BURNABY, BC and TORONTO – Talks of a merger began Wednesday between the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) and the United Steelworkers (USW).
“I am pleased that our union’s local leaders from across Canada have voted for us to work toward a merger with the USW that will improve the working lives of our members and their families,” said TWU national president Lee Riggs in a joint statement from the two unions.
A tentative merger agreement between the two unions, who have had a formal strategic alliance since 2010, would focus on mutual commitments to bargaining, education, organizing and legislative action. TWU members will have a chance to approve the merger agreement with a referendum vote this fall.
“We are excited about what we can build together with the TWU,” said USW national director Ken Neumann. “We’ll communicate our shared, positive vision for the labour movement: global, outward-looking, and focused on concrete action. We are optimistic about the future and we’re honoured to work with the TWU.”
The merger process began last March, when a TWU committee undertook an assessment process of eight major unions in Canada, which resulted in a unanimous recommendation by the committee of the USW as the best merger partner for the TWU.
A motion was presented at the TWU Policy Convention held in May in Calgary to begin merger talks and passed by convention delegates.
TWU has 13,000 members across Canada working for Telus, Shaw and other employers. USW has 225,000 members across Canada in a wide range of sectors.
