Kevin Rebeck, MFL President; Michelle Gawronsky, MGEU president; Bob Moroz, MAHCP president; Paul McKie, Manitoba/Saskatchewan Area Director, Unifor; Marianne Hluden, Prairies Region Executive Vice-President, PSAC; Norm Gould, Manitoba Teachers Society President
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Winnipeg—Unifor is proud to be part of the Partnership to Defend Public Services, the coalition of Manitoba workers’ organizations that are challenging the province’s anti-union legislation.
“Workers with good jobs are the first people that right-wing governments want to blame for fiscal problems of their own making,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Collective bargaining rights are not the problem—legal contracts are a solution to create good jobs, a living wage and fairness to ensure the provincial workers are treated with respect while providing the key services that Manitobans’ depend upon.”
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Congratulations to Sydney Carlson, the recipient of the 2017 Local 191 (LSSD bus drivers) Bursary Scholarship award.
Sydney (pictured at right with Art Crane, LSSD bus driver and Local 191 board member) is a student at the Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School in Selkirk. The scholarship is a $200 award.
The annual award was started in 1978 by the former LSSD school bus drivers association (now members of Local 191) and is given to a bus student involved in the arts or extra curricular activities, graduating with a high average and planning to continue with post-secondary education.
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Salary and hourly workers at the Winnipeg Free Press ratified a tentative agreement on Saturday, May 13, that incorporates the ‘Made In Manitoba Solution’ as an addendum to the collective agreement.
Terms of the deal extend the collective agreement to June 30, 2019, provide a trigger for a potential wage reduction in April 2018 in the event free cash flow falls below a specified target, a no-layoff guarantee for the duration of the extended contract (unless the paper eliminates a daily edition), and provides the Union with a representative on the FPLP board of directors.
“This was a strong endorsement by the members for an arrangement that saves jobs and gives the paper some financial breathing room,” said Local 191 president Aldo Santin. “Given how other newspapers across the country are dealing with the turmoil in the industry, the vote is a reflection that our members recognize this as a good deal.”
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Unit meeting for all inside workers at the Winnipeg Free Press, Saturday, May 13, 12 Noon, Viscount Gort Hotel, Royal C Room, 1670 Portage Ave.
The ad hoc committee representing Winnipeg Free Press inside workers has reached a tentative agreement on the 'Made In Manitoba' solution to the economic difficulties facing the newspaper.
The committee — rank-and-file members Ron Farrand, Kyle Holyk, Shelley Morgan, John Savage, Grant Unger and Jill Wilson, president Aldo Santin, Local Rep John Webster, and National Rep Paul McKie — met with the management team over three days in late April (24, 26 and 28) and reached an agreement in the afternoon of April 28.
This agreement is subject to ratification of unit members. Details will only be presented at the unit meeting.
This will be a secret ballot vote. As per Manitoba law, there will be no proxy voting.
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Members in various departments at the Winnipeg Free Press are in the final stages of selecting their representative for the ad hoc committee which will meet with the Company, as authorized by a special meeting of inside workers on March 5.
As agreed to at the special March 5 meeting, this ad hoc committee will discuss the narrow terms of a possible wage concession under specific circumstances. No other part of the collective agreement will be discussed.
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Unifor national President Jerry Dias sets the record straight in a name-calling dispute with Amalgamated Transit Union president Larry Hanley.
In a related matter, download the transcript of an Ontario Superior Court judge's ruling, which provides a glimpse to the infighting with the ATU.
March 5, 2017 TO: All Unifor Locals, Community Chapters and NEB
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am writing to state the position of our union and to correct the false and derogatory accusations put forward by ATU Canadian President Paul Thorp and ATU President Larry Hanley.
Hanley’s comments on social media are outright slanderous, derogatory and sexist. To mention a few: “Jerry is hiding behind some skirt”, “tell Jerry to get out from under your skirt and admit he is a bigot”, “Dias exercises bigotry and isolationism trying to steal members from your union, what a fake”, “these guys are bigoted corporate sell outs”, “Trump and Dias build walls to appeal to bigots”.
What’s clear is the ATU is attacking me personally to distract from their actions and from their goal to maintain a system of their own undemocratic power.
I will deal with Hanley’s comments in court.
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March 6, 2017 – Local 191 members employed at the Winnipeg Free Press authorized a local workplace committee to enter into discussions with management to explore options to secure the financial stability of the newspaper.
By an overwhelming margin, inside workers approved the move at a special meeting held Sunday.
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January 27, 2017 – At the recent series of town hall meetings, publisher Bob Cox made several statements that require further clarification from the Local’s standpoint. Comments like, ‘There was no request to re-open the contract,’ ‘there was no ask for a specific dollar savings,’ ‘the Local has been uncooperative in the Company’s search to chart a way through these difficult financial times.’ These comments are, at the very least, misleading.
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The following Update was distributed on Jan. 15 to Local 191 members at the Winnipeg Free Press.
You can download a pdf copy.
All of us working at the Winnipeg Free Press are keenly aware of the financial troubles the newspaper industry in general and the FP, in particular, is experiencing.
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The Local 191 office will be closed for the Christmas break, effective the end of the business day Friday, Dec. 23. The office will re-open Tuesday, Jan. 3. If you need immediate assistance during that time, contact your chapel chair/shop steward.
