The Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

for people working for

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

and cable companies. Although the TWU had members from Shaw Cable in the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

area of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, the majority of TWU members were employees of Telus. It was founded on September 1, 1944 and existed until December 31, 2014. In November 2014 the members voted to join the United Steel workers of America (the second vote in a year to be held as the first vote failed). Per the merger agreement the independent status of the Union which had represented Telecommunications Workers in Canada for over 70 years came to an end. The new local is known as "Telecommunications Workers Union,

United Steelworkers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headqua ...

Local 1944" and is a local of the United Steel Workers of America an 860,000 member union.

Telus 2005 labour dispute

The union's labour dispute with Canadian telecommunications firm Telus began after their previous contract negotiated with Telus' predecessor

BCTel British Columbia Telephone Company and later BC Tel was the legal operating name for the telephone company operating throughout the province of British Columbia, Canada. For most of its history, BC Tel served as one of several regional monopolies ...

before the two merged expired at the end of 2000. On April 12, 2005, Telus made its last offer to the TWU, and on July 12, Telus informed the TWU of its intention to bring an end to the dispute by unilaterally implementing its April offer to employees in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and

, effective on July 22. The TWU was locked out on July 21. A tentative agreement was reached on October 10, 2005. On October 30, 2005, union membership voted against ratification, with 50.3% of voting members voting against the contract. A second tentative agreement was reached with a mail-out ballot, and on November 18, 2005, the contract was ratified with 64.1% support, ending the dispute.

Merger with USW

In a referendum vote counted November 7, 2014, the members of the Telecommunications Workers Union voted to join the

(USW). The merger agreement took formal effect on January 1, 2015. About 42% of the total membership of 12,500 voted. The result of those who voted "yes" was 73.8%, which amounted to approximately 30% of the entire membership.

Sources

* {{Authority control Canadian Labour Congress Telecommunications in Canada Trade unions established in 1944 Trade unions disestablished in 2014 Trade unions in British Columbia Burnaby 1944 establishments in British Columbia 2014 disestablishments in British Columbia

Telus 2005 labour dispute

Merger with USW

See also

Sources