OTTAWA, Oct. 25, 2018 /CNW/ – The union representing 12,000 Canadian journalists and media workers is urging members of the federal cabinet to implement key policy recommendations from the 2017 Commons Heritage report on local news in the upcoming federal budget.

“We are looking for cabinet members to champion local news in the next budget,” said National President Jerry Dias. “The most effective way to counteract bots, trolls, and fake news is professional news reporting. We can’t have our election politics tampered with.”

Unifor says the Liberal cabinet should prioritize Income Tax measures that favour Canadian media over American rivals, as well as allowing tax deductible donations to support hard news reporting by professional news organizations. The federal government should increase the budget for the Canadian Periodical Fund, and make daily newspapers eligible for the fund.

Unifor representatives spent the last three days meeting with 85 Members of Parliament from four major political parties, discussing the findings of the Commons Heritage Report which documented how the outflow of digital advertising dollars to Silicon Valley has starved Canadian media of revenues needed to fund local news.

“Members of Parliament understand that the political dialogue in this country is vulnerable to being corrupted by extreme and misleading propaganda on social media platforms,” said Dias. “The solution to fake news is real news.”

Read more

As workplaces across Canada scramble to create rules to deal with legalized cannabis, labour experts are predicting there will be plenty of push back, including legal challenges.

Canada will become the second country to legalize recreation cannabis on Wednesday, prompting public- and private sector companies to modify existing substance-use policies or draft new ones.

In response, the country’s largest private-sector union, which represents thousands of workers in Southwestern Ontario, already has filed several grievances and is gearing up to take employers to court.

Read full article >

TORONTO, Sept. 17, 2018 /CNW/ – Unifor warns that rushed debate on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) legislation hurts Canada’s trade position at a crucial point in NAFTA negotiations.

“The CPTPP includes loose cultural protection, an expansion of foreign imports in supply-managed industries as well as weak and unenforceable labour standards – key issues that Canada is fighting for at the NAFTA negotiating table,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “How do we tell the U.S. and Mexico that we won’t surrender Canadian markets, reduce labour standards and open ourselves up to massive job loss when that is exactly what we are in the process of doing with ten other nations?”

Read full article

Unifor welcomes the establishment of an expert advisory panel on Nova Scotia’s long-term care system.

“The system is under-funded. Workers, most of whom are women, earn low to modest wages. The funding cuts by the McNeil government have made it harder for a system that was already challenged to deliver high quality care,” said Lana Payne, Unifor’s Atlantic Regional Director.

“Workers are stressed to the max, working short staffed, and worried about their patients and residents, most of whom are seniors.”

The panel was announced today by Health Minister Randy Delorey.

Unifor which represents about 2,000 workers in nursing homes and long-term care facilities across the province has been voicing its concerns about the impact of cuts to nursing home budgets for some time. It was one of the union’s key issues during last spring’s provincial election.

View Full Article

Unifor donated $80,000 to the Mi’Kmaw Friendship Centre through a fundraiser and Canadian Community Fund.

The union also pledged that members who work in the skilled trades would donate their skills to help in the hard work of building a vibrant community centre.

“Unifor unites with Indigenous people in the ongoing struggle against intergenerational violence and colonialism,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Members from coast to coast to coast came together in this fundraiser to support the life-altering work of the Mi’Kmaw Friendship Centre.”

The fundraiser last night was part of Unifor’s ongoing support of truth and reconciliation as members from across the country gathered in Halifax for the union’s annual Canadian Council this weekend at the Convention Centre.

The Mi’Kmaw Friendship Centre serves as a focal point for the Halifax Indigenous community, providing programs that support Indigenous health, justice, employment, and education and offers a space to gather for community functions and events.

View Full Article