recently demanded the collection of race-based and Indigenous data around COVID19 because we know this pandemic impacts Canadians differently and is felt disproportionately by racialized communities.

On behalf of Unifor’s more than 315,000 members, we send our condolences and solidarity to all Black communities affected by systemic racism and who have been traumatized by this week’s acts of violence and we join them in demanding accountability and justice.

As a trade union, we can’t ignore the deadly threat racism poses to our Black, Indigenous and racialized sisters and brothers and friends. We must speak up against it.

The trade union movement was built by working people determined to bring justice and equity in our workplaces and in our society. Our greatest progress has come when we have understood the importance of combating discrimination and uniting all workers.

We will not let racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, xenophobia, religious discrimination and oppression divide us because an injury to one is an injury to all. Let us not be silent.

It is not only honourable to unite in solidarity against hate, it is necessary to build a more equitable world. Being an ally matters.

Unifor asks all members, retirees and allies to challenge oppression and inequality through activism and political action, demanding redress for past wrongs.

Our union is proud to work with trade unions across the continent through the North American Solidarity Project to combat racism. Unifor will continue to fight racism at work and in our communities. We will continue to equip members with the necessary tools to combat racism safely through a robust system of education and training.  Only through education can people unlearn bias and end the cycle of racism. And only through solidarity will the better world we all seek be built.

In solidarity,
Jerry Dias

Dear members,

As the Government of Ontario moves towards reopening certain sectors of the economy, I would like to advise you of Unifor’s recent efforts to protect your rights, your health and safety, and ensure that your needs are met during this next phase of the government’s COVID-19 response.

Specifically, your union has urged the provincial government to:

• provide clear guidance on worker rights and employer responsibilities in all workplaces operating during the pandemic,
• to ensure critical services, notably transit and childcare, are accessible to all workers who need them at every step of the restart program, and
• that workplace restarts only happen in lockstep with sufficient PPE for all workers.

The comprehensive details of our union’s concerns are outlined in a letter sent today to Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips.

Additional resources can be found on Unifor’s COVID-19 site at unifor.org/COVID19, including our Returning to Work from COVID-19 Closure fact sheet and our comprehensive analysis on Communicating Worker Rights and Employer Responsibilities.

Reopening Ontario’s economy cannot mean business as usual. Keeping workers and the public safe is a monumental task for governments and employers, and one that is of grave importance.

There are still many challenges to overcome with the COVID-19 pandemic. I urge all members to stay safe and continue to follow the guidance of public health officials.

Should you have any questions or concerns about workplace health and safety issues as well as access to critical services and PPE, please get in touch with the appropriate member of our staff and leadership team.

Sincerely,
Naureen Rizvi