Kathleen Baranik’s story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. The Local 1000A member is quiet and soft-spoken and someone who has lived through more challenges than most people face in a lifetime.
Her life changed in October 1999 when a car accident left her with a broken pelvis and collarbone. Forced to take time off her job at Loblaws, Kathleen was recovering when her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The following summer, her daughter drowned and in the fall, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. A few years later, her husband died, leaving Kathleen a single mother of three children. “There were days I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I had to,” said Kathleen, a part-time cashier at Loblaws Glen Erin. “If you want to teach your kids resilience you have to show it.”
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“I never prayed to be a wealthy woman,
I prayed to be a strong woman."
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Step by step, she worked to survive, putting herself through physiotherapy and her family through counseling. Diagnosed with a stutter when she was six, Kathleen also enrolled herself in speech therapy. Today, she is working on completing her education so she can one day help counsel those suffering from the loss of loved ones. “It is not what happens to you but how you let it affect you,” she said.
She also continues to be the kind of woman who inspires much affection from her co-workers and Loblaws customers, giving stickers to children and making chocolates for her fellow members. “If you need anything, she will go out of her way to do anything for you,” said April Inata, who works with Kathleen and is a cashier (customer service) at Loblaws Glen Erin. She nominated Kathleen for the Pearl Award.
Established in 2005, the “Pearl Award” is annually presented to female members for assisting with initiatives for women, the labour movement and their community. It is named after Local 1000A President Pearl Sawyer. With the exception of the nominators or nominees, WIN Executive members select the recipient based on completed applications.
“I never prayed to be a wealthy woman, I prayed to be a strong woman,” Kathleen said. As she speaks about the WIN Award, Kathleen is almost in tears. “It’s such an honour to be recognized,” she said.
