Improving and protecting the rights and livelihoods of workers is at the heart of what we do at Local 1000A. From the negotiating table to arbitration hearings, your union has worked tirelessly over the past year to ensure your voices and concerns are heard. We have stood side by side with our members—strong and united—as we strived to improve your workplaces and communities. As always, 2015 has been a busy year for your union.
This year, we negotiated 13 agreements covering more than 13,000 members. Our foremost priority at the bargaining table is to achieve the best possible collective agreements for our members and I am pleased to report we achieved gains in every agreement and ensured that there were no concessions. We negotiated agreements in the following units: Loblaws Great Food and Superstore, Sysco Fine Meats, Brandt Meat Packers, Sofina Foods, Cineplex Courtney Park, Unico, Feather Industries, Nitta Gelatin, Maple Leaf Canning, Dessureault’s YIG, Rowland’s YIG, Wilson’s YIG and Real Canadian Superstore in Thunder Bay.
During Loblaws Great Food and Superstore negotiations,strong membership participation and support helped bargaining achieve a fair deal for 12,000 members.In addition to negotiations, we continue to make a difference in the lives of our members through our WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) and Health and Safety department.
In the past year, I am proud to report that we won 60 appeals at the WSIB and Appeals Tribunal and helped put almost $1 million in retroactive and future benefits into our members’ hands.We also filed more than 500 grievances this year to protect our members’ rights under their collective agreement. Of these, two-thirds were resolved, awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars to members while other grievances are in process.
To better serve our members, your union also provided several training and education courses to over 300 stewards to ensure they have the tools and skills to help protect your rights at work. Beyond the workplace, your union continues to make a positive difference in the community by fundraising and donating $40,000 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
We saw strong membership support at several events, including Ride for a Cure, Light the Night Walks in North Bay, Toronto, London and Ottawa, the annual Golf Tournament, community yard sales in North Bay and Toronto and a Charity Dart Tournament and Bake Sale in Smiths Falls. In addition, your union continued our proud tradition of standing up for equality, justice and fairness for all by participating in Equal Pay Day, International Women’s Day, and the Pride Parades in Toronto, Brockville and Ottawa.
We continue to advocate for key issues that affect the lives of our members, including violence against women. I, along with many UFCW Canada Local 1000A activists, were proud to participate in several events this December, including our shoe memorial and white ribbon campaigns. 2016 will also be a busy year but I know, when we work together, we are more than up to the challenge. Several agreements will be up for negotiations, including the current No Frills agreement. Currently, we are well underway in preparing for those negotiations.
To all those whose contracts will be up for negotiations next year, I have a few words for you: participate, participate, participate! By being involved and engaged, you will strengthen your union’s position at the bargaining table and be able to achieve improvements in your working conditions. As we head into the new year, we will do well to remember the words of the late Jack Layton: “My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful, and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.” I want to thank you for being part of the Local 1000A family and wish you and your family a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year.
