Join Labour Council
Who We Are: The Local Voice of Labour
When unions unite, we win. The Durham Region Labour Council has been bringing local unions together since 1947 to fight for fair wages, safe workplaces, strong communities, and a just future for everyone. By affiliating, your union gains strength, solidarity, and a voice that shapes decisions at every level — workplace, community, and government.
Durham Region Labour Council advocates for social and economic fairness in our communities, Provincially and across Canada by working with local unions and allied organizations to build healthy and sustainable communities. Labour Council members reflect the wide spectrum of workers across Durham Region.
From public and private sector workers, to those in the clerical, service, and industrial industries, Durham Region Labour Council provides a place for workers from diverse backgrounds to come together and organize. Directly chartered by the Canadian Labour Council, alongside a strong partnership with the Ontario Federation of Labour, Durham Region Labour Council has a long and proud history of fighting for the rights of all working people and plays a pivotal role in representing working people in every province. By affiliating, your union gains strength, solidarity, and a voice that shapes decisions at every level — workplace, community, and government.
Why Affiliate with the Durham Region Labour Council?
Just as workers form unions to win better wages and fair conditions, local unions come together through the Labour Council to build worker power across our communities. Affiliation means your union’s voice is amplified, your connections with other unions are strengthened, and you are part of advancing progressive change in workplaces, neighbourhoods, and schools. By joining, your local becomes part of a broader movement that defends workers’ rights, strengthens communities, and ensures working people have a seat at the table when decisions are made.
When your union affiliates with the Durham Region Labour Council, you:
- Amplify your union’s voice in the community and beyond
- Build solidarity across sectors
- Drive progressive change in workplaces, cities, and schools
Affiliation connects your local to a broader movement that defends workers’ rights, strengthens communities, and ensures working people have a say in decisions that affect their lives.
What We Do – Together
The Durham Region Labour Council stands shoulder to shoulder with workers during strikes, lockouts, and job actions, providing real, on-the-ground support when it’s needed most. We build strong relationships with local allies to push back against privatization, austerity, and anti-worker legislation, ensuring that working people have the power to defend and advance their rights.
We also play a key role in shaping the political and social landscape of our communities. This includes endorsing and campaigning for progressive candidates in school board and municipal elections, mobilizing for climate justice, racial justice, and economic fairness, and advancing the priorities of the Ontario Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress at the local level. Through training and mentorship, we help develop the next generation of union leaders, ensuring the movement remains strong and effective for years to come.
We have the power to work with communities to stand up and fight back and over the decades we have fought for and won:
- Minimum wage increases
- Public healthcare and education
- Union rights and protections
- Equity and anti-racism initiatives
- Childcare and community services
This legacy of action continues today as we work to protect and expand the rights and freedoms of all workers.
Let’s Build Power — Together
the Durham Region Labour Council has always been guided by the belief:
“What we wish for ourselves, we wish for all.”
The Durham Region Labour Council is your Labour Council. Through our affiliation with the Canadian Labour Congress, we represent the voice of over 3.5 million workers across Canada.
By affiliating, your local union strengthens a powerful movement for justice, equity, and dignity for all workers. To find out more contact us: