Toronto Labour Day parade showcases newest union Unifor

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Thousands of union members flooded the streets of Toronto to celebrate the city?s annual Labour Day Parade on Monday.

The parade stretched for more than 12 blocks, with workers marching from University Ave. and Queen St. W. into the CNE grounds, playing steel drums and sporting flags and banners from more than a dozen unions.

Front and centre in their red union T-shirts were members of Canada?s newest labour group, Unifor, formed this weekend from a merger between the Canadian Auto Workers and Communication, Energy and Paperworkers unions. The group currently represents about 300,000 workers.

Unifor national president Jerry Dias, elected Saturday at a founding convention in Toronto, called the boisterous march a symbolic start for the group as it launches a campaign to draw in members from precarious and traditionally non-union jobs.

?Today is really about opportunity, it?s about hope. It?s about us saying we?ve had it and it?s about us saying we?re determined to change the direction of the country,? said Dias.

Union membership has declined in recent years, though it saw a slight uptick to 31.5 per cent last year, according to Statistics Canada. The public sector makes up the vast majority of union employees.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, who was among a small contingent of New Democrat marchers, said Unifor will help solidify the base of the Canadian labour movement at a time when middle-class jobs are under attack.

?The Conservative party has been pushing down wages and working conditions for women and men across the country? through the expansion of the temporary foreign workers program, while manufacturing job losses are also taking a toll, Mulcair said.

Ontario?s NDP leader Andrea Horwath said in a statement released for Labour Day, ?Ontario is a fantastic place to live but that didn?t happen by accident. The hard work of millions of people over many years built the province we enjoy today.?

She added that there is still more work to be done and called for a commitment to ?shared prosperity for all.?

With files from The Canadian Press

Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/09/02/toronto_labour_day_parade_showcases_newest_union_unifor.html

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