Telus technicians and call centre workers across Canada have overwhelmingly voted to give their union a 97% strike mandate, the United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 1944 announced Thursday.
“I am proud of our members for rising up to give the union a strong strike mandate,” said Donna Hokiro, USW Local 1944 president. “The bargaining committee can now go back to the table with a clear indication of the support and strength of our members.”
The USW and Telus have been in negotiations since October 2021, and members have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2021. After Telus refused to move off their concessions, the union went to the membership to obtain a strike mandate.
“The company needs to start hearing the union and the members’ message that we are not going to accept another round of concessions, especially when the company is pulling in big profits. Telus needs to remove their concessionary demands and provide our members with the job security and wage increases they deserve,” said Hokiro.
“Today’s strike mandate sends Telus a clear message that its practices of sending good paying jobs overseas and their exploitive reliance on underpaid contractors must stop now,” said Marty Warren, USW National Director for Canada. “When companies in Canada, such as Telus, are making billions of dollars year after year, Canadians expect that most of it should stay in the communities in which it was earned. If Rogers can bring jobs back to Canada then why can’t Telus?”
The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada, including 7,000 members at Telus, and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.
Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of our strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fairer compensation – including good wages, benefits and pensions.
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
Members of the labour movement will attend a July 27 rally to support USW Local 1944, employees of Telus, in their struggle against office closures.
TORONTO – The Steelworkers Humanity Fund (SHF) is donating a total of $20,000 to provide support to people and communities evacuated by the recent wildfires in Labrador City, N.L., and Port-Cartier, Que. More than 7,000 residents of Labrador City were ordered to evacuate last week, the biggest evacuation in the city’s history, due to a […]
The United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 1944 has launched a nationwide campaign calling on the public to support Canadian call centre workers who are losing their jobs with TELUS. You are encouraged to tell your representatives in Ottawa that it is time to stand up for Canadian call centre workers, our communities and our local […]