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Unifor Local 4268 at GFL Environmental will conduct strike vote

HAMILTON—GFL Environmental’s refusal to bargain fair wages and benefits for the waste and recycling truck operators deemed “essential” during the pandemic is pushing Local 4268 members towards a strike, said Unifor.

“When GFL customers needed curbside and commercial services during the pandemic, we were there,” said Local 4268 President Debbie Montgomery. “It’s only fair that waste and recycling truck operators are recognized in their next contract.”

Nova Scotia Health Care Workers Accept Tentative Agreement

Nova Scotia’s health care workers have voted to ratify a new collective agreement. 82 per cent of the members who voted cast their ballot to accept the agreement, which provides for reasonable wage increases in each of the three years it spans, as well as significant language improvements.

Unifor calls for more time to transition container trucks

VANCOUVER—Port Metro Vancouver’s plans to download more costs onto drivers during the pandemic is the wrong move and could lead to instability at the port, says Unifor.

“The federal government needs to put the brakes on this program until truckers are consulted about the best way to retire aging trucks,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “We can’t trust the port’s management to do the right thing. This requires government leadership to bring together the parties to achieve a fair solution.”

NS health care workers take strike vote

More than 7,500 health care workers across Nova Scotia are voting on a province-wide health care strike vote today after the provincial government...

Unifor members ratify new agreement with Reliance Home Comfort

TORONTO—Members of Unifor Local 1999 have voted to ratify a new collective agreement that will end the 49-day lockout by Reliance Home Comfort of 830 members at 14 locations across Ontario.

"Reliance's workers are the reason this company is successful. Our members' contribution needed to be recognized in this new collective agreement," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.

The ratification ends the Ontario-wide boycott campaign launched by Unifor after the employer chose to use scabs to do the work of Local 1999 members.

Canada Recovery Hiring Program Fact Sheet

The federal government announced the Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) on April 19, in Budget 2021. The program is meant to provide financial support for hard hit businesses to hire workers and/or increase hours of existing workers as the recovery takes hold.

The program will run from June 6 to November 20, 2021 and support up to 50% of the difference between base period and current period payroll, up to a maximum of $1,129 per eligible employee, for qualifying businesses.

Canada Day and Reconciliation

Dear Sisters, Brothers and Friends,

This has been a National Indigenous History Month like no other. The June 24 announcement of the confirmation of the remains of 751 children at the former residential school site on Cowessess territory in Saskatchewan has further amplified the calls for searches at other sites across the country.

Unifor locals are asking what they can do to support grieving members and nearby Indigenous communities.

Indigenous workers during the COVID-19 crisis

As Unifor marks National Indigenous Peoples Day and we come together to celebrate the heritage and history of the first peoples of this land, our thoughts turn to the continuing barriers that Indigenous people face in Canada due to structural racism and the violent and ongoing legacies of settler colonialism.