A month ago, I visited with many of our members at a Toronto Loblaws Great Food store. I had just finished meeting, listening and talking with our members and as I was getting ready to leave, a deli worker reached over, shook my hand and she said: ‘Keep fighting for us.’
It was a simple but powerful moment that spoke to the deep trust and faith our members place in their union and to the tremendous responsibility we all carry in fighting for fairness in our workplaces and communities.
It is a responsibility that I have always carried deep within my heart, from the courtrooms to the negotiating tables where we have strived for fairness and justice for our members.
But I, and your union activists and staff, cannot do it alone. If you want fairer contracts and if you want to improve your livelihood, you need to participate in your union. It’s as simple as that. Fairer contracts happen when members come together, stand together and fight for their future together.
We are all busy — I get that. A lot of our members are working second or third jobs. Others are making their way through school. Many are also juggling family responsibilities, whether it is taking care of children or elderly parents.
To make it easier for our members to connect with and participate in their union, I am thrilled to announce your union will be holding our first-ever membership-wide telephone town hall on November 12. This new initiative will be among the many tools your union will be utilizing to communicate with our members. On the telephone town hall, you will be able to share your ideas, provide feedback and ask questions from a location of your choice at your own convenience.
Be sure to update your contact info so we will be able to connect with you. Your input will ensure your information is accurate and current within our system.
You may think: why should I bother participating? What difference can I make? What does it matter if I listen or not? Sisters and brothers, it is a question of your future. Your livelihood. Your wages and benefits.
I want you to think of a tug-of-war. At negotiations time, we are all on one side and the company is on the other side. One person on our side decides he or she is not interested and decides to do something else. Soon, another two also leave, thinking they are too tired and busy and will come back later. And don’t forget the other five who might not even know negotiations are going on. Quickly, our side finds ourselves down in strength while the other side is suddenly at an advantage. The point of this story is that we are a team, and if we are to succeed, we need all of our members on board, taking action to make fairness happen.
Your participation can begin with something as simple as listening or asking a question on a telephone town hall. Or it could be simply following your union on Facebook or regularly visiting your union website. Imagine what a difference we can make in our contracts if each and every one of us were informed, engaged and involved in our union!
In the words of the famous author J.K. Rowling: ‘We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.’ Sisters and Brothers, let us be united, let us be strong and let us achieve a fairer future for all.
Pearl Sawyer
President, UFCW Canada Local 1000A
