Unifor puts Toyota vote on hold
April 4, 2014
By The Canadian Press
Unifor says it is escalating its drive to represent workers at three Toyota plants in southwestern Ontario, but that it is putting the vote to unionize on hold.
The union has withdrawn an application it filed with the Labour Relations Board, but says it remains committed to forming a union at Toyota’s plants in Woodstock and Cambridge. And instead of going to a vote next week, Unifor said Thursday it will be taking time to get more union cards signed so there is no dispute over the numbers.
Toyota provided its employee list to Unifor and the Ontario Labour Relations Board earlier this week, indicating that the company has approximately 7,500 employees it believes are eligible to be part of the bargaining unit.
Unifor president Jerry Dias said they estimate there are 6,590 employees at Toyota’s Ontario auto plants eligible to join a union. If they succeed, these would be the first Toyota plants in North America to become unionized.
Top concerns for Toyota workers include wages, pensions and workplace issues.
