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Unifor selects Resolute for pattern agreement in Eastern Canada

Unifor recently announced that it has selected Resolute Forest Products as the target company for the pattern agreement in the pulp and paper industry in Eastern Canada. Around 200 Unifor delegates began bargaining preparations in late March to this end.

Members at the Pulp and Paper Wage Policy Conference, held in Montreal on March 23 and 24, 2022, worked together to build a list of demands and choose the target employer.

“The mandate given to us by the delegates could not be clearer: salary catch-up and salary increases will be our priorities. The forestry industry, like many others, must use all the necessary means to counter the labour shortage we are facing,” said Renaud Gagne, Unifor Quebec director.

During the pattern bargaining, the union will work with the target employer Resolute Forestry Products to negotiate collective agreement language, such as provisions for workplace Racial Justice Advocates and Women’s Advocates, and monetary issues such as wages, benefits and pension plans.

When the agreement is finalised, Unifor will served as a template for negotiations with all the other industry employers, including paper mills, sawmills and forestry operations.

Unifor states that around 15,000 members will be impacted by the eastern pattern agreement.

“We had a very good meeting and we had a great turnout from our delegates. I am very proud of the work we accomplished during the conference,” said Joel Vigeant, Unifor Quebec national representative and forestry coordinator.

In the coming days, Unifor will contact Resolute to discuss the negotiating process and establish a bargaining schedule.