Unifor will be cause for celebration for many Canadian workers on this upcoming Labour Day. The first Monday of September is traditionally the last holiday of the summer, and it is also the occasion to acknowledge Canada’s labour history and the contribution of workers to the economy.
This year two unions are joining forces. The Canadian Autoworkers Union, the CAW, is merging with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, CEP. The combined entity, with 300,000 members, will be known as UNIFOR.
Jim Stanford, an economist with the CAW and eventually Unifor, says the plan is that the new union will be larger and more effective. He says Canadian workers, half of whom do not have benefits or pensions, are facing increasingly precarious work environments. Employers and more hostile toward unions, as is the current Canadian government. Changes to Labour law and declining union membership present challenges for the Canadian labour movement.
Jim Stanford says one of the first challenges for Unifor will be the arrival of American telecom giant Verizon, with unfair advantages in the Canadian marketplace.
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