Uniforum 506 Newsletter – May 2022 Edition

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Bargaining Update

The Bargaining Committee met with the company last week (April 26-28th) for the fifth round of bargaining in-person in Halifax.

Your bargaining team is working through many key issues including the definition of Small Business Customers, which we hope to solve within the coming weeks.

The Bargaining team, was hoping to be able to share progress from the past week. Unfortunately, the Employer’s representatives are slowing negotiations by not being prepared to respond on several long standing issues.

We are still awaiting answers on important proposals, including Occupational Health &Safety and Teleworking, to which the employer had no response to share.

In the lead up to negotiations, members made it clear that teleworking is a high priority. Your bargaining team believes this is a major component of your future working conditions, and the union must be able to negotiate fair language to protect members. The company indicated that they are not yet willing to commit to teleworking language in the collective agreement. Together, Unifor members will change their mind.

Some of our members have asked for more information regarding issues being discussed at the bargaining table. We must remind everyone that we are unable to share specific details of bargained elements until we reach a Tentative Agreement.

Additional bargaining dates are planned in the coming weeks, with the next round of talks scheduled for May 10-12th in Halifax.

Mobilization

The Unifor ACL Bargaining Committee is coordinating mobilization efforts with Bell Clerical workers in Ontario and Quebec. Together, we represent nearly 6,000 members.

The bargaining committee thanks you for your support and solidarity by wearing red during the recent rounds of negotiations and will continue to provide updates, including mobilization and solidarity actions in the coming weeks.

Day of Mourning – April 28th

Each day we benefit from the labour of thousands of essential workers who give large proportions of their lives to provide us with everything which makes up modern life, from power to textile. And every year, hundreds suffer injury or illness because of their working conditions. And some of these workers die on the job.

Occupational health and safety laws across Canada require employers to take every precaution reasonable to safeguard workers. When this duty of care is not met, they can be subject to compliance orders and prosecution.

“Mourn the Dead, Fight for the Living”

The slogan for the Day of Mourning reflects the need to remember those who have lost their lives but also contains a strong reminder of the need to press for improvements in health and safety in our workplaces, ensuring that workers are protected from the workplace hazards that lead to preventable, needless deaths, serious injury or illness.

We need to send a strong message to all governments of their responsibility to strongly enforce health and safety laws and regulations. We need to tell our elected politicians that we want action and intend to support only those who will give us this commitment.

Scholarships & Bursaries

The Helen E. Allain Bursary and the Unifor Local 506 Scholarship are each worth $1,200 and are available to the children of Unifor Local 506 members. Application forms for the Local 506 Helen E. Allain Bursary and Scholarship are available on the Local 506 website. Deadline for Local 506 applications is June 30th.

The Unifor National office also offers 28 different scholarships of $2,000 each. The National scholarships are awarded to children of Unifor members in good standing.

Students must be entering their first year of full-time post-secondary education (university, community college, technological institute, trade school, etc) in a public Canadian institution.

Instructions to submit applications for the National scholarships are on the Unifor National website atwww.unifor.org/scholarship. Deadline for National scholarship applications is June10th.

Congratulations Local 506 Retirees!

Best wishes to the following Local 506 members who have retired recently:

Raymond Michaud – Region 2
Denis Dugas – Region 4
Yves Chiasson – Region 4
Serge Saulnier – Region 4
Claude Hebert – Region 4
Paul Brien – Region 2
Bradford Matheson – Region 1
Daniel Dionne – Region 4
Daniel Downing – Region 3
Norman Cormier – Region 2
Andrew Martin – Region 1
Denis Babineau – Region 2
Joel Crouse – Region 3
Len Higgins – Region 1
Ben Brennan – Region 1
Joanne Stewart – Region 4
Georges Boucher – Region 2

The Local gives retiring members a $150 gift card to celebrate this milestone. If you are retiring in the near future, please contact the union office atunionoffice@unifor506.ca to ensure we have your current mailing address, phone and email information.

Telecom Lobby Campaign

Unifor met with several federal decision-makers to discuss critical issues and update plans for federal engagement in 2022.

These targeted meetings with key policy staff and decision makers help the union push tier one budget priorities and will provide insight for future demands both with government and with some of our largest employers.

We’re sharing workers’ concerns while learning more about the massive investments that are shaping the future of Canada’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Canada’s federal government is in the midst of a multi-billion dollar investment strategy to build broadband infrastructure. As these investments are distributed to large corporate providers, there are currently no “strings attached” to ensure good, local jobs are supported throughout the supply chain.

The union’s telecommunications members participated in a large-scale federal lobby in March 2022, where members from across the country met with MPs and additional decision-makers.

Lobbying efforts like this are one important piece in how telecom workers can ensure that our jobs are protected well into the future.

Generations of telecom workers in Canada built the infrastructure that connects our communities. Any public investment should support the next generation of telecom jobs, not fund outsourcing and offshoring. Members can stand up for good jobs in thetelecom sector by signing the online petition at www.unifor.org/campaigns/all-campaigns/our-telecoms-our-jobs

International Women’s Day 2002

International Women’s Day is an opportunity for working-class women to celebrate and reflect on our accomplishments as well as gather strength for the fights that lay ahead.

For more than 100 years, women in the labour movement across the globe have marked March 8 by celebrating collective achievements and recommitting to the fight for gender equality.

Although 2022 finds us still solidly in the pandemic, it also marks a year that brings many wins for women in our union to celebrate. Gains like pay equity and childcare – that women have been fighting to achieve for decades – have passed into federal legislation and are now within reach for a new generation. These wins cannot be understated and can inspire us all to aim even higher. A better world is possible!

As the pandemic continues, so does the inequity that disproportionately impacted women. Women of colour, Indigenous women, queer and trans women, and women living with disabilities have been affected in ways that further deepened the gaps they experience every day. Building back better must be achieved through this lens of inclusion.

We continue to prove in the most challenging times that Sisters in Unifor are indeed unstoppable.

This last year has shown Unifor:

*fighting for women in health care at the Respect Us, Protect Us, Pay Us event at Queen’s Park, and provincial and federal lobbying;
*demanding Fair Pay Forever for essential retail and grocery store workers;
*pushing provinces and territories forward on affordable, accessible child care;
*mobilizing around an Anti-Racism Manitoba plan;
*continuing our annual support of women’s shelters across Canada with
$158,000 in donations;
*and working every day to support and encourage more women to become active in their Locals and bargaining committees.

In 2022, women need real progress toward gender justice and that means celebrating our historical wins while continuing to fight together toward equality. This year we recognize the work of so many women in our union and our collective determination to deliver significant improvements to our everyday lives. Together, we are unstoppable!

Local 506 Women’s Committee

The Local 506 Women’s Committee donated $500 to the Coverdale Centre for Women’s fundraising campaign which will provide permanent and stable housing for homeless women in need in the Saint John area.

The Women’s Committee also made a generous donation to the Code Red Campaign in April!

Local 506 has an active Women’s Committee and is looking for new members who want to participate and be engaged – especially in Region 2 (Moncton area, Region 3 (Fredericton & Woodstock) and Region 4 (A Pen, Bathurst, Campbellton, Edmundston & Miramichi). If you are interested in joining, please contact Women’s Committee Chair, Angela Davis at angela.davis@unifor506.ca.

Reminder

If you have a question, an issue you need to discuss, a safety concern, require personal support, or wish to have a union representative at a meeting with the company, please contact us at 506-634-8810 or unionoffice@unifor506.ca