Greetings,

Unifor’s National Pride Conference is returning, bringing together 2SLGBTQIA+ members from across the country for a weekend of learning, solidarity, and action. This bilingual event is designed for two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (2SLGBTQIA+) members to gain skills, build knowledge, and strengthen our collective power.

Allies play a crucial role in our fight for equity, but this conference is a closed space for 2SLGBTQIA+ Unifor members to strategize, connect, and build a more inclusive movement together.

The Fight for Our Rights

We are at a critical moment in history. Across Canada and around the world, far-right movements are mobilizing to strip away 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, erase queer and trans visibility, and defund essential services.

• Municipal councils, school boards, and library boards are under attack, with extremists pushing to ban books, restrict gender-affirming care, and shut down spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth.
• Workers’ rights and 2SLGBTQIA+ rights are being threatened together, as anti-union forces and anti-2SLGBTQIA+ forces share common goals of dismantling protections for marginalized communities and isolating us as individuals.
• We are fighting to make progress, and also to defend the rights we have already won—and to push back against policies and rhetoric designed to isolate, intimidate, and erase our community.

This conference will focus on building the knowledge, skills, and networks we need to resist these attacks, protect our rights, and fight for a just and inclusive future.

Delegates will hear from leading activists, Unifor leaders, and community organizers through:

• Plenary sessions addressing the rise of the far right and its impact on our communities
• Breakout workshops with hands-on training and strategy development
• Networking and social events to build solidarity and community

Pride Activist Course – 5-Day Education Opportunity

The Unifor Education Department is hosting a 5-Day Pride Activist Course May 25 to 30^th, 2025 in the lead-up to the conference. This intensive course provides an in-depth opportunity to develop activism skills, deepen knowledge on 2SLGBTQIA+ worker rights, and prepare for the work ahead in our communities and union locals.

For more information on the Pride Activist Course, visit:
https://www.unifor.org/resources/education/pel

A Message to Our Allies: How You Can Support 

We know that many Unifor allies want to attend and show support, and we deeply appreciate your ongoing commitment to equity and justice. While the Pride Conference is a closed space for 2SLGBTQIA+ members, there are other ways to stay engaged and take action.

Learn how to be a stronger ally with Unifor’s Online Allies Course

The Unifor Education Department has developed a 90-minute online module specifically for allies who want to increase their understanding and support of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Take the Allies Self-Directed Module here:
www.unifor.org/resources/education/courses/allies-mini-self-directed-module-olallies

This course provides practical tools on:

• Understanding allyship and its role in social justice
• Supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ members in workplaces and communities
• Standing in solidarity year-round, beyond Pride month

Your allyship is essential in the fight for equality, and we encourage you to take the course, apply the knowledge, and stand with us in solidarity every day.

The conference and workshops will be bilingual and, as always, this conference fills up quickly. Please submit your registrations early to avoid disappointment. The registration deadline is May 9, 2025.  A payment of $80.00 is required for the conference kit materials.

The conference begins at 7:00 p.m. Friday, May 30th and ends at 12:00 p.m. Sunday, June 1^st, 2025. Registration takes place on Friday from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. New delegate orientation will be held from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

Complete call letter and forms can be found by visiting https://www.unifor.org/news/events/pride-conference-2025

Please contact Sarah McCue at sarah.mccue@unifor.org or Billy O’Neill at billy.oneill@unifor.org if you require additional information.

Let’s come together to organize, strategize, and take action—see you in Port Elgin!

In solidarity,

Tricia Wilson                         Sarah McCue                                     Billy O’Neill
Director, Equity                  Equity Liaison – LGBTQ               Equity Liaison – LGBTQ
& Racial Justice

REGISTER HERE: https://www.unifor112.ca/rsi/

2025 Family Education Program

Greetings,

Does a family vacation on the shores of beautiful Lake Huron in Ontario at a resort-like facility where accommodations and food are all looked after at no cost to your members or the local sound too good to be true? Unifor’s Family Education Program offers this and so much more.

The Unifor Family Education Program is funded by the National Union. There is no cost to the Local Union and you are not required to have PEL negotiated in your collective agreements in order to have members participate in the program.

The Department will be hosting two sessions in 2025.

• Sunday, July 6^th to Sunday, July 13^th inclusive
• Sunday, July 20^th to Sunday, July 27^th inclusive (ASL interpretation available)

Click HERE for application package. If you are interested in participating in the Family Education program complete the application and return it via email to family.education@unifor.org no later than Friday, March 14^th, 2025.

Members are not eligible if they attended the Family Education Program within the last (7) seven years. The program is open to members and their immediate families (spouse/partner and dependent children up to and including 18 years of age only). This does not include grandchildren, nieces, nephews etc.

Successful applicants will be notified beginning the week of April 7^th, 2025.

If you require further information, please send an email to family.education@unifor.org and one of our Administration staff will get back to you.

I look forward to meeting and sharing this wonderful experience your members and their families.

In solidarity,

Robin Fairchild Clennell
Director, Education Department

2022 Scholarship Application Important Dates:

June 10: Application period closes

July 18: Scholarship recipients announced

Using the Online Application go to:

 https://www.unifor.org/resources/education/scholarships

Your application must be submitted using the online application form
NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022.

Details about eligibility and the full application procedure are listed
on the online application page.

Scholarship application package

Please ensure that you have READ THE INSTRUCTIONS carefully, and have the following documents ready on your device for upload with your application.

1. Current high school transcript (children of Unifor members only)
2. Reference letter
3. Local Union Officer signature form
4. Essay Answers

 PLEASE NOTE:  Any applications missing any of the required documents, will result in
an error message and cannot be submitted.  Please ensure you have all documents
available before submitting.

Questions?  

Email: scholarships@unifor.org

Greetings,

As most of you know, on July 17, 2020 the Federal government announced that the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program would be extended until December 19, 2020, with new rules being proposed for the remaining program periods (Periods 5 through 10).

The new rules drastically change both the eligibility requirements and benefit levels, and will have significant ramifications for most of our members whose wages are currently being subsidized by the CEWS.

The new program rules are highly complex and confusing to understand, given the wide range of possible values for the CEWS benefit and the calculations needed to determine what that value is for any particular organization.

In the vast majority of cases, eligible recipients of the CEWS will see a significant reduction in their wage subsidies starting with Period 7 (August 30 – September 26).

The program also significantly impacts furloughed workers by stipulating that any worker on paid leave will only receive subsidies equal to what they would otherwise receive under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and/or Employment Insurance (EI).

Unifor’s Education department will be holding an online webinar on the new CEWS rules next week, on Wednesday, September 16 at 2 p.m. ET.

Those interested can register here: https://onlineeducation.unifor.org/cews_0826_20200916

In solidarity,
Jerry Dias
President