Steelworkers,
On Monday night, the Canadian government secured a 30-day reprieve from the imposition of sweeping tariffs, but the threats to Canadian workers still loom.
Make no mistake, this is not the end of the fight. Instead, it’s an opportunity for us to urge our governments to take the necessary steps to protect our jobs and support workers.
U.S. President Donald Trump has already shifted his stance multiple times to justify his desire to impose tariffs on our members and Canadian workers. While we’re pleased that the federal government has managed to win a temporary reprieve, we cannot let our guard down. We must remain vigilant and continue to fight back.
From the moment Trump announced his intention to impose tariffs on Canadian goods, Steelworkers in Canada and the U.S. have co-ordinated to take strong action to defend our members and Canadian jobs. We’ve been through this before, and we know that these reckless trade measures put our jobs, our families, and our communities at risk, on both sides of the border. That’s why we are mobilizing every resource at our disposal to combat these threats and prepare for any potential escalation.
Over the past several weeks, our USW Canadian National Office has established a working group to track developments and provide recommendations on the best course of action. Also, we have created a joint unit with our USW International Office in Pittsburgh, to co-ordinate efforts on both sides of the border. We’ve been active across multiple fronts:
- Pressuring the federal government: We’ve been meeting with ministers and senior officials to demand immediate and decisive action – not only on international trade, but also to call for measures to directly support affected workers and industries.
- Engaging provincially and federally: Our union is making sure that political leaders take action to protect our members and communities from the potentially devastating impact of these tariffs.
- Taking our message public: We’ve been vocal in the media, holding press conferences and issuing strong statements calling for a robust, unified response from Canada.
- Leveraging our international strength: As an international union representing 850,000 members across North America, we are working alongside Steelworkers in the United States to fight back against tariffs that would harm workers on both sides of the border.
Trump’s tariffs aren’t about fair trade – they’re about politics, and it’s working people who will pay the price. We’ve seen this before – steel, aluminum, forestry and the wider manufacturing sector are under threat again. We will not stand by and let this happen.
We need to stand together as Steelworkers. Our international union provides us strength.
Partisan politics must end – we demand every level of government to stand together to protect Canadian jobs and industries.
Please stay tuned for more updates and calls to action.
In solidarity,
Marty Warren, National Director
Scott Lunny, District 3 Director (Western Canada)
Dominic Lemieux, District 5 Director (Québec)
Kevon Stewart, District 6 Director (Ontario and Atlantic Canada)
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