DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, Oct. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Over 130 workers at the Bridge by Adsum, the largest housing shelter in Atlantic Canada, have won their first Union contract. The Bridge workers will now have some of the highest wages in the sector across all the Atlantic provinces, an overnight shift premium of $1.50 per hour, retro pay to their Union certification, additional paid sicks days, a pension plan starting January 2027, and more. A tentative agreement was reached on October 10, after months of negotiations which followed months of delays by the employer. The workers ratified the contact on Monday October 20.

"Ratifying this first contract means I can finally earn a wage I can live on and take the time I need when I or my kids get sick," said Terri Ayles, a full-time Client Support Worker at the Bridge. She has two kids and works three jobs to make ends meet. "It's about having the security to care for my family and not having to choose between a paycheck and our health."

"I have been through inferiority and discrimination after coming to Canada as an immigrant and a person of color," said Veronica Warris, a full-time overnight Client Support Worker at the shelter. Warris was member of the Union's bargaining committee. "Not only was I treated as an equal in the union, but my concerns were heard, valued, and even implemented in ...