A few months ago, I received a letter from one of our members in London, Ontario thanking the union for changing her life. Brenda, who works at a No Frills store in London, had just successfully completed her probation and was now working as a grocery clerk. She had made the move from front-end thanks to a new training provision the union negotiated for our members in the last collective agreement. For Brenda, the new job meant more hours, reduced stress, and provided a way out of the financial difficulty she was facing. “I feel very blessed that the union got this done in the contract,” Foster later told us.
Helping make life better for our members, like Brenda, is at the core of what we do at Local 1000A. Every day, your union works to protect your best interests at work and in your communities.
In our magazine, you can read about the difference your union makes, whether it is helping our members cope with the escalating cost of tuition through our scholarship program or negotiating a new contract with fair wages and improved benefits for workers at Best Western Mariposa Inn and Conference. When members are solid with their union, we can create positive change. By coming together, we have created fairer workplaces, won rights and protected your livelihoods.
While I am proud of our achievements, I also firmly believe that there’s always room for improvement. I, along with my fellow officers, are dedicated to meet the challenges that lie ahead, from the growing attacks on workers’ rights to the pressures brought on by non-union grocery retailers, like Walmart and Target.
But we can’t do it alone. We need you beside us. By coming together, it is my firm belief we can continue to build stronger contracts that make life better for you and your family.
With a strong mandate from our members, we will be undertaking efforts to get more members informed about and involved in Local 1000A.
One of the most satisfying things I get to do is speak directly with you and other members on the shop floor about the issues that matter to you, your co-workers and your families. Since becoming president, I have made it a goal to meet as many of our members and visit as many workplaces as I can — given all my other responsibilities of overseeing our local union with over 250 workplaces across Ontario and overseeing the administration of over 50 collective agreements. I thank all those I have met for taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns about your workplace experience with me.
In March, I also had the opportunity to lead our local union’s first telephone town hall with stewards from Loblaws Great Food stores and Real Canadian Superstores. I am pleased to report it was a great success.
It allowed many of our stewards to be take part in a union meeting from the comfort of their home while cooking or having dinner with their families. We will continue to expand our use of teletown halls on pertinent issues to provide the opportunity for our members to engage in this form of participation. For us to succeed with the tele-town halls, we need your phone number — so if you have never received a voicemail message from me, it means we likely don’t have a current phone number for you. I’d hate to miss an opportunity for us to talk so please update us with your contact information so we can update our records.
Finally, I want to thank you for being part of our local union. Many of the rights we have in the workplace were not given to us by our employers but by workers, like yourself, coming together through their union. By coming together, we have made our lives better. Together, we got fair wages. Together, we got decent benefits. Together, we created a better workplace.
It’s hard to imagine that there was a time when women who got married or pregnant were fired — it’s true — and it was with the help of unions standing up for fairness that ensured we all enjoy the right to maternity and paternity leave if we choose to use it. It is also hard to also imagine a time when Canadians who were sick could not afford to see the doctor or get the treatment they needed and it was again, because unions led the push for a more equitable society that we have universal health care in this country today. Same goes for vacations, weekends, the 40-hour work week, increases to minimum wage and pensions — these are all things many Canadians enjoy today because of unions.
Achieving fairness is at the heart of your labour movement, and of your union. It has been our mission since our very beginning and remains at the core of our efforts today. With your support, your labour movement is leading the call for zero tuition fees so young people don’t have to bear the burden of crippling student debt, is advocating for affordable childcare so families don’t have to scrape by and is calling for increases to minimum wages so we can raise the standard up for all Ontarians. Together, we continue to build fairer workplaces so workers like Brenda can have a better life because at the end of the day, creating fairness is what your union is all about.
Pearl Sawyer
President, UFCW Canada Local 1000A
