Telecommunications is no longer simply a utility sector. It is the operating system of Canada’s digital economy. The cabling, towers and switches we built now function as critical infrastructure, safeguarding Canada’s digital economy and its digital borders.
Technical work is transforming as boundaries between telecom, IT, security and digital services dissolve. Workers are being asked to adapt faster and carry more responsibility and risk, even as companies restructure, outsource and rebrand themselves as “techcos.”
USW Local 1944 recognized this shift early and made a deliberate choice to evolve with the industry, securing our members a place at the centre of its future.
We were tested when Rogers transferred hundreds of wireless technicians to the multinational Ericsson, shifting employees to contractor status while their work remained unchanged. This was a breaking point. More than 200 field operations techs across Canada responded by signing union cards and securing federal certification with us in November 2025.
These workers faced the truth: their work had not changed; their vulnerability had. Unionizing ensured they would no longer face that uncertainty alone.
What began in telecom now resonates across Canada. Workers in IT, logistics, manufacturing and software are reaching out, through TheTechUnion.ca, to build better workplaces.
This is not an anomaly, but a broader shift: workers across the tech sector are realizing that unionization is both possible and long overdue.
Telecom is no longer a narrow sector. It is the foundation of the modern tech economy, and the on-ramp where digital work, infrastructure and security converge.
Local 1944 became The Tech Union as a declaration of purpose: to organize the workforce that builds and sustains Canada’s digital borders.
That workforce now has a union they can call home.
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