United Steelworkers Canada News Feed

  • [email protected] – Spring 2020
    In this issue:
    • Staying Safe During COVID-19 - Message from Marty Warren, District 6 Director
    • Steelworkers Stay Strong in a Challenging New World - COVID-19 information
    • Building More-Inclusive Workplaces
    • New Course Builds Bridges – Unionism on Turtle Island
    • Union-Seeking Workers Turn to USW
    • Fighting for Union Rights – In Court
    • 2020 USW Scholarships
    • Woman of Steel Recognized for Lifetime Achievement – Lena Sutton
    • Bargaining Successes
    • Defending Injured Steelworkers
    • District 6 News from the Locals
    • Local USW Activists Key to Trade Victory
    Download the PDF     — Apr 3
  • Day of Mourning and COVID-19
    Sisters and Brothers,    Many events and activities that would otherwise be the normal work of the union have been suspended or postponed because of the global pandemic. However, we are hoping that we can all continue to prepare for the Day of Mourning in our respective communities, whether we are able to gather in ceremony or not.    It is appropriate on April 28th to reflect on the fact that too many workers are killed or seriously injured on the job, and many more have suffered and died from industrial disease, caused by on-the-job exposures, whether in mining, manufacturing, and other industrial settings. To that list of work environments, we must also now add health care, security, transportation/delivery services, retail and banking.     Our compensation system has never been fair to many workers, including former rubber workers whose claims for benefits because of industrial disease have been denied. It is a fight we are continuing to wage on their behalf. Justice and dignity for working people and their families have always been our guiding principles. The Day of Mourning is a day of re-committing to those values as we mourn those who have been lost because employers fail to prevent fatalities, injury and illness.    Now, in the face of Covid-19, thousands of workers, including our members, are continuing to work to provide the goods and services that Canadians need. While so many directives we have received from government and health professionals rely on personal responsibility for such things as hand-washing and distancing, we must ensure that employers do not fail to be both accountable for prevention and responsible for our health and safety. That is not a new message, but it is more than critical in 2020.    Employer responsibility also extends to ensuring that workers are economically protected when their health is at stake. Some employers are claiming that our members who self-islolate due to Covid-19 will not receive negotiated sick benefits and must instead file for Employment Insurance. This cannot be tolerated.      We encourage you to observe the Day of Mourning in whatever way you are able or is allowed by rules that are changing around gatherings and isolation.    This letter is coming to you several weeks before April 28th and, as we now know, situations can change rapidly. If there is a cancellation of Day of Mourning ceremonies in your community, please observe the day in the best way you can.     And together, we will fight for the living every day.    In health, safety and solidarity,    Ken NeumannNational DirectorStephen HuntDirector, District 3Dominic LemieuxDirector, District 5Marty WarrenDirector, District 6   Dowload the letter — Apr 2
  • COVID-19 Crisis Response Must Address Gender Faultlines
    With each passing day, the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic is coming into sharper view. Cancelled events, shuttered offices, suspended classes—we are all affected. There is mounting pressure on families and communities, on Canada’s economy and the key support systems in place to protect us.  Women are at the forefront of the crisis in their work as primary caregivers and care workers. Not only are women more likely to contract the virus given their roles as caregivers within families and as front-line health-care workers, they also have the least say in the policy response. And as research shows time and again, women’s needs go unmet even as actions exacerbate existing gender, social and economic fault lines.  As we navigate this crisis, it is critical to take lived experience of women into account.    Read the full article on Behind the Numbers — Apr 1
  • COVID-19 Resources for Workers
    As the global pandemic coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads around the world, the new normal is changing every day. The United Steelworkers union is reaching out to share information and resources. Many provinces are already asking people to stay home if they can and practise “social distancing” or “physical distancing” to limit the spread of the disease. The reason for this is both to slow the spread of COVID-19 and to conserve much-needed capacity in our health care systems, in anticipation of a surge in demand for health services that we want to be able to accommodate. It's an act of social solidarity for those who are able to do it.  While we do what we can, such as working from home and limiting social contact, let’s bear in mind that many workers, including members of the United Steelworkers union, don’t have that option. The USW is calling for further urgent measures to protect and support workers. Check below for the latest news and updates. You can also sign up for USW COVID-19 updates, sent right to your inbox, every week.  The USW extends its thanks and appreciation to all public health-care workers and everyone who is working to keep our communities going – people on the front lines helping those who are ill and putting themselves at increased risk of infection due to the very nature of their jobs. These are the everyday heroes who are helping Canadians navigate this public health crisis.  Resources — Mar 31
  • Crisis Comes at Worst Time for Struggling Canadian Workers and Families
    Opinion column by Ken Neumann If you were walking around the streets of most Canadian cities over the last few days, you could not escape the sound of silence – little traffic, shuttered stores and empty office buildings. That silence was, however, punctured by the ongoing sound of construction workers continuing to do their jobs at work sites across the country. As Canadians get used to the new normal caused by the COVID-19 crisis, many of us are being urged to work from home, in the hope that we can flatten the curve and avoid a public health disaster. But for the many Canadians who shower after work rather than before, working from home is not an option. Most Canadian workers have to show up for their jobs at retail stores, hotels, warehouses, construction sites, auto plants or steel mills, or they don’t get paid. Governments, economists and business are already projecting that this crisis will lead to catastrophic job losses. Incredibly, last week alone, the federal government received nearly 1 million applications for employment insurance (EI), an incredible and unprecedented number. It is clear that initially the service sector will be hardest-hit – retail trade, recreational and travel services, accommodation and food services. This sector is characterized by a prevalence of low-wage jobs and self-employed workers who have no cushion for economic hardship. Soon enough, however, all sectors of the economy will be profoundly affected. As demand dries up and supply chains are broken, our goods-producing sectors will also see massive layoffs. This crisis could not come at a worse time for Canadian workers, and so far, the government’s response has been woefully inadequate. Unfortunately, the reality for most Canadian workers is that their wages have been stagnant for decades, while corporations have seen robust profits. As a result, Canadian household debt, at about 100 per cent of GDP, is among the highest in the developed world. This means that massive numbers of Canadian families have no savings to survive the gathering economic storm that is about to strike. Moreover, for decades now, successive Canadian federal governments have allowed our social programs to atrophy. In 2018, barely one-third of unemployed workers even received EI benefits – a number that has been steadily declining over the last 25 years. Therefore, while it is a good thing that the government package announced last week will provide emergency EI benefits to many workers who would not have been previously eligible, it is not nearly enough to support workers through this crisis. The federal government must do more to help workers who are facing unemployment. To start, we should increase EI benefits for all Canadians to a replacement rate of at least 60% of wages (up to maximum of $625 a week) while lowering the eligibility threshold to 325 hours and increasing the benefit floor to $300 a week. More importantly, the government must provide much stronger economic incentives for employers to keep workers on the payroll. The initial plan for a 10% wage subsidy for small businesses was grossly inadequate , as it would not have kept businesses afloat. The USW and others argued the federal government should look to the examples of European nations, such as the U.K., where the government will pay grants covering up to 80% of workers’ salaries if companies keep them on their payroll, rather than lay them off as the economy crashes. These extraordinary payments will be worth up to $4,200 per month, just above the median income in the U.K. The Canadian government has since heeded our call and announced an increased wage subsidy of 75% of workers’ wages. However, serious concerns remain regarding eligibility for the increased subsidy, with indications that not all businesses will qualify. It is imperative that Canada follow the lead of European countries that are making their wage subsidies available to as many companies as need the help. The subsidy must be broadly applied in Canada as well, in order to provide desperately needed support to hundreds of thousands of companies and help protect the jobs of millions of Canadians. Restricting the subsidy will result in massive job losses across the country and will exacerbate this crisis. In order to keep our economy from total collapse, governments must focus on two priorities: keeping workers employed and supporting those who are laid off or unable to work because they are sick or caretaking. This means that in the short term we need to get as much government support into the hands of as many affected workers as possible. In the longer term, this crisis, like the 2008 financial crash, will affect our economy for years to come. We have to be concerned that many businesses that are forced to close in the next six months will never re-open. Governments must do more to keep workers employed and they need to be thinking about how we build an economy where workers are not so vulnerable when the next economic crisis hits our country. View the column at rabble.ca — Mar 28