Unifor organizing Toyota workers

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(Updated)

Three Ontario assembly plants could become the first Toyota plants in North America to unionize.

Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, is applying to the Ontario Labour Relations Board to represent workers in Woodstock and Cambridge. It says it expects workers to vote in favour next week.

Union national president Jerry Dias says Toyota employees sought out the union, and adds that other plants that are unionized, like Ford in Oakville are better off.

“They have higher wages, their pensions are locked-in, their wages are locked-in, they have a collective agreement that’s locked in, the company just can’t walk in and make unilateral changes to shifts for that matter, so the Ford workers know up front what the rules are.”

Toyota worker Carrie Ann Ostrom believes “with a union we could also get our jobs timed and realistic instead of running to the next car and forgetting did I check this, did I do that we actually diminish the quality when we’re going faster like this.”

Denton Schriver is looking for better working conditions. “Wednesday, I have carpal tunnel surgery on this hand — and April 17th I have carpal tunnel surgery on this hand. Ergonomics is a joke. They don’t listen to us.”

“I am going to try and phrase this properly. I have to put a manifold in between my legs, tight to stand over an engine to build my parts and they’re telling me that ergonomically it’s okay to do this. 150 times, 300 times a day – I don’t think so.”

If approved Unifor will represent 6500 workers from the three Toyota assembly plants.

Video: News Now coverage of the news conference:

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