TORONTO —
The head of Canada’s largest private sector labour union has a blunt message for Unifor staff: Get vaccinated or find another job.
The union recently advised its 425 staff membersthat they will be placed on an unpaid leave of absence until they get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“And if they don’t get vaccinated within a reasonable period of time, well then that’s fine,” said Jerry Dias. “They can work for another organization. I’m not messing around with this.”
Dias also has a warning for Unifor members who are holding out against being vaccinated, saying they could end up losing their jobs if their employer adopts a vaccine mandate.
“If people are terminated because they make the decision that they’re not going to be vaccinated, then our lawyers are saying to us that they will stay terminated,” Dias said in an interview.
The growing number of vaccine mandates in the public and private sectors have exposed a fault line in Canada’s labour movement.
Canadian National Railway Co. and WestJet Airlines are among the latest large employers to announce their vaccination policies, following an Aug. 13 directive from Ottawa that requires all employees in federally regulated industries to be vaccinated.
Both railways and airlines are members of that group, which also includes banks, telecommunications companies and employees of Crown corporations.
Montreal-based CN will require all employees in Canada, contractors, consultants, agents, suppliers and anyone who accesses its Canadian properties to be vaccinated as of Nov. 1. It said requests for medical or religious exemptions will be considered on an individual basis.
Calgary-based WestJet’s mandate is effective Oct. 30. The airline said it will accommodate employees who are unable to be vaccinated but those who fail to attest their vaccination status by Sept. 24 or achieve full-vaccination status by Oct. 30 will face unpaid leave or termination.
Like Air Canada, WestJet is not providing COVID-19 testing as an alternative to vaccination.
Unifor’s executive committee voted unanimously to support vaccine mandates, and Ontario unions for elementary and secondary teachers have voiced their support for mandatory vaccinations in schools.
A pro-mandate position in the context of a pandemic is not surprising given the union’s duty to protect the health and safety of its members, says Alison Braley-Rattai, assistant professor of labour studies at Brock University.
“In a different context, however, that could change,” she wrote in an email.
“For example, if your employer wanted you to be vaccinated against some non-transmissible disease to reduce the risk of you being absent from work due to illness, a union would likely oppose such a policy.”
Whether employees should face job loss is also an open question given that we don’t know how things will look a year from now, she said.
“A union could readily argue that termination is an extreme response to a mandate that may end up being temporary, and that the worst thing one should face is a temporary unpaid leave.”
Unions opposed to vaccine mandates include the Toronto Police Association and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents public transit workers in Toronto and the York Region.
Police association president Jon Reid said it will “make every effort to protect all of our members and therefore, does not support this mandatory vaccination announcement or mandatory disclosure.”
ATU local 113 president Carlos Santos pushed back against the Toronto Transit Commission’s mandatory vaccination policy.
The union has urged members not to disclose any private medical information to the country’s largest transit authority.
“ATU Local 113 opposes this policy, and we will fight to defend your right to make your own personal health decisions and protect your private medical information,” Santos said in a letter to members on the union’s website.
Santos added that the union will oppose any discipline imposed on members.
However, Dias said the labour movement should be candid with people about whether unions can actually block terminations.
“I think there’s a lot of unions out there that frankly don’t have the political will to be honest,” he said, adding that the union isn’t obligated to take a case to arbitration.
“According to our lawyers, if they are fired for refusing to take a vaccine and they don’t have a bona fide medical reason to do so that an arbitrator will very likely side with the employer.”
While the Canadian Labour Congress supports vaccinations, it says the country’s unions are concerned that mandatory vaccinations will hand employers overreaching powers.
“Any decision to impose mandatory vaccination policies must be based on scientific evidence and be made by public health officials, not employers or unions,” it stated in a news release.
It said unions must be consulted in the development and implementation of any mandatory vaccination policies with exemptions and accommodations and privacy protections being essential.
The central labour body in Canada said it rejects threats of discipline or termination as an approach to increasing vaccination rates.
“Unions will defend workers’ interests and insist employers respect the terms and conditions of the collective agreement and human rights codes.”
Various national unions similarly support vaccines in general while seeking oversight for sweeping employer mandates.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees says governments and employers need to consult with unions before finalizing and implementing vaccine policies. It also says workers who cannot be vaccinated for medical or religious reasons must be accommodated under human rights legislation.
“As a union, we recognize our obligation to those members who are not vaccinated,” it stated, adding that alternate work arrangements, screening and testing before entering the workplace can be effective.
Public Service Alliance of Canada national president Chris Aylward said it supports the government’s goals but the verification of vaccination or medical status of members must respect their legal right to privacy.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) said it categorically reject terminations and discipline as leverage to increase vaccination rates.
“Punitive policies are not conducive for a positive workplace and a healthy relationship with employees.”
Teamsters Canada questioned the urgency of the government’s push for a vaccine mandate given alternative ways to encourage vaccination.
“Canada already has one of the world’s best vaccination programmes, and other measures like provincial vaccine passport systems had promising potential.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2021.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
