Unifor Local 302 President’s Report - February 28, 2022

The month of February is recognized as Black History Month and this year the theme is “February and Forever: Celebrating Black history today and every day.”  As a Union “we are committed to more than statements and more than a month of solidarity. We know that Black Canadians have made tremendous contributions and possess the skills, talents, intelligence, innovation and determination to have meaningful impacts within Unifor, across Canada and throughout the world.” I would challenge every bargaining unit to table and bargain the Racial Justice Advocate into your collective agreements. This will enable us to advance racial justice within our workplaces.

At the end of January, we saw MPP Paul Calandra appointed as Minister of Long-Term Care. This is the fourth Minister appointed to the Long-Term Care portfolio under the current Conservative government. National President Jerry Dias wrote to Minister Calandra and congratulated him on his recent appointment. He also took the opportunity to raise concerns around the potential that the government will not be able to enforce the provincial target of four hours of care, no effort to improve wages, benefits or paid sick days, temporary wage enhancements for all healthcare workers and the reality that many workers in this industry feel disrespected by both the government and their employers. Jerry does touch on many other issues in his letter, and I have included a copy for you to read.

In my last report I discussed how the province was going implement a cautious phased in approach to lifting public health measures. Well in typical Doug Ford fashion he has decided to fast track our reopening plan and bend to outside pressures. Some of the outside pressure he has been receiving is coming from his own daughter (Krista Haynes) who has repeatedly criticized vaccine mandates. On February 14 at a press conference Ford announced that the “public is done with this”. Ford and the Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said that the vaccine passport system would no longer be in effect after March 1 and that the Province would be lifting capacity limits in most indoor settings. Ford said “let’s just start moving on, cautiously. Everyone’s done with it, let’s just move forward.” He went on to say that “we just have to be careful, make sure we wash our hands and move forward.” He pointed out that third doses do not provide “ironclad protection” from Omicron. “We also know that it doesn’t matter if you have one shot or 10 shots, you can still catch COVID-19.”

Ontario has started to provide free rapid tests at over 2,300 participating grocery stores and pharmacies. There is a limit of one box of five tests per household per visit. A list of participating retail locations can be found at Ontario.ca/rapidtest.

We are seeing commitments from the provincial government to invest an additional $73 million over three years to train and provide clinical placements for over 16,000 PSWs and nursing students. The province keeps telling us they have a plan to fix long-term care by improving staffing and care. What they are missing is the reality that people are not choosing long-term care as a career. They need to take a long hard look at providing proper funding to these facilities to attract people back into the industry.

The provincial government announced last October that it would introduce legislation to distribute a large portion of the WSIB’s reserve to employers with strong health and safety records. An estimated 300,000 Ontario “safe” employers will benefit from 1.5 billion in WSIB surplus rebates in April. For businesses that meet the criteria and have 100 employees they could receive approximately $30,000.00.  I would argue this has nothing to do with “safe” workplaces or putting money back into the economy because of COVID, it is nothing more than a tax cut for these organizations while encouraging suppression of WSIB claims. Unifor will be monitoring who receives these payouts.

In an attempt to once again buy a Conservative win in the upcoming Provincial elections the Ontario government announced that they will be introducing legislation to eliminate the license plate renewal fees and stickers. This could result in a billion dollars not being paid in fees to the provincial government meaning less money for healthcare, less money for education and less money for affordable housing. As well as the potential layoff of workers who currently work in these facilities. It is critical that we do not let pre-election promises buy a Conservative win in the next election!

I hope everyone has been able to see the billboards and signs that the Local had placed in London and Strathroy in support of the Group of 11. We will be continuing with various job actions to carry on our fight to obtain a fair collective agreement.

The world watched in horror on February 24 as Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine. This Russian invasion occurred by land, sea, and air in the largest attack on a European state since World War Two. Families packed everything they could and started fleeing to safety. We are seeing pictures out of the country showing lineups at ATM machines, bumper to bumper traffic on the highways and packed rail stations. War is not the answer to resolving your disputes with another country please keep the people of Ukraine in your thoughts and prayers.

To date we have sent out 13 applications for our five educational scholarships. If you have a child or you are a Local 302 member in good standing and have enrolled in a full-time program at a university, college, or technical institute for the 2022 fall/winter semester you are eligible to apply. Please contact Carla Little at 519-951-0302 to have an application sent to you. Winners will be announced at the June 27 General Membership meeting.

The virtual Ontario Regional Council will be occurring on March 9 and 10. All of our delegates have been registered and leaves have been submitted. Just a reminder to our delegates that there are two on-line training programs available on March 8 we strongly recommend that you participate in one of these programs to ensure you have the ability to fully participate in the Council which will include on-line voting. We look forward to seeing our delegates at 8:45 am at the Local on March 9 and 10.

The Local still has space available for the virtual London and Area International Women’s Day event hosted by the London Abused Women’s Center. The event is taking place on March 4, 2022, at 8 am. If you are interested in attending please contact Carla Little at 519-951-0302. Just a reminder there is no lost time for this event.

On March 8 all Unifor Women are invited to join a virtual celebration at 7 pm for International Women’s Day (IWD) 2022. If you are able to attend, please register for this Zoom event. If you have any questions, please email registration@unifor.org.

Bargaining News

Upcoming negotiations

- Hanover Hospital
- Cedarcrossing
- McCormick Home and Recreation Therapists

Ongoing negotiations

DASO, St. Mary’s Hospital, Seasons, Chelsey Park Nursing Home, Group of 11