Telus workers give union strong 97% strike mandate

Publishing date: Oct 06, 2022 

BURNABY, British Columbia — Telus technicians and call centre workers across Canada have overwhelmingly voted to give their union a 97% strike mandate, the United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 1944 announced Thursday.

“I am proud of our members for rising up to give the union a strong strike mandate,” said Donna Hokiro, USW Local 1944 president. “The bargaining committee can now go back to the table with a clear indication of the support and strength of our members.”

The USW and Telus have been in negotiations since October 2021, and members have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2021. After Telus refused to move off their concessions, the union went to the membership to obtain a strike mandate.

“The company needs to start hearing the union and the members’ message that we are not going to accept another round of concessions, especially when the company is pulling in big profits. Telus needs to remove their concessionary demands and provide our members with the job security and wage increases they deserve,” said Hokiro.

“Today’s strike mandate sends Telus a clear message that its practices of sending good paying jobs overseas and their exploitive reliance on underpaid contractors must stop now,” said Marty Warren, USW National Director for Canada. “When companies in Canada, such as Telus, are making billions of dollars year after year, Canadians expect that most of it should stay in the communities in which it was earned. If Rogers can bring jobs back to Canada then why can’t Telus?”

The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada, including 7,000 members at Telus, and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of our strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fairer compensation – including good wages, benefits and pensions.

Donna Hokiro, USW Local 1944 President donna.hokiro@usw1944.ca

Marty Warren, USW National Director for Canada, 416-544-5951

Shannon Devine, USW Communications, sdevine@usw.ca