Media union breaks silence on election

Don't vote for Hudak and his PCs, Unifor Local 87-M tells members

TORONTO, June 9, 2014 /CNW/ - The union representing journalists and other media workers across Ontario is asking its 2,600 members not to vote for Tim Hudak and his Progressive Conservative Party in Thursday's provincial election.

In an unprecedented move, Unifor Local 87-M, historically known as the Southern Ontario Newsmedia Guild, has broken its traditional silence during elections by asking members not to vote Progressive Conservative.

To view the video, go to http://youtu.be/7YFmadIO7MM.

"This is a big deal for us," said Paul Morse, president of Unifor Local 87-M. "As a media local representing a large number of journalists, we have strict policies against endorsing candidates or contributing financially to election campaigns."

"But the threat of Hudak and his circle of Tea Party groupies is too great for us to remain silent. We're not telling our members who to vote for. We're asking them to vote for someone other than Hudak and his party."

Local 87-M sent a video message to its members today highlighting Hudak's anti-labour agenda. Narrated by Toronto Sun union chair and journalist Jim Slotek, it explains how a Hudak government poses a real and present danger to media workers' workplace security and economic livelihood by threatening to gut labour legislation. A Hudak government would spark a race to the bottom similar to what's happening in U.S. Right-to-Work states such as Alabama and Tennessee.

Unifor Local 87-M represents media workers at 35 workplaces, including the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Hamilton Spectator, Ottawa Sun, Ottawa Citizen, Waterloo Region Record, Guelph Mercury, Metroland papers, Belleville Intelligencer, Brantford Expositor, Chatham Daily News, Fairway Group, Glengarry News, Hamilton Community News, Korea Times, London Free Press, Macleans Magazine, Metro, Ming Pao, Niagara Falls Review, NOW Magazine, Owen Sound Sun Times, Pembroke Observer, Sarnia Observer, Simcoe Reformer, Sing Tao, St. Catharines Standard, Stratford Beacon Herald and Winchester Press.

Unifor is Canada's largest private-sector union with more than 300,000 members in every major sector of the economy.

SOURCE: Unifor

Paul Morse, 905-536-5650.