Black History Month in Canada

February is Black History Month in Canada and every year the IAM, and the labour movement throughout Canada honour the contribution of our Black members. It is also a time to reflect on the history of enslavement of Black Canadians and the discrimination still rife in our country. We must also reflect on how anti-Black racism is still deeply entrenched in Canadian institutions. Read this article in the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Letter from David Chartrand to Minister Anita Anand concerning the procurement process

 January 19, 2023  The Honourable Anita Anand By Email: Anita.Anand@parl.gc.ca Minister of National Defense House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6  Dear Minister Anand,  I’m writing you on behalf of 50,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), a large number of whom are employed in air transportation and aerospace industries, to express concerns regarding the procurement process of replacing the aging CP140 Aurora’s. Recent developments

IAM members at Elementary Teachers of Toronto ratify new three-year contract

January, 2023 Toronto, ON – IAM Local Lodge 1922 members working for the Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT) ratified a new 3-year contract this week, bringing important improvements. The agreement brings a wage increase each year of the agreement, a new annual Health and Wellness allowance, addition of travel insurance to healthcare plan, increase in professional development allowance, incremental increases to paid holidays each year of the agreement, coverage for

IAM Scholarship Competition 2023

The IAM Scholarship Competition is accepting applications for the 2023 year. The competition is open to members of the IAM and their children throughout the United States and Canada. Again, this year’s Scholarship Program will be fully accessible on goiam.org. Additionally, the IAM has a vocational-technical two-year scholarship available to members and their children. Please note that the application must be postmarked on or before February 10, 2023, if mailing in

Canadian government appears to be yielding to pressure on Aurora CP-140s, writes Chartrand

Opinion letter by David Chartrand which appears in The Hill Times. The Canadian government has an opportunity to capitalize on skills, the industrial footprint and technological capabilities developed over decades to grow Canada’s military branch of the aerospace industry, writes David Chartrand.  Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons  Multi-billion-dollar fighter jet decision puts Liberals in tough spot, says specialist The process of replacing Aurora CP-140s is hardly on the average person’s radar,

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

On January 27, 1945, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp – where more than one million people were sent to gas chambers and to their agonizing deaths during the Holocaust – was liberated. In 2005, that day was designated as the annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Each year, Canadians and individuals all over the world take this opportunity to remember the victims of the

Be More Than a Bystander: IAM Adopts Training to End Workplace Violence and Harassment

A group of 19 IAM staff members from every territory and multiple districts attended an impactful three-day train-the-trainer course of the Be More Than a Bystander program, conducted by the Canadian group Ending Violence Association of BC in partnership with the BC Lions and BC Centre for Women in the Trades at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center. The Be More Than a Bystander program is designed to

IAM/Cedarcroft HLDAA award nets win for IAM members of local 103

19 January, 2023 Stratford, ON – Members working at the Cedarcroft Place Retirement Residence in Stratford, ON won a few key victories as a result of an award by the Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act (HLDAA). The award provided general wage increases each year of the agreement, as well as wage adjustments for all classifications. The award also included increases to vision and dental care. “The IAM, along with our

First Woman and first Indigenous person to lead Quebec Federation of Labour

18 January, 2023 – Magali Picard is the first woman to lead to Quebec Federation of Labour. She is also the first Indigenous person in that role. Picard, a member of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), was a National Vice-President of the organisation, as well as working on compensation for federal workers adversely affected by the now-notorious Phoenix pay system. “My desire for social justice was what pushed

USEFUL NUMBERS - 2023 (by Ivana Saula)

1. OLD AGE SECURITY BENEFIT (Monthly, at age 65, January 2023) Age 65-74: $ 687.56 (regardless of marital status)  75+: $ 756.32  Adjusted quarterly to CPI (in January, April, July and October)  OAS/GIS can be deferred up to 5 years (to age 70), with an increase of 0.60% for each month of deferral  Pension indexation rate for 2023 is 6.3%  Following increases to CPI, OAS benefit will increase by 0.3%