Aluminum: Quebec deserves a better bargain
The United Steelworkers represents more than 2,000 aluminum workers in Quebec, making it the largest union in the sector. In recent years, the Steelworkers have stepped up their efforts to create and maintain quality jobs in the aluminum industry. This campaign has been conducted most intensively in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, where investments in expansion projects planned by Rio Tinto – which are tied to agreements negotiated with the government – are often slow to materialize. In 2022, after years of lobbying by the Steelworkers, a project for an aluminum billet plant in Alma was announced, with a planned opening date in 2025. However, the project has been delayed, and the start of operations is now scheduled for 2027.
We can win: federal anti-scab legislation
The Steelworkers and the entire labour movement have fought for decades for anti-scab legislation. The effort received a boost in 2022, with the inclusion of a commitment in the confidence-and-supply agreement between the NDP and the governing Liberals, to bring in federal legislation to ban the use of so-called “replacement workers” for both lockouts and strikes. The law received Royal Assent in June 2024 and will come into force on June 20, 2025. The USW launched a lobbying and advocacy campaign in 2022 and reinforced it at the USW National Policy Conference in 2023.
Elevating Action
Formerly known as Men Speak Up and Be More than a Bystander, Elevating Action is a program of the Canadian Football League Players’ Association (CFLPA), the USW and White Ribbon. The program trains spokespeople from the USW and CFLPA to be leaders in changing our culture and to challenge gender-based violence in our workplaces and communities. Spokespeople from across the CFLPA and USW Districts 3 and 6 have been trained.
Empower the CORE
The USW, working with the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA-RCRCE), is calling for stronger powers for the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), which receives complaints about human rights abuse tied to Canadian corporate activity abroad in the mining, oil and gas, and garment sectors. cnca-rcrce.ca
Forestry Is for Everyone
To support forestry workers, promote the importance of their work and push for a resolution to the softwood lumber dispute with the U.S., the USW in Canada launched the Working Forest campaign in 2016. The campaign was relaunched as Forestry Is for Everyone, to urge USW members and the public to pressure the Canadian government to support forestry workers and communities. Our union supports a low-carbon wood industry that lowers British Columbia’s environmental footprint, but we must also protect the forestry industry and its viability.
In Quebec, the United Steelworkers has also stepped up its efforts to ensure a sustainable future for the forestry industry, provide adequate support for the workers who make it prosper and increase local processing of natural resources to create more jobs. The Steelworkers have been advocating for workers and communities in the debate on the protection of caribou and reform of the forestry sector by making submissions, holding conferences, participating in consultations and joining coalitions of unions and civil society organizations. usw.ca/forestry-is-for-everyone
Health and safety for all
Since 2020, the Steelworkers have led a strong campaign in Quebec to ensure that prevention mechanisms required in the heavy industry sector since 1979 (Health and Safety Committees, worker-appointed prevention representatives and prevention programs) can be applied to all workplaces. Our union’s advocacy and activism have helped ensure the protection of existing prevention mechanisms and our campaign continues as the Quebec government delays adopting regulations that will enhance prevention in all workplaces. Above all, the Steelworkers are working hard to implement dynamic prevention mechanisms in all workplaces – with worker participation.
Justice for Global Garment Workers
The workers who make our clothes are paid poverty wages in the global south supply chains of Canadian retailers and fashion brands. The Steelworkers Humanity Fund released a report showing that garment workers – the majority of whom are women – can barely afford basic life necessities. In solidarity with unions representing garment workers in producing countries, the Humanity Fund joined Canadian unions and civil society organizations to tackle the injustices in the global garment sector by pressuring Canadian garment brands and retailers to ensure living wages are paid to those who make our clothes throughout their global supply chains. usw.ca/garmentworkers
Justice for Workers
USW members volunteer for Justice for Workers, previously $15 and Fairness, to advocate for decent work laws, including an end to racism, discrimination and workplace bullying; a $20 minimum wage; 10 paid sick days; making it easier to join a union, and more. justice4workers.org
Labour intervention in trade cases
The USW has achieved major victories on trade remedies in recent years. In 2022, after extensive lobbying and local union efforts, unions won the right to file trade complaints and expanded the definition of material injury to include job loss, pensions health and community impacts. We also secured stronger anti circumvention measures, enabling Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to better address duty evasion. Local unions now provide crucial evidence in trade cases, amplifying workers’ voices. The recent tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum, which we championed, mark another key victory. We’ll continue fighting for strong domestic markets, Canadian-made steel, union jobs and robust border enforcement.
Make S#!t Better
In District 3, Western Canada, the USW is working to improve washroom conditions for Steelworkers. What happens in the washroom is a personal issue. Many folks have different needs when it comes to the washroom, but it is likely that everybody has to use one during their work day. This needs to be something to which everyone has access. The campaign is using a survey and a video to collect stories and experiences to gain leverage for improving washroom conditions across the district. usw.ca/makeitbetter
No space for hate
The USW condemned the human rights attacks targeting gender-diverse and queer youth, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, education workers and allies. 2SLGBTQIA+ peoples, education workers, school boards, labour leaders and activists and others are among those who have been targeted by members of hate groups determined to roll back the clock on human rights. The USW issued “No space for hate” statements and attended anti-hate rallies to support trans and gender-diverse youth.
Pay Equity
In 2024 federal pay equity law imposed deadlines for workplans from employers with requirements to consult and involve workers in the process. The USW’s pay equity campaign provides tools we can use and actions we can take to close the gender pay gap. It’s time to fix the historic, persistent and systemic discrimination in women’s wages and compensation. Let’s take action to enforce pay equity! usw.ca/payequity
Pharmacare
A significant USW legislative victory in 2024 was the passing of universal federal pharmacare legislation covering contraception and diabetes medication, an important step towards equitable access to prescription drugs for all Canadians. For many years, Steelworkers, with the broader labour movement, have worked with the NDP to push for a universal, single-payer pharmacare plan that would reduce the burden of expensive, inaccessible prescription drugs for Canadians.
Precarity alert
In recent years, employers have made increasing use of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), mostly to fill permanent labour needs. This leads to precariousness for these workers, as they only have access to a closed work permit, tied to a single employer, to whom they are at the mercy for renewals. The USW is leading a campaign to support these migrant workers, help them defend their rights and encourage union participation. The Steelworkers advocate real and rapid access to permanent immigration for migrant workers and for employers to offer French language courses during working hours. Local unions should also be involved beforehand when an employer wishes to make use of the TFWP.
Quebec bottle-return campaign
Steelworkers at bottle-maker Owens Illinois, members of Local 206G, initiated a campaign to push Quebec’s wine and liquor stores to introduce a bottle-deposit system to recycle glass. The campaign bore fruit when the province announced in January 2020 that it would introduce a consignment system for all glass bottles. The workers know it costs more to import the raw materials to make their glass bottles and that adding more recycled glass lowers the carbon footprint – local sourcing from recycled glass will be more efficient. Along with Manitoba, Quebec is one of the last provinces in Canada to introduce a glass bottle consignment system. The program has benefits for the environment, the economy and jobs. The deposit-refund program began in 2023. The implementation of this measure has had its difficulties and the glass deposit is now expected to begin in 2027. Nevertheless, the campaign has already had an impact at the Owens Illinois plant, where investments have been made in response to the announcement of a better supply of recycled glass.
Retirees First!
In 2023, Steelworkers won a new federal law ensuring pensioners are paid out following a corporate bankruptcy ahead of others, including public institutions such as municipalities and school boards. This victory comes after decades of calling on politicians to prioritize pensions when companies go bankrupt or restructure. Year after year, the USW retold the heartbreaking stories of workers who had their pensions robbed by corporate failures. USW members met with over 250 MPs and Senators during several weeks of outreach in Ottawa over many years. Our voices were heard! We demanded that retirees would no longer be left at the back of the line in cases of bankruptcy and with the new law, we finally won.
Raising the Bar for Women’s Health and Safety
Women face different health and safety risks, because of biology and social attitudes. But because most workplaces, machines, personal protective equipment and safety programs have been designed to suit male workers, women have often been left out. Even worse, their concerns are sometimes ridiculed. The Raising the Bar campaign increases awareness of women’s health and safety issues, increases women’s participation in health and safety activism and increases respect and space for women’s voices and ideas. The campaign engages local union and workplace leaders, members, as well as health and safety and women’s committees in creating necessary change. usw.ca/raisethebar
SAFETY FOR ROAD TRAFFIC CONTROL WORKERS
The United Steelworkers is leading a relentless campaign to improve the health and safety of road traffic control workers in Quebec. There are many fatalities in this sector, and the number of occupational injuries has exploded in recent years. The USW is calling for a concrete action plan from the government to put an end to these tragedies: improved regulation and oversight of the industry, more inspections and access to better training are among the demands. The union’s advocacy and mobilization continue.
Stand up for Canadian Call Centre Workers
The USW is enlisting public support to call on the Canadian government to halt TELUS’s continued practice of moving thousands of jobs offshore. Following its thousands of job cuts in Canada in 2023, TELUS pushed severance packages on over 1,000 Canadian workers in 2024. Call centre workers deserve better!
Stand Up for Steel
USW members in Canada continue to work with the steel industry in a campaign to push the federal government to extend safeguard protections for the sector to limit steel imports dumped into Canada that threaten jobs and harm the economy. The Stand Up for Steel campaign brings together our members in steel-making to advocate for the sector by providing fact sheets and resources to support members lobbying politicians in Ottawa. The steel industry is essential to the Canadian economy as a whole and provides community-sustaining jobs across the country. usw.ca/standupforsteel
Stop the Killing
Steelworkers continue to advocate to end workplace deaths through our Stop the Killing, Enforce the Law campaign to hold corporate leaders criminally accountable for the health and safety of workers. Several jurisdictions have established protocols to treat workplace fatalities and serious injuries as crime scenes, but more training, outreach and attention from elected officials federally and provincially is needed. The year 2024 marked the 20th anniversary of the Westray law. usw.ca/stopthekilling