/R E P E A T -- New union Unifor leads Labour Day parade, President to address crowd at 8 a.m./

TORONTO, Sept. 1, 2013 /CNW/ - The newest Canadian union, Unifor will be leading the Toronto Labour Day parade tomorrow morning, kicking off at 9:30 a.m. from Nathan Phillips Square.

Thousands of Unifor members from across the Greater Toronto Area and right across the country will gather at Nathan Phillips Square for speeches as of 8 a.m. where participants will hear from the newly-elected national president.

"We're planning on a sea of red to introduce our community to our new union Unifor," said newly elected Unifor National President Jerry Dias.

Labour Day speeches at Nathan Phillips Square will include:

Jerry Dias, newly elected Unifor National President;
Michel Ouimet, Unifor Quebec Director (in French);
John Cartwright, Toronto York Region Labour Council President;
Hassan Yussuff, Canadian Labour Congress Secretary-Treasurer,
Sid Ryan, Ontario Federation of Labour President;
Deena Ladd, Workers' Action Centre Co-ordinator;
Patricia Juan Pineda, Authentic Workers' Front or Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (Mexico)

*There will also be members speaking a variety of languages - French, Arabic, Hindi, Panjabi and Mandarin.

The parade comes on the heels of the Unifor Founding Convention - a gathering of more than 4,000 delegates, observers and guests from right across the country. Unifor was founded on August 31, 2013 with the joining together of the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union (CEP) - bringing together more than 300,000 members.

SOURCE: Unifor the union

For more information, please contact Unifor communications:

Shannon Devine (cell) 416-302-1699; Michelle Walsh (cell) 613-858-9144; Angelo DiCaro (cell) 416-606-6311; @UnifortheUnion @syndicatUnifor