A 2% Increase Isn't Just About the Number

Over the past week, we've heard from a number of DynaMig workers, and one message keeps coming through.

Many of you don't feel respected or appreciated after receiving a 2% wage increase effective July 6.

It's not just about the number. It's about what that number says.

When the cost of groceries, housing, gas and everyday essentials continues to rise, a wage increase that doesn't keep pace means your purchasing power continues to shrink. Even when your hourly rate goes up, your paycheque doesn't stretch as far as it did before.

The bigger issue, though, isn't this year's 2%.

It's who decides what your future looks like.

Today, wage increases at DynaMig depend on management's decision. Every year, workers are left wondering whether they'll receive a raise, how much it will be, and whether it will even keep up with the rising cost of living.

A union contract changes that.

Instead of relying on the goodwill of management, workers negotiate their wages and working conditions together. The result is a legally binding collective agreement that sets out wage increases, benefits, premiums and other improvements for years into the future.

You know what's coming because you helped negotiate it.

Just look at your sister plant, F&P.

Workers there recently negotiated a three-year collective agreement that provides:

• 11% wage increase in Year One
  • 3% wage increase in Year Two
  • 2% wage increase in Year Three

That's a 16% negotiated wage increase over three years.

Those increases weren't announced by management. They were negotiated by workers and ratified by the membership.

The agreement also secured important improvements beyond wages, including:

• Enhanced health, dental and vision benefits.
• Faster progression to the top wage rate by reducing the hours required to reach full pay.
• A commitment to convert 170 temporary employees to full-time positions.
• A full-time Plant Chairperson to represent workers.
• New Women's Advocate and Racial Justice Advocate programs to support members in the workplace.

Notice what isn't important in this comparison.

It's not the starting hourly wage.

Every workplace starts from a different place.

What matters is that workers at F&P negotiated improvements from where they already were. That's exactly how collective bargaining works. You don't start over. You build on your existing wages and conditions to achieve something better.

Imagine knowing today what your wage increases will be for the next three years.

Imagine not waiting for management to decide whether you deserve a raise.

Imagine bargaining for better wages, stronger benefits, job security and workplace protections instead of simply hoping they'll be provided.

That's the difference between receiving what the company decides to give you and negotiating what you believe you've earned.

A collective agreement isn't just about today's wage increase. It's about creating a future where workers have certainty, fairness and a real voice in the workplace.

If you'd like to learn more about what collective bargaining could achieve at DynaMig, or if you have questions about the organizing campaign, reach out to us confidentially. We'd be happy to have a conversation.

Your future shouldn't depend on management's discretion. It should be something you have the power to negotiate together.

Membership cards expire as part of the labour board process. When they expire, support on paper drops, even if support in the workplace remains strong. That gap can slow or stop an organizing drive.

Updating your card keeps the drive moving forward. It keeps your voice counted. It keeps momentum on your side.

Update or sign your membership card here:
join.unifor.org/dynamig_membership

In solidarity,
Billy O’Neill
[email protected] |  416-605-1443

Lucy Alessio
[email protected] |  416-998-3189