This campaign, symbolized by the National Unemployment Clock, is a national awareness campaign supported by the Telecommunications Workers Union.
The National Unemployment Clock, which offers a real-time count of job loss in Canada, is mounted on a truck and will wind its way from Ottawa — where it began its journey on Parliament Hill on May 6 — through Canada, ending up in Vancouver. The truck will stop in cities and towns along the way where street teams will distribute information brochures, buttons and bumper stickers, and ask citizens to sign a petition, which will be forwarded to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of Labour Rona Ambrose.
This campaign was developed to raise awareness across Canada about the dangers of allowing large international corporations — such as TELUS — to continue to offshore Canadian jobs. This practice is a strong contributor to the unemployment crisis this country is facing. This is Canada’s first National Unemployment Clock.
By raising this issue and bringing Canadians together through this campaign, we hope to send a message to the Canadian Government that will move them to focus on one aspect that is a strong contributor to unemployment: the offshoring of Canadian jobs.
We hope that Canadians will get involved and add their support and their voice. This website features an online petition, ways to get involved, contact information for local Members of Parliament, statistics and facts on unemployment in Canada, the ongoing issue of allowing large corporations to offshore jobs, the campaign travel schedule, as well as an interactive map following the road show — using GPS technology.
The TWU is the Telecommunications Workers Union. Representing 14,493 employees nationally, the TWU has a long and proud history of representing communications workers and workers in related fields. We strive to negotiate collective agreements that promote fair wages as well as just and equitable treatment for all. At the TWU, we believe that member participation and input is essential to the successful operation of the organization.
The TWU has more than 65 years of experience in dealing with employers and providing services to its members, protecting and improving their wages, benefits and working conditions. We invite member participation at every level of our organization through a democratic process that encourages two-way communication between members and elected officers. The TWU has built a reputation for guarding the principles which maintain the integrity of the labour movement and which encourage commitment and activism. Please visit our website at www.twu-stt.ca.
This campaign addresses the issue of the long-term sustainability of offshoring and the effect it is having on our economy — locally and nationally. This is a national awareness campaign, and the National Unemployment Clock is our symbol. It is meant to bring further awareness to the unemployment crisis we are facing in this country. A crisis that is being contributed to by large companies such as TELUS because they continue to take jobs out of Canada and place them overseas. This is not an issue that solely affects the telecommunications industry, but hundreds of industries such as forestry, oil, manufacturing, retail, etc.
We understand that a company needs to be profitable; we want companies like TELUS to be profitable. A large percentage of our membership is made up of TELUS workers. There needs to be a balance. We are hearing more and more about corporate social responsibility and that’s an important component of business. People want to do business — to buy from, to work for and to engage with organizations that care about their communities. We understand that they have to care about profitability too; we just want to see a balance. Both Primus and Bell have brought jobs back to Canada from offshoring; they are contributing to their communities and are still making profits.
Our focus is on raising awareness of the importance of keeping jobs in Canada. Organizations that do business in Canada need to have some accountability and responsibility to their community. We want companies like TELUS to stop taking jobs out of Canada. They call themselves a Canadian company; we believe that should mean something.