“I look after a lot of members in a very big plant. For years I had to fight for them by myself with no help at all from any of the Union’s representatives or Officers. This changed completely once Bobby, Bob and Paul were in office. Now I have access to my reps 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! They’re always there to back me up.”
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NAFTA Talks Important For All Workers
September 15, 2017
NAFTA has been a hot topic in the news ever since Donald Trump was elected President this year. Some see it as just another acronym thrown around politics, but the truth is NAFTA is an intricate part of our economy in Canada and we should be paying attention to what is happening to it.
NAFTA stands for the North American Free Trade Agreement and was created in 1994 as an expanded version of the 1998 Canada-U.S. free trade agreement. Essentially, it removed ‘barriers to the flow of goods and labour between Canada, the United States and Mexico.’
According to the Globe and Mail, Trump has a list of around 100 demands surrounding NAFTA renegotiations including using “Buy American” provisions to bar Canadian or Mexican firms from seeking U.S. government contracts and also opening up more Canadian or Mexican government contracts to U.S. companies.
The President has threatened to pull out of NAFTA if these demands are not met.
Some of the most contentious trade issues regarding Canada are dairy supply management and softwood lumber.
Trudeau told a group of labour members last month that we’re going to land an agreement that union members and all people across the country can be proud of.
“The bottom line is, after years of neglect, organized labour finally has a strong partner in Ottawa, and we will not let you down,” said Trudeau.
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa and Teamsters Canada President François Laporte released a statement this month in response to the second round of negotiations of NAFTA in Mexico City.
They acknowledged that the Canadian proposals could do more to protect workers rights in North America than any previous trade agreement and that crafting a chapter that protects workers rights is ‘central to the success to the renegotiation.’
“On labour, we agree that the substantive protections should be grounded in the ILO conventions, and that violations should be enforceable by trade sanctions. We also agree that U.S. state ‘right to work’ laws depress wages and thereby arguably constitute an export subsidy to U.S. exporters who move production to those jurisdictions,” they said in their joint statement.
Uncertainty surrounding NAFTA had already had effects on our dollar and the energy sector. It is clear that a fair deal is needed soon to protect workers and all Canadians. We will all be watching as talks return to the United States in October.
For the original article click here.
News Archive
Testimonial
- Darrell Lawres – Chief Shop Steward. Saputo, Sperling
"I was employed for many years at a Teamster company that was shut down due to the economy. Because of my age, I was worried about starting over. Bobby, Bob and Paul not only negotiated a much better severance package than was in the contract, but they also went the extra mile and got me on at one of their other companies with an even better contract.They continued to help me even though it wasn't their job to."
- Armando Borean
For
35 years I have been a Teamster and a Dairyworker, I was a young kid needing a
job in tough economic times. I found a place to work and make a living, I
learned to work together with others having varying and different backgrounds
than my own.
Much has changed for me personally and professionally, I got married to my
beautiful wife of almost 25 years and we have raised two amazing children, both
of whom are presently studying abroad. Both of my children were recipients of
Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Funding.
So much of my success I can credit to having a well paying union job. The
Teamsters have been a great union for me, negotiating strong collective
agreements that held good wage and benefit packages as well as the cornerstone
beliefs of seniority and workers’ rights. The Teamsters gave me a good wage and
a voice.
I have always been an active Teamster, and now I sit on Local 464's Executive
Board.
There can be a great degree of personal feelings when the word union is
mentioned, but so often I look at professional associations and realize the
name may be different, but the thought is the same...strength in numbers.
As I get toward the end of my career, I look forward to the thought of
receiving the Teamsters Canada Pension Plan, and I am so grateful for the
belief others had before me that Teamsters deserved a good and decent
retirement...thank you.
Drew
- Drew Speirs