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"The conservatives want to force workers to take below cost of living wages"
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October 29, 2021
 

Hey Shift Workers,

22,000 public sector workers in New Brunswick walked off the job today after months of failed negotiations with PC Premier Blaine Higgs for higher wages. Higgs has threatened to use back-to-work legislation to break the strike.

“It’s absurd. The conservatives want to force workers to take below cost of living wages, even if they already are the lowest paid of the lowest paid public service workers in Canada,” said CUPE NB President Stephen Drost. “To top it all, Higgs still expects a major concession!”

CUPE has outlined wage proposals and provided a timeline of the past year's bargaining here.

- Emily

 
 
 
 
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Top Headlines
 
CUPE NB members on strike. Photo via CBC.
 


  • Labour activist Nicholas Marcus Thompson says the division among workers over vaccine mandates “is probably one of the most critical moments for labour and organized labour...It is an issue that is tearing right down the centre of the membership, and we'll see what happens."

  • PSAC-CEIU renews calls to action following report on departmental racism at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.



  • Economist Jim Stanford makes the case for spring wage hikes for Ontario building trades workers.

  • Report finds Alberta’s ‘fly-in, fly-out’ oilsands workers face significant stress, reluctant to seek help.



 
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Photo via Pixel.
 


  • Thinking of organizing your workplace? Here's what you need to know!

 
Picket Shifts
 
Quebec Prelco workers on strike. Photo via Unifor.
 

  • Ontario Unifor members ratify contract, ending strike at Belleville's Shoreline Casino.

  • Ontario Unifor members ratify deal with De Havilland, ending three month strike, securing enhanced retirement incentives and severance packages in lieu of resuming Dash 8 production.


  • 22,000 public sector CUPE New Brunswick workers on strike.

  • Quebec Unifor members at industrial manufacturer Prelco strike after nearly 8 months at bargaining table, demanding wage increases.


  • Laval, Quebec transit drivers and CUPE members announce three strike days on November 3, 15, and 26.

  • BC hotel workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 40, have been locked out by Hilton Metrotown and Pacific Gateway hotel chains for over six months.


  • BC construction workers with IBEW 213 have been on strike for two years fighting union-buster Ledcor.

 
 
Before You Go...
 
Photo via Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press.
 



 
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