BURNABY, B.C. and TORONTO – The Telecommunications Workers Union and the United Steelworkers announced today the two unions have agreed to a tentative merger.
The merger would join the TWU, representing close to 13,000 members working in telecommunications, cable TV and call centre locations in Canada, with the USW, representing 225,000 members in various sectors.
The two unions began merger talks in July. The agreement, includes strong commitments to support bargaining, membership education, legislative action and bringing in new members in the telecom sector.
“This is a merger about better bargaining power, about better service to members and about a strong voice for telecommunication workers when the federal government is making moves like its misguided Verizon scheme,” said TWU national president Lee Riggs in a statement.
“Because TELUS and other telecommunication companies have operations around the world, our work as a merged union will multiply across borders,” said USW international president Leo Gerard. “The TWU will have immediate access to our union's proven capacity to deal with employers on a global basis. With the USW's extensive international network of allies and resources, our newly merged union will become a global leader in the telecommunications sector.”
The TWU National Executive Council will meet in early September to review the tentative merger agreement. Once it has been reviewed, the agreement will be posted on both the TWU and Building for Our Future websites. TWU members will later vote to ratify the merger agreement.
