Letters from the president

Jim Hoffa, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and François Laporte, President of Teamsters Canada, made the following statements today on the lifting of the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs...

Today is the National Day of Mourning, a day to remember those who died, or were injured or made ill, from their work. It is also a day people are asked to recommit to improving health and safety and preventing tragedies in the workplace.

The compensation package for the dairy industry contains nothing for dairy workers at risk of losing their jobs. Moreover, the government is lacking ambition on issues like pharmacare and retraining...

Christmas is upon us. It’s a favourite time of year for many, filled with celebration and cheer. I would like to salute our members and all transportation workers, many of whom had to work long hours over past few weeks to meet the demands of their employers during this busy season…

In his Labour Day message, Teamsters Canada President Francois Laporte reflects on the importance of unions in times of uncertainty.

Every day we get up and expect to go to work and come home to our families and loved ones. Indeed, coming home safe and sound is both a routine and a right that all workers have. Sadly, we know that things aren’t always so simple.

Teamsters Canada is satisfied with the Trudeau Government’s third budget. The union is pleased that the government is taking small steps toward creating a national pharmacare program. However, the government should increase infrastructure investments in coming budgets, and do more to help Canadians through the coming wave of automation and technological changes.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa and Teamsters Canada President François Laporte, speaking at a North American labour summit sponsored by the AFL-CIO, agreed that workers’ rights must be front-and-center in the minds of those participating in the fourth round of renegotiations of NAFTA.

NAFTA talks start in Washington, D.C. today on an ambitious schedule to come up with a “modernized” agreement by the end of the year. The Teamsters Union will be tracking them closely. As North America’s transportation union, our members on the roads and rails, in warehouses and ports from coast to coast, depend on trade for their livelihoods...

Restoring card check and repealing these union-busting Conservative laws were major Liberal campaign promises. This was the letter François Laporte, the President of Teamsters Canada, sent on Tuesday to Canadian local unions on the issue of Bill C-4.