Claude Généreux was in Quebec City on Thursday morning to offer support to workers, locked out of their jobs at Le Journal de Québec by corporate owners Sun Media/Quebecor. Our national secretary-treasurer also took the opportunity to speak with journalists about the recent Supreme Court Decision that recognizes the bargaining rights of workers.
“A new page has been written in Canadian Labour history,” he said. “This decision affects not only the private sector but the public sector as well.”
50,000 copies of MédiaMatin, the free newspaper being distributed Monday to Friday throughout Quebec City, are being delivered every week.“This is a tremendous and positive way for our members to be fighting against the injustice of Mr. Péladeau’s union-weakening strategy,” he said from the early morning delivery route on Thursday.
Members from across Canada have been showing their solidarity with the locked-out workers with cards and letters and donations. During the British Columbia and Ontario Division Conventions, hundreds of delegates signed cards of support to show the 200 workers that CUPE`s full membership is behind every single worker looking to advance the cause of all unionzed workers.
“Like the Supreme Court Decision,” Généreux concluded “This struggle in Quebec City could have a long lasting effect on many workers in Canada. What is at stake here is the very ability of journalists in Canada to continue negotiating fair collective agreements.”