Amalgamated Transit Union

Effective January 1, 2007, the following improvement occurs as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase by 4 per cent.

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Coca-Cola London

Effective January 31, 2007 (unless otherwise noted), the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase by 45 cents per hour (deferred from 2004).

• Effective February 1, 2007, wages increase by 50 cents per hour.

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Community Nursing Home – Warkworth

Effective January 1, 2007 (unless otherwise indicated), the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• All rates and classifications receive an increase of 2.5 per cent.

• Effective June 1, 2007, the employer will contribute $250 toward the UFCW Education and Training Fund.

• Effective July 7, 2007, those with 17 years of service on or before June 30, 2007, receive five weeks vacation at 10 per cent of their gross earnings.

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Cornwall Fruit Supply

Effective January 1, 2007, the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase by 20 cents per hour for all employees who have completed their probationary period.

  Reminder:

• Employer contributes 37 cents per hour into the Ontario UFCW Pension Plan.

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Dresden Stratford

Effective January 19, 2007 (unless otherwise noted), the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase by 3 per cent.

• Company contributions to the Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP) increase to 87 cents per hour effective August 10, 2006. Contributions increase to 94 cents per hour on August 10, 2007.

• Tool allowance increases to $475 per year, up from $450.

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Erin Mills Retirement Lodge (Full and Part-time)

Effective January 1, 2007 (unless otherwise noted), the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase by 1 per cent.

• On July 1, 2007, wages increase again by 1 per cent.

• Dental plan contributions are currently at 28 cents per hour.

• Pension contributions are at 50 cents per hour.

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Friendly Manor Nursing Home

The following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• All rates and classifications receive an increase of 1.25 per cent effective January 1, 2007 with a subsequent increase of 1.25 per cent on July 1, 2007.

• Employer pension contributions increase by one cent per hour, to 53 cents per hour, effective July 1, 2007.

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Home Hardware

Effective January 7, 2007, the following improvements will occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase by 2.5 per cent for all employees at or above the top rate.

  Reminder:

• The company contributes to 50 per cent to the cost of the health and welfare plan.

• Workers receive two sick days per year.

• Improved uniform language ensures members are well equipped for outdoor elements.

• All training approved or required by the company is fully paid by the company, including wages.

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Hurley Corporation – Erin Mills Town Centre

Effective January 1, 2007, the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase by 20 cents per hour.

• Sick plan with Manion & Wilkins includes benefits and dental.

• Life Insurance is at $25,000.

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Independent Linen

Effective January 15, 2007, the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase by 30 cents per hour for all employees at the end rate of their classification.

• The Company contribution to the healthcare spending account is now $130 per employee per year.

  Reminder:

• Lead Hand premium is 75 cents per hour.

• Statutory holidays are now used in calculating overtime.

• Pension contributions are now $2.25 per week.

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Klunski Transport

Effective January 1, 2007, the following monetary improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase as follows:

  • 50 cents per mile (full rate) for Highway Drivers

  • $18.95 per hour (full rate) for Straight Truck Drivers

  • $19.55 per hour (full rate) for Tractor, Shunt & Local Tractor Drivers

  • $14.25 per hour (full rate) for Truck Washers

  • $15.25 per hour (full rate) for Yard Services

  • 25 cents per hour for Mechanics

  • $15.75 per hour for Red Circled Employees

• Pension contributions increase to 55 cents per hour to a weekly maximum of $22 for those with one year of service or more.

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Lassonde Juices

Effective January 1, 2007, the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase by 20 cents per hour with a subsequent increase of 20 cents per hour effective July 1, 2007.

• Annual safety shoe/boot allowance is $75.

• Each worker receives $50 twice per year in lieu of Shirts.

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Loeb Ogilvie

Effective January 27, 2007, the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase by 35 cents per hour for the full-time and part-time top rates hired before August 29, 2005.

• Company contributions to the dental plan increase to 33 cents per hour.

  Reminder:

• Courtesy Cash workers receive a premium of 75 cents per hour and Assistant Department managers receive a premium of $1 per hour.

• Pension contributions by the company are 65 cents for all hours worked.

• Should bereavement occur in a worker’s immediate family they receive three days paid leave with an additional day for those traveling more than 240 km.

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Pharma Plus (PROVINCE WIDE)

Effective January 2007, the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Wages increase between 30 cents and 95 cents per hour effective January 5, 2007.

• Dental plan contributions increase by 1 cent as of January 1, 2007.

• Company contributions to the pension plan increase by 5 cents per hour effective November 1, 2007.

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Picton Manor

Effective January 1, 2007, the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• All rates and classifications increase by 20 cents per hour.

• Weekend premium increases to 20 cents per hour, up from 10 cents.

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Sodexho Marriott Services

Effective January 1, 2007, the following improvements occur as a result of your collective agreement:

• Start rate improves to $9.15 per hour and the one-year rate increases to $9.40.

• Should the employer create the new classification “Waste Recycle Auditor,” the position would receive $1 more per hour than the other rates.

  Reminder:

• Workers are entitled to six sick days per year and may accumulate up to 30 days in their sick bank.

• The dental plan begins January 1, 2008.

• Safety boot allowance is $60 per year.

• Workers required to travel to outbuildings receive 28 cents per kilometre travelled.

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Workers deserve a better minimum wage and fair organizing laws

Article posted on: January 30, 2007

All workers deserve a minimum wage of $10 an hour – whether they work for large corporations or small businesses.

In fact, only 29% of workers earning less than $10 per hour are in small businesses – the vast majority are in the world’s richest companies like Wal-Mart and temp agencies.

Do you think Wal-Mart can afford to pay their employees $10 per hour? And it would be just and equitable for grocery, retail and industrial employers to start at $10 per hour when we are negotiating collective agreements for our members. 

While the Ontario government recently gave a 25% salary increase to all Members of Provincial Parliament, they refuse to increase the minimum wage to $10 per hour saying it will result in job losses. But there have been no reliable studies that support this prediction.

In fact, many economists in Canada have stated that our economy will be stronger and our workplaces more secure if workers earned at least $10 per hour. Besides, it is only fair to pay workers at least $10 per hour, especially when you consider that in less than 2 days the average top CEO earns as much as a minimum wage worker does in an entire year.

For these reasons and many more, Locals 175 & 633 support the fight for a $10 minimum wage. In partnership with the Toronto & York Region Labour Council, the goal of the campaign is to win a $10 minimum wage for all workers in Ontario.

The campaign also demands a return to fair laws for workers trying to unionize their workplace. The current laws require workers to sign union cards and win a vote conducted by the Labour Board. The problem is that it is easy for employers to intimidate, threaten and harass workers before the vote.

Prior to the Mike Harris government in 1995, workers in Ontario had the right to form unions by signing union cards without a vote – without fear of intimidation or termination. This system previously existed for 50 years. It’s time to return to fair organizing laws in Ontario. This would be another first step to getting better wages for all workers.

Demand your voice is heard by sending a message to your government at www.amillionreasons.ca.

Photos: The launch of the campaign took place at Parkdale Library in Toronto. Local 175 Organizing Rep Kevin Shimmin (at microphone) shares his views on achieving a $10 minimum wage for all working Ontarians.

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CBC Report - Workplace safety inspections
Posted January 30, 2007

Below is a link to the CBC News Web site where they have a report on workplace safety inspections in Canada. The information in the news article is a combination of the results of their study and highlights from a series of radio reports done by the CBC on the subject.

To read this article, please visit the CBC news Web site.

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Stronger regulations introduced for high-noise workplaces

Article posted on: January 5, 2007

QUEEN’S PARK — The McGuinty government is further protecting the health and safety of Ontario workers by protecting industrial workers from hearing loss, Minister of Labour Steve Peters announced today.

“Noise-induced hearing loss is a serious and preventable occupational illness that impacts many of Ontario's industrial workers,” said Peters. “Our government is taking action to protect these workers by making the first significant overhaul of the noise exposure limits in 30 years.”

Lower overall daily exposure to noise will help prevent hearing loss in workers, which led to an estimated $100 million in compensation costs being paid out by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) over the past decade.

The changes to the industrial noise requirements will come into effect on July 1, 2007. They are expected to strengthen worker safety by:

• Reducing Ontario’s noise exposure limit from 90 dBA to 85 dBA, and;

• Introducing it as a time-weighted average exposure limit, which gives a more accurate assessment of the amount of noise a worker is exposed to over an eight hour period.

The new requirements are part of the Ontario government’s ongoing improvements to workplace health and safety. These include hiring 200 new health and safety inspectors; targeting workplaces with poor health and safety performance records and high costs to the WSIB; and putting in place a new annual process to update occupational exposure limits for the over 700 hazardous substances covered by Ontario regulation.

“Our government is committed to ensuring that the health and safety of every worker is never compromised,” said Peters. “These changes have been carefully developed in consultation with employers and labour, who support this action.”

INDUSTRIAL NOISE EXPOSURE LIMITS

In addition to the information below, there are changes to Industrial regulations Regulation 851. Please click here to visit the Occupational Health & Safety Act Web site.

The Ontario Government is strengthening protection for industrial workers who are exposed to high levels of noise. Hearing loss, due to exposure to high levels of noise in the workplace, is a serious occupational illness. According to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), it resulted in an estimated $100 million in compensation costs being paid between 1995 and 2004.

What is changing?

Currently, the Regulations for Industrial Establishments and for Offshore Oil and Gas Operators allow workers to be exposed to up to 90 decibels of noise for an eight-hour period.

The new regulations will lower the allowable limit to 85 decibels. It will also introduce a new time-weighted averaging method that will provide a more accurate way of determining the actual amount of noise a worker is exposed to. This is the first time these noise regulations have been significantly updated since they were introduced 30 years ago.

Who is covered by this?

All workplaces in Ontario covered by the Regulations for Industrial Establishments and the Regulations for Offshore Oil and Gas Operators will be covered by the new noise exposure limit. While other sectors, such as the mining and construction sectors, do not have set noise exposure limits, the Occupational Health and Safety Act still requires employers in these workplaces to take all reasonable precautions to protect the health and safety of these workers. This includes situations where they are exposed to high levels of noise.

Were consultations with interested parties held?

Consultations were held in the winter of 2005 - 2006. The noise consultation stakeholders included:

• Industry associations
• Labour organizations including relevant unions
• Health and safety partners including hearing associations
• Media – general and industry-specific
• MOL enforcement team members

The Canadian Hearing Association was also consulted and is supportive of the changes being made.

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