BURNABY, B.C. — The United Steelworkers union (USW) says the B.C. government’s proposed Working Forest Landscape Model is a step in the right direction, but with forestry families facing continued closures and curtailments, implementation cannot wait. “Our union and others have called for a clearly defined working forest for decades,” said Scott Lunny, USW Western […]
Our test for those negotiations remains straightforward: Canada must protect Canadian jobs and industrial capacity, secure meaningful reductions in U.S. tariffs and give workers and industries the certainty they need to invest and grow in Canada.
TORONTO – The Steelworkers Humanity Fund (SHF) is donating $20,000 to support people and communities evacuated by recent wildfires in northwestern Ontario, as well as future wildfire relief efforts across Canada. This year’s wildfire season has forced more than a dozen communities to evacuate in recent days, including 10 First Nations communities across northern Ontario. […]
TORONTO – The United Steelworkers union (USW) welcomes the release of the Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force report by the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, and says governments must move quickly to turn its recommendations into concrete action for workers, communities and Canada’s forest industry. The report sets out a path […]
BURNABY, B.C. – United Steelworkers union (USW) Director for Western Canada, Scott Lunny, is raising concerns about calls to amend or repeal the British Columbia government’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). Director Lunny released the following statement: “Resource sectors sustain working families across British Columbia. Those jobs depend on industry investment and […]
On the anniversary of the Babine Forest Products mill explosion, the United Steelworkers union (USW) is remembering the two workers killed and the more than 20 others injured in the 2012 tragedy, while welcoming long-overdue reforms to British Columbia’s combustible dust safety regulations. Fourteen years ago, two workers went to work at the Babine sawmill […]
There are things trade unionists can do to tackle gender-based violence.
The United Steelworkers union (USW) is hopeful that today’s forestry summit between federal and provincial governments will serve as a crucial step towards the co-ordinated action needed to address British Columbia’s forestry emergency. The USW sees government recognition of the scale and immediacy of the crisis as a positive shift but warns that only swift, […]
TORONTO – The United Steelworkers union (USW) is denouncing the latest escalation in Donald Trump’s trade war, following his September 29 proclamation imposing a 10% tariff on Canadian softwood lumber exports to the United States. The new tariff, taking effect October 14, comes on top of the existing 35.16% countervailing and anti-dumping duties already imposed […]
CASTLEGAR, B.C. – United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 1-405 announced today that the 12 USW members at StellerVista Credit Union at the Castlegar and Slocan Park branches have ratified a new 3-year collective agreement retroactive to May of 2024 following a close membership vote yesterday in Castlegar. “It took 150 days of our small but […]
TORONTO – The United Steelworkers union (USW) is welcoming today’s announcement by Prime Minister Mark Carney on new federal measures to support Canada’s softwood lumber industry, calling it a long-overdue step toward rebuilding a sector under intense pressure from escalating U.S. tariffs. The federal plan includes $700 million in loan guarantees for companies hit by […]
BURNABY, B.C. – The United Steelworkers union (USW) District 3 and the USW Wood Council are calling on the federal government to take urgent action in response to the latest escalation in the softwood lumber trade dispute. Following the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to increase anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber exports to 20.56%, […]
June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day, is a time when many United Steelworkers (USW) local unions in Canada join in celebrations with the Indigenous people whose traditional territory they live and work on. Our union has great resources to support local unions who want to start – or increase – their efforts to build good […]
VICTORIA – On Friday, June 6, 2025, United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 1-1937 members went on strike against La-kwa-sa-muqw Forestry LP (LKSM) because of the significant concessions they are demanding. Those concessions include, but are not limited to, demands that LKSM be able to bring in non-union contractors to do work that is now performed […]
CRANBROOK, B.C. – Frustrated by the violation of their collective agreement rights and being deprived of severance payments, United Steelworkers union (USW) members at Galloway Sawmill are going public. The workers, members of USW Local 1-405, are demanding severance payments from Peak Renewables and Galloway Sawmill owner Brian Fehr. “Workers left at the Galloway Sawmill […]
All in on health and safety – Westray video from 2025 International Convention When workers die on the job, families are shattered and communities are forever changed. This powerful video shares real stories of loss, love and the urgent need to hold employers accountable through the Westray Law. Short documentaries Hear from the families directly […]
BURNABY, B.C. – The United Steelworkers union (USW) welcomes the launch of British Columbia’s new Provincial Forestry Advisory Council (PFAC) as a critical step toward building a stronger, more sustainable forestry industry that puts workers and communities first. The newly formed council brings together labour, industry, Indigenous communities and environmental representatives, including USW Wood Council […]
TORONTO – Marty Warren, Canadian National Director of the United Steelworkers union (USW), today issued the following statement: “On behalf of the 225,000 members of the United Steelworkers union across Canada, we extend our congratulations to Mark Carney on being elected as the next Prime Minister of Canada. Workers across this country are looking for […]