Over the past 2 weeks, three Workers United workplaces have completed bargaining and have ratified new collective agreements. Congratulations to all those involved and thanks to the hard work of all the bargaining team members!

St. Catharines Golf and Country Club – Although you won’t see many people on the golf course during the cold winter months, the union’s bargaining team has been busy negotiating a new contract. Last week, 100 Workers United members at St. Catharines Golf and Country Club voted to accept a new contract, giving them a wage increase, better gratuity language, and improved bereavement leave.
Workers United represents the servers, bartenders, kitchen and grounds-keepers at St. Catharines Golf and Country Club in the Niagara region.

Canadian Niagara Hotels – After months of difficult negotiations with Canadian Niagara Hotels (CNH), Workers United members working for CNH at the Sheraton on the Falls, Skyline Hotel and Crown Plaza in Niagara Falls have ratified a new collective agreement.
The agreement was achieved after many days of bargaining. Representatives of the employer sited the Workers United hotel collective agreement with CNH as “amongst the best hotel contracts in Niagara Falls”, comparing the good wages and benefits to other unionized hotels in the Falls. The contract provides a new pension plan to cover employees, to be funded by CNH.
Workers United represents 550 workers at the three CNH hotels, including housekeeping, valet, bellmen, maintenance, servers, cooks, banquet, and laundry departments.

Centre for Information and Community Services of Ontario – Workers United members at CICS and other social service agencies are continually constrained by dependence on government funding, making union contract negotiations difficult and wage increases tough to bargain.
This week, under the pressure of tight funding, 110 Workers United members working at the Centre for Information and Community Services (CICS) voted to accept a new collective agreement.
CICS workers negotiated a strong contract, with improved language that secures better wage protection, better job security, job postings, sick leave and paid personal days. All these improvements mean greater security for jobs in a sector that relies on external funding. Workers United fights for the best contract language and workplace rights for the membership, and for social service workers, this is paramount.

London, January 21, 2012

January 21, 2012, LONDON, ON – Thousands of supporters turned out to the rally on Saturday, January 21, 2012 to lend their voices and support to the 500 locked out Caterpillar workers in London, Ontario. Among those attending was Workers United Canadian Director, Barry Fowlie. “Caterpillar has launched a war on these workers and the union. This is when the labour movement must show our strength and solidarity. We will not stand by idly while this company bullies Canadian union members.” said Barry.

On New Years day, 500 CAW local 27 members were locked out of their jobs at Electro-Motive, a company owned by the giant American company, Caterpillar. Just days before the workers were locked out, the company walked away from negotiations after tabling a ‘take it or leave it’ offer that would slash wages by 50%, cut benefits and eliminate the pension plan.

Caterpillar purchased Electro-Motive in June 2010 under the Investment Canada Act without scrutiny or review by the federal government. Despite numerous calls for full public disclosure, the federal government has failed to disclose the terms of the purchase.

If you would like to support the locked out workers, visit the CAW’s website or click this link: Support CAW Workers!

OFL to Mobilize Rally to Support Locked out Caterpillar Workers

(LONDON, ON) ─ The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) issued a call to workers across Ontario to mobilize for a massive rally in London, Ontario on Saturday, January 21 to oppose Electro-Motive Canada (a subsidiary of U.S. industrial giant Caterpillar Inc.) and its attack on decent paying Canadian jobs.

“We see this fight as being central to the entire labour movement and we are going to dig in our heels and fight Caterpillar with everything we’ve got,” said OFL President Sid Ryan. “Good jobs and retirement security are being threatened by greedy corporations and every level of government. If workers don’t start to fight back, decent jobs will become a thing of the past and the middle class will be decimated.”

Electro-Motive locked out workers at its London-based diesel train plant on New Year’s Day. It was the latest tactic in the company’s attempt to slash benefits and cut wages from $35 to $16.50 an hour, after a year in which Caterpillar enjoyed billion dollar profits and a 20 percent boost to production. The company is rumoured to be planning to take advantage of Ontario’s lax labour laws by bringing in scab labour to keep the plant operational while bullying the union into devastating concessions. Many fear that the company’s hidden agenda is to move production to a U.S. plant in Indiana.

“This greedy multi-national corporation is trying to bulldoze living standards in Canada. If Caterpillar is successful in halving wages and gutting benefits, families in London will lose their homes and the whole community will suffer,” said Ryan. “Prime Minister Harper and his friends on Bay Street don’t seem to care about the livelihood of working Canadians, so we are going to raise enough of a ruckus that it will be impossible for them to ignore us.”

In calling a Day of Action against Caterpillar, the OFL has promised to bus thousands of public and private sector workers from across Ontario to the London plant to demonstrate the support for the workers of Electro-Motive Canada. The rally will draw attention to the failure of the Harper government to protect Canadian jobs and interests when domestic companies are acquired by foreign multi-nationals. It will also call on Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to support fair collective bargaining by banning the use of scabs in labour disputes.

“This mass rally is meant to define 2012 as a year of militant resistance against corporate greed. Workers are fed up with growing income inequities in our society and the governments that are allowing citizen-funded corporate tax cuts to fatten CEO salaries while delivering no net benefit to our economy or our families,” said Ryan. “The message for employers is simple: support decent jobs and benefits or it won’t be business as usual in Ontario.”

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. OFL President Sid Ryan is the voice of Ontario’s labour movement.

Every year there are hundreds of workplace accidents – accidents that were avoidable if employers had just worked within the regulations set out by the Ministry of Labour and Occupational Health and Safety Act. Many workplace accidents occur when employers try to cut corners, are unaware of occupational safety regulations or when employers simply ignore the law. Workplace accidents can result in serious injury, leaving workers unable to work, or even the death.

Have you ever wondered what happens to employers that violate the occupational health and safety act? The Ministry of Labour publishes reports describing convictions of employers that violate Ministry of Labour regulations. The Ministry of Labour fines range from $17000 for employers that fail to comply with inspectors orders to rectify safety violations, to $1.1 million to employers that wilfully break the law and cause the death of workers or by-standers.

Check out the Ministry’s Court Bulletins to see who is breaking the law and who is getting the big fines.

Ministry of Labour – Court Bulletins

Whether you have a union or not, you have the right to refuse unsafe work.