The salaries and working conditions at Newrest Canada in Mississauga were well below what its unionized competitors were offering. When about 50 workers at the company realized they were getting a bad deal, it wasn’t long before they organized and joined Teamsters Local Union 647.
“It took workers just over two weeks to bring in the Teamsters,” said John Hull, an organizer at Teamsters Canada. “Two weeks… that’s pretty fast.”
“This was a team effort,” added Gerald Cadeau, the President of Teamsters Local Union 647. “I’d like to thank John Hull, Neofitos Vritsios, and Erminio Molinaro for their help. And most importantly, a special thanks to the workers at Newrest for placing their trust in us.”
Newrest Canada provides catering services to airlines like Air Canada Jazz and Air Mexico. The Teamsters are slowly building up working conditions throughout the airline catering industry.
“Workers at Gate Gourmet, one of Newrest’s competitors, are also with the Teamsters,” explained Cadeau. “The more unions are present in an industry, the easier it is to negotiate better deals for workers. That’s what we’re seeing with airline catering.”
Workers who wish to unionize their workplace can contact Teamsters Canada by clicking here. The information will be kept strictly confidential.
The Teamsters represent 120 000 members in Canada in all industries. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.
