General Motors Canada says it will invest $170 million in its Oshawa, Ont., plant to transition the facility from manufacturing vehicles to stamping, sub-assembly and autonomous vehicle testing.

GM Canada president Travis Hester says the move will save 300 of 2,600 union jobs at the plant.

Hester made the announcement this morning in Toronto alongside Unifor national president Jerry Dias at a news conference. He said the transformed plant will have the potential to grow and attract more jobs as the facility attracts new customers.

The Windsor Essex County Health Unit has accepted a meeting with a provincial conciliator for Tuesday morning.

The WECHU tweeted Friday that the Ontario Nurses Association had not requested further meetings or arbitration with the health unit.

Public health nurses have been off the job since March 8. In early April, the union rejected a final offer from the health unit, saying the employer did not offer any meaningful improvements.

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TORONTO, April 23, 2019 /CNW/ – Unifor opens negotiations with ten Extendicare owned nursing homes this week and is prioritizing addressing the poor working conditions that lead to a massive shortage of personal support workers across the province.

“The expectations placed on front-line caregivers in long-term care are not only shocking but alarming and dangerous,” said Jerry Dias Unifor National President.

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Unifor leaders are in shock after Fiat Chrysler announced they are cutting the third shift at Windsor Assembly Plant this fall.

Unifor president Jerry Dias told CTV News Channel Friday that the union knew that sales were “softening,” but the move by Chrysler was a surprise.

“This is pretty drastic,” he said, adding that conversations with Chrysler had been positive even up until last week. “There was no indication that they were going to do something this dramatic.”

The company had “always talked about” adding another vehicle to the production line at the Windsor plant to deal with declining sales, he said. In 2015, the plant underwent $2-billion in upgrades to start building the Chrysler Pacifica. The upgrades installed give the plant “a lot of options” for what it can produce beyond the minivans, said Dias.

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On March 21, 2019, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we pause to reflect on the inherent structures of power that advantage some over others. We also use this opportunity to recognize our union’s work in undoing these discriminatory frameworks and move forward to achieve an equitable society for all.

Built on a history of settler violence and colonialism, our efforts as a nation towards truth and reconciliation leave much to be desired. Going beyond lip service, Canadian policies must allocate adequate resources and funding for programs and services to meet the needs of Indigenous communities, including access to clean water and quality housing. Violence against Indigenous girls and women, and the innumerable lives lost to and impacted by this, demand our attention as a nation.

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