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

We continue to watch in horror as Putin continues to viciously attack Ukraine however, he has underestimated the people of Ukraine.They have shown incredible strength and a determination to fight back against this unprovoked war. Unifor has donated a total of $150,000.00 to the Red Cross to assist with their humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

 We met on March 4 at the Local for for the virtual London and Area International Women’s Day event

hosted by the London Abused Women’s Center. We had breakfast and listened to the keynote speaker

PHD Candidate and artist Cherry Smiley. Cherry’s thesis is “Not Sacred Not Squaws Indigenous Feminism Redefined. Women have used March 8 in many ways. To demand better working conditions for female workers, to bring an end to violence against women and girls also to advocate for peace as anti-war activists. We hope next year more sisters will join us for this event.

 The Provincial Government is investing another $763 million to provide Ontario’s nurses with a lump sum retention incentive of up to $5,000 per person. Full time nurses will receive two payments of $2,500 while part time and casual nurses will receive two pro-rated payments of up to $2,500 for a total of $5,000. The first payment relates to the period between February 13 and March 19, 2022, for part time and casual nurses it is applied to all hours worked up to a total of 187.5 hours. You must be employed as a practicing nurse on March 31, 2022, to be eligible for the payment. You will receive the payment in April/May 2022. The second payment relates to the period between March 20 and April 22, 2022, for part time and casual nurses it is again applied to all hours worked up to a total of 187.5 hours. This payment will occur in September 2022, and you must be employed as a practicing nurse on September 1, 2022, to be eligible for the payment. Let’s not be fooled by this it is only a temporary fix and just like the wage enhancement for PSWs will not stabilize the workforce. We need to look at permanent increases for all healthcare workers. For the Premier to ignore the needs of the broader healthcare workforce is unacceptable. Bill 124 needs to be repealed and meaning wage increases need to be seen throughout the industry.

 We are starting to see the Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore revoke some of the directives that healthcare workers have been working under since 2021. To date we have only seen one employer lift their mandatory vaccination policy while Extendicare, Chartwell and Sienna have publicly announced that their policies will remain in place.

 The Ontario Regional Council delegates met at the Local on March 9 and 10 to participate in the virtual ORC. Naureen Rizvi gave a moving speech about how the pandemic impacted workers the last two years and the current war in Ukraine. The ORC along with several Locals (including Local 302) raised more than $300,000 towards the Imagine Build Initiative (partnering with the Oneida Nation of the Thames Band Council) to create four affordable and accessible homes. We heard reports from various Unifor departments and passed all the Director Recommendations as well as two resolutions after they were debated. Dr. Amit Arya spoke on how we can fix long-term care and the working conditions for healthcare workers. It was an interesting Council; however, I think everyone would agree it is better to meet in person versus virtually.

 We received the call letter for the 4th Unifor National Constitutional Convention August 8-12 in Toronto. We will be having nominations and elections for delegates to this Convention at our April General Membership Meeting.

 There was a Federal Agreement reached between the Liberals and the NDP that was announced on March 22. The NDP has agreed to support the Liberals with any non-confidence votes if we see a universal pharmacare program by the end of 2023 and a dental care program for low-income Canadians that would be implemented in 2022 for under “12-year-olds then expand to people under 18-year-olds, seniors and personal living with a disability in 2023. This program would be restricted to families with an income of less than $90,000 annually with no co-pays for anyone earning under $70,000 annually in income.” What a win for Canadians!

 It was announced over the weekend that the Provincial government has finally reached an agreement with the Federal Government on a 13.2-billion-dollar childcare agreement. We should have more details in the next few days.

 To date we have sent out 29 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.

 We are pleased to announce that the Local now has a new website that I’m sure you will agree goes above and beyond our previous web page. You can view it at www.uniforlocal302.ca

 Bargaining News

We successfully negotiated and ratified collective agreements for McCormick Home as well as McCormick Home Recreation Therapists all of which fall under Bill 124.

Upcoming negotiations

Cedarcrossing

 Ongoing negotiations

DASO, St. Mary’s Hospital, Seasons, Hanover Hospital, Vision RNs

 Arbitration/Workplace Actions

Chelsey Park Nursing Home, Group of 11