Bulletin
Supporting members through Trump’s tariff threats
February 4, 2025
To MoveUP Members
US president Donald Trump’s threat to enact tariffs on Canadian imports will hurt working people and families on both sides of the border. He knows this, but he doesn’t care.
Most of MoveUP’s 13,000+ members are based in British Columbia, and our economy is fortunate to be the best positioned among all Canadian provinces to withstand the negative impact that the tariffs will have.
British Columbia is also fortunate to have a provincial government that is committed to standing up against Trump’s threats and are putting plans in place to ensure that people and business have relief to withstand the impact of tariffs on BC.
None of the industries our members work in are immune to the effects of the US tariffs. However, we believe our members who work at Tree Island Industries, Kruger Products, Catalyst Paper, Xylem, Schneider Electric, TST-CF Express and Seaspan, including Victoria Shipyards and Vancouver Shipyards, will be among the first to feel the impact. We plan to hold a meeting with our members at these workplaces very shortly to discuss their concerns.
But our members also have families and friends who may work in other provinces or in industries where these tariffs could mean job losses, which means we will all feel the effects when we go out to the grocery store to purchase essential goods.
We will be monitoring the impact of these tariffs very closely, working alongside our national union, COPE SEPB, and our affiliates and partners in the labour movement, and talking to all levels of government to make sure that the harmful impacts of Trump’s tariffs are lessened as much as possible.
As president of our national union, COPE SEPB, I have also signed on to the Pledge for Canada, which as of this writing already has tens of thousands of Canadian signatures including many folks representing labour as well as politicians from across the spectrum. I encourage you to sign on as well at engagement-canada-pledge.ca.
We will continue to keep you updated as the situation progresses, and we have more to share.
Thank you for your ongoing support and solidarity. Thank you for being a proud member of MoveUP. Thank you for being a proud resident or citizen of Canada.
In solidarity,
Annette Toth, President
Brenda Chu, Secretary-Treasurer
Rysa Kronebusch, Vice-President, Utilities
Dimitri Ossinsky, Vice-President, ICBC
Christy Slusarenko, Vice-President, Combined Units
