COVID-19

Making it work during difficult times - A First for Screeners Lodge 2921 Negotiation Committee

24 August, 2020 For immediate release Toronto, ON and Hollywood, MD – The Negotiations Committee for IAM Screeners Lodge 2921 were hard at work this week preparing for their upcoming week of negotiations with Garda – but something was different. Due to the impossibility for IAM members to attend the Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in the US, the local leadership collectively decided that the training would be online and

Second contract a winner at L3 in Trenton

Trenton, ON – The 51 members of Local Lodge 717T have ratified their second collective agreement with L3 Technologies MASS, a subsidiary of L3 Harris Technologies Inc. The members gained wages and benefits across the board, mostly because of the dedicated work of the Negotiating Committee. “The contract was possible because of the hard work and dedication of the Negotiating Committee. Mark Manning, Dwayne Swartz and Ryan Buckley were key

Austerity Sucks! There, I said it.

OPINION By Frank Saptel Communications Representative, IAM Canada   If history has taught us anything, it’s that if we don’t learn from past events, we will repeat the same mistakes. COVID-19 has caused havoc in Canada and around the world. Workers have lost jobs; businesses have closed and few in the world have remained unaffected. The standard of living for those negatively impacted is cause for concern. The recovery will

Despite the odds – DL78 organises 530 new healthcare members at RNS Healthcare

27 July, 2020 For immediate release Toronto, ON – In another stunning organising win for IAM District 78, the 530 Personal Support Workers (PSWs) that work for RNS Health Care in York Region voted by a 3 to 1 margin to be represented by our union. District 78 Organizer Rootisha Rampat-Sukhu and IAM Grand Lodge Organizer Scott Jackson worked with our newest members for several months, answering their concerns and assuring them

Federal Government Extends COVID-19 Related Leaves

As a way of streamlining the extension of the number of weeks for eligibility for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the federal government announced it would also extend COVID-19 related leaves. Eligibility for CERB was extended from 16 to 24 weeks, which is now mirrored in COVID-19 related leaves in federally regulated workplaces. The goal of CERB was to stabilize the economy and provide an income for workers who

Senate Report Acknowledges Importance of PSWs in the Healthcare System

The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology recently published an interim report evaluating the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report examined several areas, such as the healthcare system, Canada’s ability to manufacture medical equipment, the impact of the pandemic on frontline workers, migrant workers, children and youth, as well as, people living with mental health conditions. Given the tragic events in long term care,

Jobs Worth Fighting For: The Post-Pandemic Recovery

IAMAW | Canada | May 2020 DOWNLOAD THE PDF Introduction The pandemic has ravaged the economy, and a recovery will be protracted, taking place in stages for the foreseeable future. This crisis has also exposed gaps in workplace policies, and legislation but also, the significance of certain sectors of the economy, which have either been chronically underfunded or have received very little support from the government. At the same time,

COVID19 Impact on the Aerospace Industry

During the Pandemic While the air transportation industry has usually been resilient in the wake of major disruptions and crises, it is questionable that air transportation will be able to recovery as quickly as it has in the past. Airlines are running out of liquidity making bankruptcies, consolidations and even nationalization a possibility.  All of this this will inevitably affect civil aircraft manufacturing, supply chains and aftermarket support businesses. The

Letter to Trudeau: Wage Subsidy Program: Canadian Workers’ Lifeline – Not to be Taken Away

July 7, 2020 By Email: justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada 80 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2 Dear Mr. Trudeau:   Re:       Wage Subsidy Program: Canadian Workers’ Lifeline – Not to be Taken Away I am writing to you today on behalf of 50,000 active and retired Canadian members of the Machinists Union. At the outset, I wish to acknowledge your government for the

Lack of PSWs Related to Canada’s Death Rate in LTC Being Highest Amongst 16 OECD Countries

The Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) recently released a comparative study of long-term care across 16 OECD countries, (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), with clear findings that Canada’s long-term care system fared worse than most. This study is yet another indicator of the magnitude of the crisis in long term care. Perhaps most concerning is that Canada’s death rate in long term care facilities was the highest amongst