Unifor Media's Statement on Jerry Dias: As you may know from recent events, Jerry Dias has retired following medical leave from his position as National President and subsequently serious allegations stemming from an investigation have come to light. https://www.unifor.org/news/all-news/jerry-dias-charged-breach-unifor-constitution The National Executive Board will hold a hearing on the matter in the coming weeks, as per our constitution, and you will be updated further at that time. As well, the National Executive Board will be taking steps to ensure that this never happens again to our organization. Our national union, Unifor, is made up of more than 200 staff in many departments and sectors including Service, Health & Safety, Human Rights, Women, Legal, Education, and the Media Sector is just one more where our work continues. The many projects we are working on depend on the tireless work of so many including Jennifer Moreau (Media Council Chair), Katha Fortier (Assistant to the President), Stuart Laidlaw (Communications) and Marc Hollin (Research) to name a few. No one person will define our union as long as the team we have in place continues the tireless work ahead. So continue reading and engaging to ensure that the Unifor Media Sector continues to be a force to be reckoned with. Randy Kitt Unifor Media Director Online Hate and Harassment web launch: Unifor media is about to launch a website to support journalists and media workers when they have been harassed or abused. The first stage is a soft launch, so check it out and let us know what you think. https://www.uniformedia.ca/helpishere We are working on a French version of the website and its currently under construction. We are also close to releasing our survey results on harassment, we're working on common collective bargaining language, a Unifor discussion paper, workshops and guest speakers for our upcoming Media Council Conference. Stay tuned! Media Conference Save the Date: Your 2022 Unifor Media Conference will take place from Wednesday October 26th to 30th, with caucus dates starting on Wednesday October 26th, all happening in the beautiful and charming town of Port Elgin on the shores of Lake Huron.
Media Lobby We're waiting for the Liberal government to introduce a platform bill to ensure that Google and Facebook pay for news. This should be announced shortly. Bill C-11, the act to modernize the Broadcasting Act, is moving to committee, where we're looking to participate. Please visit our Media Action Plan website to send a message to the MPs on the Heritage Committee.
Website Don’t forget to regularly check out our Media Council website. Howard Law's Blog - Mediapolicy.ca: Please visit and sign up Howard Law's blog on MediaPolicy.ca, written by our former Media Director Howard Law, which is also distributed on Twitter, Facebook and by e-mail. Reading and sharing the MediaPolicy.ca blog educates our members on the important issues that we lobby for. Also, please 'like' and 'share' on social media. International Federation of Journalists - IFJ Update: Check out the latest on the crisis in Ukraine and what you can do to help. In Solidarity, Randy Kitt Unifor Media Director
Jennifer Moreau
Media Council Chair