Two of Canada's biggest unions about to take the next step toward a possible merger.
The CAW and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP) are set to release a final merger proposal Wednesday. It will be the blueprint that could form the foundation of the largest industrial union ever in Canada.
A media conference in downtown Toronto is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The conference will focus on the main proposals, including allocating new resources to major country-wide organizing, determining the name of the possible new union as well as new forms of union membership.
The final report to form a new union will be presented to members of both unions at their respective conventions later this year. The CAW convention is later this month. The CEP meets in October.
Formal discussions on a possible merger started more than eight months ago.
CAW Local 444 president Dino Chiodo of Windsor, where the CAW represents thousands of auto workers, parts suppliers and casino workers, supports a merger. He said joining together makes the union movement stronger.
He said a merger would make it more efficient in representing the needs of the workforce.
"We could be more comprehensive on sharing materials and using materials rather than reinventing the wheel on everything we do," Chiodo said.
If CAW members approve the merger at their convention in Toronto on Aug. 20 and CEP delegates do the same at their convention in October, a union representing 325,000 workers will be created.