Sun Media employees want to unionionize
Toronto workers launch organizing drive to join Unifor
TORONTO — March 24, 2015
Employees at Sun Media’s Toronto operations today launched a union organizing drive to deliver the benefits of collective bargaining to employees not already part of a union at the large media corporation.
A letter announcing the union drive was delivered to Sun Media management this morning at their offices at 333 King. St. E., Toronto. The employees seek to form a union under Unifor, which currently represents Toronto Sun editorial and prepress workers. Unifor represents most of Canada’s unionized media workers.
“In 2003, Toronto Sun editorial employees decided they wanted to unionize, and they’ve never looked back, bringing better wages, benefits and job security, among many other improvements,” said Paul Morse, president of Unifor Local 87-M.
“Now, other non-unionized employees, who have been subjected to a prolonged wage freeze and a clawback in benefits, are coming to the same conclusion.”
They are also concerned about a pending sale of the company to Postmedia Network Inc., Morse said.
Unifor Local 87-M represents over 2,500 media workers across Ontario, including 13 Sun Media daily newspapers, the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Ottawa Citizen, and Hamilton Spectator.
Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing more than 305,000 workers. It was formed Labour Day weekend 2013 when the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unions merged.
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Contact: Local 87-M Rep Brad Honywill, 416-461-2461 x 7.