Unifor Local 302 President’s Report- November 25, 2024

Unifor Local 302
President’s Report
General Membership Meeting

November 25, 2024

Annual Christmas Shopping Day for School Kids

Today we had 7 teams (13 members) go out and shop and wrap gifts for 12 families and 21 kids at Trafalgar Public School, an annual event we have been doing for 13 years now. We have shopped for dozens of families and well over a hundred children and still I remember the one little guy who told his teacher after the holidays that Santa actually came to his house that year. And that’s why we continue to shop for the kids every year.

December 6th National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

It has been 34 years since the murder of 14 young women at Polytechnique Montréal (December 6, 1989). This act of violent misogyny shook our country and led Parliament to designate December 6 as The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

As we mourn their loss and remember their lives, we reaffirm our commitment to fight the hatred that led to this tragedy, and the misogyny that still exists today. In Canada and around the world, women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals face unacceptable violence and discrimination.

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is about remembering those who have experienced gender-based violence and those who we have lost to it. It is also a time to act. Achieving a Canada free from gender-based violence requires everyone living in this country to educate themselves and their families and communities on gender-based violence.

Check your Collective Agreements for the right to observe a moment of silence.

Postal Strike

Unifor stands in solidarity with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) in its strike action at Canada Post, which at the heart of it, is about providing tens of thousands of workers with good jobs, benefits and safer working conditions. The 55,000 CUPW workers stopped delivering mail after they were unable to reach a fair agreement with the Crown corporation by the deadline on November 22,2024. In these challenging times, keeping our post office public, and defending the very good jobs these workers are fighting for today, is essential in ensuring a country where families and communities are supported. Unions are experiencing the effects of a coordinated attack by employers in this country to undermine the right to strike, and Unifor is committed to defending free and fair collective bargaining, which includes the right to strike.

Ontario Regional Council

Ontario Regional Council runs from Dec 6-7, 2024, and will be attended by 15 delegates from Local 302. This is being held in Toronto this year.

Bargaining Update

Ratified:  Crescent Care Courtland, Extendicare Port Stanley, and Extendicare London

Ongoing: Glendale Crossing, Norfolk General Hospital, and St Mary’s Hospital

Upcoming: Crescent Care Bonnie Place, AgeCare London, and AgeCare Parkhill

Group of 11, talks have reached an impasse and have applied for conciliation

In Solidarity,

Kevin Phillips
President
Unifor Local302