CBC News -Unifor has selected Resolute Forest Products as the target company in a new round of “pattern bargaining,” which the union hopes will set a precedent for all of eastern Canada’s forestry industry, a Unifor spokesperson told the CBC.

Pattern bargaining involves the union working out a deal on major, industry-wide issues such as wages, benefits and pension plans with a specific employer, and then the pattern is used as the union negotiates with other employers in the sector.

“It’s not uncommon,” said Scott Doherty, executive assistant to Unifor national president Jerry Dias. “It’s happened in eastern Canada for many, many years.”

“The advantage is it’s time-saving for the employers, it’s also time-saving for us,” he said. “It ensures everybody is on the same, level playing field. Whether or not your wages are exactly the same today, you’re going to get the pattern agreement that everybody’s wages are going to go up on the same level.”

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