Press Releases
Join the AWA Simcoe 10th Anniversary celebration, September 20
Simcoe, Ontario - September 14, 2013 - Join the celebration this coming Friday, September 20, from 5 - 8 p.m., to mark the tenth anniversary of the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) support centre in Simcoe, Ontario.
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Leading unions in Canada and Mexico renew commitment, combined efforts in advancing migrant worker rights
Ciudad Victoria, Mexico – August 30, 2013 – Leaders from Canada and Mexico’s leading labour unions – UFCW Canada and the National Farm workers Confederation (CNC) – have renewed their joint commitment to advancing the rights and working conditions of migrant workers.
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Virgil AWA and community "Welcome Back" Caribbean workers
Ciudad VVirgil, Ontario – June 16, 2013 – For the second year in a row, migrant agriculture workers, members of Toronto's Jane-Finch community, AWA staff, and SAME activists (Students Against Migrant Exploitation) gathered at the Agriculture Workers Alliance Centre in Virgil, Ontario to celebrate at the Caribbean Workers Welcome Back BBQ.
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AWA wins 2013 CoDevelopment Canada "Solidarity Award"
Vancouver – July 10, 2013 – The Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) was recently recognized for its longstanding advocacy of migrant farm workers' labour rights at a fundraising dinner hosted by CoDevelopment Canada (CoDev), a British Columbia-based non-profit organization that works for social change and global education in the Americas.
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Canada’s leading voice for migrant farm workers “commends” Manitoba government for extending healthcare coverage
Winnipeg – May 16, 2013 – Canada’s leading voice for agriculture workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Canada), is applauding the Manitoba government in response to its decision to extend public health care coverage to migrant farm workers: the people who make the country’s food supply and production system possible.
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Kenney and Finley’s announcement “Completely Misses the Mark" says Canada’s leading voice for temporary foreign workers
Ottawa – April 29, 2013 – The union that represents thousands of temporary foreign workers is frustrated – but not surprised – at the glaring lack of substance in the federal government’s announcement today about “fixing” the shameful state of Canada’s temporary labour and immigration system.
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UFCW Canada and Mexico's CNC sign historic agreement
Cuernavaca, Mexico – April 11, 2013 – The National Farm Workers' Confederation (CNC) and UFCW Canada have signed an historic agreement to ensure that the rights of migrant agriculture workers are protected and defended in Mexico, Canada and the United States. The Mexican Secretary of Labour and Social Welfare, Alfonso Navarrete Prida, and Graco Ramirez, the governor of Morelos, attended the event and were honorary witnesses to the agreement.
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UFCW Canada, the Mexican state of Guerrero and the municipal government of Chilapa de Alvarez sign cooperation agreement
Mexico City - March 21, 2013 – UFCW Canada has signed a new agreement with the Mexican State of Guerrero's Secretariat of International and Migrant Affairs (SEMAI), and the municipal government of Chilapa de Alvarez to create the first-ever migrant census of the region. Together, the organizations will work to create a comprehensive overview regarding temporary agricultural workers who migrate within the northern states of Mexico, the United States and Canada.
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B.C. Labour Board denies attempt to suppress Blacklisting evidence
Vancouver – March 16, 2013 – The British Columbia (B.C.) Labour Board has denied an attempt by the Mexican government to suppress documentary evidence – including the testimony of former consular officials – that supports allegations the Mexican government was involved in blacklisting union supporters from returning to Canada as part of the migrant worker
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UFCW and Amnesty demand investigation into death of activist Carlos Hernández
Guatemala City, Guatemala – March 15, 2013 – UFCW Canada has joined Amnesty International and a growing number of civil society and social justice organizations around the globe in calling for an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of union activist Carlos Hernández.
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UFCW Canada victory for Quebec agriculture workers
March 12, 2013 - The Superior Court of Quebec has upheld a UFCW Canada challenge of a section of the Quebec Labour Code that had blocked many seasonal agriculture workers in Quebec from unionizing. The victory comes in the wake of a four-year battle at the Quebec Labour Commission and in the courts, to uphold a UFCW Canada Local 501 certification application made on behalf of migrant workers at the L’Écuyer/Locas farm in Quebec.
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UFCW makes its voice heard in roundtable on Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Ottawa – March 6, 2013 – UFCW Canada recently participated in an "invitation-only" roundtable regarding the federal government's Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The meeting was held in Ottawa and was chaired by Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, and Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.
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Juan Ariza, Hampstead Survivor, should have the Right to Stay in Canada
Toronto – January 31, 2013 – On February 6, 2012, a horrific collision near Hampstead, Ontario killed eleven men, and left three others critically injured. Juan Ariza, 35, was one of those survivors. The Peruvian native had only been in Canada three days when the Hampstead tragedy changed his life forever. He had been recruited to Canada as a migrant agriculture worker. Ever since the tragic collision, Juan has been recuperating in a nursing home in London, Ontario.
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Stop the Great Tory Ripoff of Migrant Workers
Once again, the Stephen Harper government has viciously attacked migrant and temporary workers in Canada.
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Toronto’s Inti Raymi a Great Achievement for the San Lorenzo and Migrant Worker Communities
UFCW Canada was delighted to take part in Toronto’s recent Inti Raymi festival where thousands of individuals from the San Lorenzo Latin American community attended the lively event this past weekend. The occasion celebrated Toronto’s Latin culture and featured international foods, local artists and live music. This year’s celebration was especially significant for migrant worker communities.
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UFCW Canada Migrant Workers Scholarships recipients announced
“Education Has No Borders” is the spirit of commitment which led to the creation of the UFCW Canada Migrant Workers Scholarships. In a span of two years, over 9,000 scholarship applications from around the globe have been received.
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Migrant Workers Family Support Fund Delivers Cheque to Hampstead Tragedy Widow
The widow of one of the victims of the horrific collision near Hampstead, Ontario has become the fourth recipient of a disbursement from the Migrant Workers Family Support Fund set up by UFCW Canada and the AWA to support and assist the families of the workers killed or injured in a two-vehicle crash on February 6.
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Very first AWA centre celebrates 10th Anniversary in Leamington
Leamington, ON - May 27, 2012 - More than 400 migrant and domestic agriculture workers gathered to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) Support Centre in Leamington. Over the past decade, the Leamington AWA centre has become an invaluable resource and friend to the thousands of agriculture workers who work each season in the Leamington, Essex County, and Chatham-Kent areas.
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UFCW Canada Migrant Workers Family Support Fund Delivers First Cheques to Hampstead Tragedy Survivors
London, ON - May 9, 2012 - Two survivors of a horrific collision near Hampstead, Ontario that killed or injured 14 people have become the first recipients from a nation-wide fund set up by UFCW Canada and the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) to support and assist the families of the workers killed or injured in the two-vehicle crash in February.
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New book examines human rights struggle of Ontario agriculture workers
On April 12, UFCW Canada activists attended the Toronto book launch of Constitutional Labour Rights in Canada: Farm Workers and the Fraser Case, edited by lawyer Fay Faraday and professors Eric Tucker and Judy Fudge. The book is a collection of essays that chronicle the two stories underlying the Supreme Court's historic Attorney General of Ontario vs. Fraser decision: UFCW Canada's decades-long campaign to secure equal labour rights for agriculture workers in Ontario; and the court's cynical ruling on the Charter's guarantee of Freedom of Association when it comes to collective bargaining.
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ILO rules "good faith" not good enough to guarantee labour rights of Ontario agriculture workers
International Labour Organization which sets international labour standards concurs with UFCW Canada human rights complaint and calls on Ontario government to amend cynical farm worker legislation March 28, 2012 - The International Labour Organization (ILO) has concurred with UFCW Canada that current Ontario legislation needs to be amended so that Ontario agriculture workers can exercise their Charter rights in the workplace. On Wednesday, the agency of the United Nations which sets international labour standards concluded that Ontario's Agricultural Employees Protection Act (AEPA) "is insufficient to ensure the collective bargaining rights of agricultural workers under the principles of freedom of association."
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B.C. Supreme Court asked to muzzle BC Labour Board regarding Mexico blacklisting evidence
VANCOUVER- March 26, 2012 - The Supreme Court of British Columbia begins deliberations on Wednesday whether to prevent the B.C. Labour Relations Board (LRB) from ruling that Mexico prevented union supporters from returning to Canada under the federal government's Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). At a LRB hearing, which concluded on March 21, three former employees of the Mexico consulate in Vancouver gave testimony that indicated blacklisting and union busting activities by the consulate and Mexico government.
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B.C. court rules temporary foreign workers can sue Denny's
The Supreme Court of British Columbia has given more than 70 Temporary Foreign Workers the go-ahead to proceed with their class-action suit against the company that operates Denny’s restaurants in British Columbia. The workers, who were or continue to be employed at Denny's locations in B.C., are suing for $10 million in damages. The workers allege Denny's failed to provide the amount of work, overtime, and reimbursement of expenses the workers were promised when they were recruited before they left the Philippines for Canada.
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BC hearings start into Blacklisting of Mexican migrant workers
Vancouver, BC - February 21, 2012 - Hearings into charges of unfair labour practices, including the blacklisting of Mexican migrant workers through the collusion of the Mexican Consulate in Vancouver, began Monday at the BC Labour Relations Board (BCLRB). The charges were filed by UFCW Canada Local 1518 — the union the workers joined.
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NUPGE solidarity adds to Migrant Workers Family Support Fund
On February 17, James Clancy, the national president of NUPGE presented a donation of $5,000 for the Fund, which was set up by UFCW Canada and the Agriculture Workers Association to assist the families of the workers killed or injured in a tragic two-car collision on February 6 near Hampstead, Ontario.
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Donations flood in for families of the victims of Hampstead tragedy
February 15, 2012 - More than $50,000 has been raised to date though a special fund to assist the families of the workers killed or injured in a horrific two-vehicle crash on February 6 near Hampstead, Ontario.
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Quebec Human Rights Commission report finds that Temporary Foreign Worker programs compromise migrant workers' rights
The Commission des Droits de la Personne et Droits de la Jeunesse (Quebec Commission for Human Rights and Youth Rights) is asking the Quebec government to put an end to systemic discrimination against migrant workers. In its report, released on February 20, the CDPDJ points out that migrant workers coming to Quebec under temporary work permits are victims of systematic discrimination based on their ethnic or national origin, race, social condition, language, and in the case of live-in caregivers, their gender. The report focuses on low skilled workers and delivers a scathing critique of the Live-In Caregivers Program, the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program and the Low Skill Pilot Project. The vulnerability of the workers, says the report, “is induced by a system that facilitates the violation of the fundamental rights and liberties of migrant workers.” According to the CDPDJ, this vulnerability exerts a downward pressure on the working conditions of all employees in the sectors where migrant workers are employed.
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BC hearings start into Blacklisting of Mexican migrant workers
Vancouver, BC - February 21, 2012 - Hearings into charges of unfair labour practices, including the blacklisting of Mexican migrant workers through the collusion of the Mexican Consulate in Vancouver, began Monday at the BC Labour Relations Board (BCLRB). The charges were filed by UFCW Canada Local 1518 — the union the workers joined.
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President Felipe Calderón receives more than 5,000 protest emails to Stop the Blacklisting
TORONTO, ON – February 16, 2012 – More than 5,000 emails in one day alone have been sent to President Felipe Calderón of Mexico telling him to stop the blacklisting of Mexican migrant who exercised their fundamental human and labour rights while working Canada.
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UFCW Canada calls for Coroner's Inquest into Hampstead tragedy
TORONTO - February 10, 2012 - UFCW Canada, the leading advocate for agriculture workers in Canada, has called for a coroner's inquest into the horrific February 6, two-vehicle collision near Hampstead, Ontario that killed 10 migrant agriculture workers riding in a van, as well as the driver of the other vehicle.
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In wake of Hampstead tragedy UFCW Canada and AWA set up Migrant Workers Family Support Fund
The tragic collision took place near Hampstead, Ontario, when a flatbed truck collided with a passenger van carrying thirteen agriculture workers working in the poultry industry. Police at the scene reported that the victims in the passenger van were migrant workers. The driver of the flatbed truck was also killed in the collision. UFCW Canada and the AWA have called for a comprehensive investigation of the accident, as well as better enforcement of safety regulations regarding farm worker transport.
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Condolences and a call for increased diligence in wake of horrific Ontario accident
TORONTO, ON — February 6, 2012- The union that has led a two-decade campaign for increased workplace and safety rights for Ontario farm workers has offered its condolences and renewed its call for increased diligence in the wake of a horrific two-vehicle collision Monday that reportedly killed 10 agriculture workers riding in a van, as well as the driver of another vehicle.
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Mexico escapes B.C. Labour Board hearings over blacklisting charges
But Mexican Consulate’s collusion with farm employers in ‘blacklisting’ migrant workers still to be subject of upcoming hearings
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Fourth blacklist protest breaks out at Vancouver Mexico consulate
VANCOUVER, BC - January 30, 2012 - A protest at the Mexican Consulate in Vancouver got personal as dozens of community and labour activists gathered to show their support for Victor Robles in the wake of his alleged blacklisting by Mexico and its consular staff in Vancouver.
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UFCW Canada and the Mexican state of Guerrero sign cooperation agreement on migrant workers' rights
Migrant workers from the Mexican State of Guerrero will benefit from a broader network of protection and assistance when arriving to Canada thanks to a new agreement between UFCW Canada and the government of Guerrero.
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Oaxaca’s government and UFCW Canada sign agreement to protect Mexican migrant workers in Canada
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico - January 16, 2012 — Migrant workers from the Mexican state of Oaxaca traveling to Canada will receive better protection this 2012 season after the signing of an agreement between the Instituto Oaxaqueno de Atencion a Migrantes (IOAM) and UFCW Canada.
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Two migrant agriculture workers die but farm operators go free in Ontario case
A Walkerton, Ontario trial, scheduled to last for three days has been set aside by a plea bargain, in a case involving the deaths of two Jamaican migrant workers who died after exposure to toxic fumes while working at an Ayton, Ontario farm.
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Mexican migrant workers file Charter lawsuit against Canada's federal government/b>
TORONTO, ONTARIO - Three Mexican migrant agriculture workers have filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government and an Ontario agriculture operator for breach of contract and damages, after the workers were repatriated without a hearing or any explanation of why they were terminated. It is the first suit of its kind ever brought by migrant workers invoking their rights under Canada's Charter.
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12th César E. Chávez Annual Black Eagle Awards
More than 300 activists, allies, and UFCW Canada and AWA staff and officers recently gathered in Toronto for the 12th Annual César E. Chávez Black Eagle Awards. The Awards honour long time activists who have carried on the legacy of César Chávez by advancing the cause of justice for agriculture workers.
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Ontario NDP pledges to restore Ontario farm worker rights
The Ontario NDP has pledged to restore the rights of Ontario farm workers that were stripped away by the Harris Conservative government in 1995, if Andrea Horwath and her party form the next Ontario government. On September 25, the Ontario NDP leader signed a pledge to restore the collective bargaining and unionization rights of agriculture workers in Ontario: rights they last had under a previous Ontario NDP government.
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Team Virgil wins first-ever Liberation Cup
After weeks in the making, the first-ever Liberation Cup Soccer Tournament recently took place in Virgil, Ontario. Four teams in total participated, and three of the teams were comprised of migrant workers. The fourth team travelled from Toronto representing the San Lorenzo Community Center.
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Agriculture Workers Alliance now 10,000 members strong – and growing
The Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) celebrated a major milestone at this year’s Labour Day Parade in Toronto. After four years of community outreach and non-stop organizing, the AWA recently surpassed the 10,000 member mark – confirming its role as the largest and most dynamic farm worker organization in.
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New no-cost life insurance benefit for AWA members
In addition to the many benefits of Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) membership, AWA members are now also automatically covered, at no cost, by a new life insurance plan. As of September 6, 2011, a $2,500 benefit will be paid to the family of an AWA member who dies while contracted to work in Canada.
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UFCW Canada campaign for Mexican farm workers supported by the CNC
Mexico’s largest farm workers union denounces the violation of migrant workers’ labour rights. Gerardo Sanchez, leader of the Conferederación Nacional Campesina (CNC, Mexico’s largest farm workers union) has presented a motion in the Senate demanding the Minister of Labour to inform the Congress about allegations of anti-union activities against migrant farm workers coming to Canada through the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program. Mexican media are reacting favorably to the CNC’s press release, which started circulating yesterday.
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Migrant workers and UFCW Canada mourn the passing of spiritual leader and social justice advocate
Migrant farm workers and community members in Bradford, Ontario are mourning the sudden loss of their beloved spiritual guide, Father Jose Maria Naranjo Silva. He was 42-years-old. After a brave months-long battle against cancer, Father Jose finally succumbed on July 31, surrounded by his brother Father Ismael, Father Rony Grayda and other close friends.
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Migrant workers applaud Grapes of Wrath
Recently, fact met fiction when two dozen migrant farm workers in southern Ontario attended a theatre performance of The Grapes of Wrath at the Stratford Festival.
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UFCW Canada migrant worker initiative Education Has No Borders honoured
The UFCW Canada Human Rights department’s Education Has No Borders international campaign is this year’s winner of the prestigious Breaking Barriers Award from the Canadian Association of Labour Media (CALM).
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Migrant workers rally for human rights on Father’s Day
Migrant workers from Mexico and the Caribbean gathered in B.C. and Ontario on June 19 to rally for human rights and to “celebrate” another Father’s Day apart from their families.
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The S.A.M.E launches new summer campaign for migrant worker justice
The Students Against Migrant Exploitation “S.A.M.E” recently embarked on their “Summer of S.A.M.E” which has seen the group of student activists already conduct several outreach and educational programs, along with several charity fundraisers.
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UFCW CANADA Local 832 and Migrante Manitoba build on their work for migrant workers
After years of tirelessly working with migrant workers in Manitoba, and doing outreach activities in the community without any permanent office space, Migrante Manitoba has finally found a space to call its own at the UFCW Canada Local 832 Training Centre in Winnipeg, thanks to Local 832.
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Members of Mexican Congress demand answers from government about allegations of anti-union activities against Mexican migrant farm workers in Canada
Mexico City - May 27, 2011 - Mexican Federal Deputy Gerardo Sanchez García and Senator Adolfo Toledo Infanzón have presented a motion in the Congress demanding that the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Foreign Affairs provide an explanation about alleged anti-union activities of the Mexican government against Mexican migrant agricultural workers in Canada.
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Charges allege Mexico consulate blacklisted unionized Mexican migrant workers in B.C.
A leaked document has been deposited with the British Columbia Labour Board to back up charges that the Mexican consulate in Vancouver allegedly blacklisted Mexican migrant workers who were union sympathizers from returning to Canada this season to the two Lower Mainland farms where those workers had successfully unionized.
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2010 Migrant Workers Scholarship winners announced
Five extraordinary students from across the globe are the first-ever recipients of the UFCW.
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2010-2011 Migrant farm workers report published
Canada’s most comprehensive annual report on the challenges facing migrant farm workers has been released. It confirms that abuse and exploitation of migrant farm workers are rampant in Canada’s agriculture industry.
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UFCW Canada leads training session in Tapachula, Mexico
UFCW Canada’s outstanding commitment to empowering workers through training and education recently went global with its participation in the first-ever Global Workers Defenders Network Forum, held in Tapachula, Mexico from January 24 to 28.
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Migrant Workers File $10 Million Lawsuit against Denny’s in British Columbia
More than 50 Filipino migrant workers recruited to Canada under the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) program have filed a $10 million class action suit against Denny’s restaurants in British Columbia, charging the company did not live up to the employment contract the workers signed before they arrived from the Philippines.
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A dozen nations added to child, forced labor list
Labor Department warns child, forced labor problems could swell during global economic crisis
December 15, 2010 Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Labor Department is adding a dozen countries to the list of nations that use child labor or forced labor, as officials warn the global economic crisis could cause an upswing in the exploitation of children and other workers. From coffee grown in El Salvador to sapphires mined in Madagascar, the agency's latest reports, to be released Wednesday, identify 128 goods from 70 countries where child labor, forced labor or both are used in violation of international standards.
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Documentary takes a look at migrant workers' impact
Dec 15, 2010 The Journal-Pioneer (Summerside) Entertainement
Why are Nova Scotian farmer's fields filling up with workers from other countries? The number of migrant workers coming to Nova Scotia from Jamaica and Mexico each year has been steadily rising since the early '90s: there are nearly 800 this year. In a new documentary, "Farm Worker," Halifax-based filmmaker Connie Littlefield shines a spotlight on this phenomenon, through interviews with Jamaican farm workers in the Annapolis Valley and the farmers who employ them. It airs nationally on Sunday, Dec. 19 as part of the "Land and Sea" series on CBC Television.
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Windsor area mushroom workers await Supreme Court ruling
December 15, 2010 By Sharon Hill, Windsor Star
WINDSOR, Ont. -- Xin Yuan Liu came to Canada from China for more freedom and found himself picking mushrooms in a "factory" where he said he was called by a number, not his name and where his fellow numbers were ordered not to speak their own languages, only English.
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UN finds Canada and Ontario violate human rights
25/11/2010
GENEVA, November 18, 2010 – The UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) has ruled that Canada and Ontario, through Ontario’s ban on farm unions, violate the human rights of the more than 100,000 migrant and domestic agriculture workers in that province. It follows a complaint filed in March 2009 by UFCW Canada — the country’s largest private-sector union and a leading advocate for farm workers’ rights for over two decades. The ILO is the UN agency responsible for formulating international labour standards including basic labour rights.
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Mexican and Caribbean Migrant Farm Workers Cheated Again
24/11/2010
More than 130 migrant agriculture workers from Mexico and the Caribbean have gone home cheated of thousands of dollars, after the Ontario farm they worked at filed an intent to get creditor protection. Workers had not been paid since early November, after the owner departed for California. He has yet to return.
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Another UFCW Canada Victory for Migrant Agriculture Workers
22/11/2010
Abbotsford, B.C. - Migrant farm workers at Abbotsford's Sidhu & Sons Nursery, members of UFCW Canada Local 1518, are the latest to successfully negotiate a Collective Agreement with their employer.
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UFCW Canada locals reach tentative settlement with Ontario Loblaw stores
14/10/2010
TORONTO – Round-the-clock bargaining this week in Niagara Falls ended early this morning with a tentative settlement between Loblaw Companies Limited and UFCW Canada Local unions 1977, 1000A and 175 & 633. The bargaining committees of all locals are recommending ratification of the settlement to their 30,000 members who work at Loblaws, Zehrs, Real Canadian Superstores, Great Food stores and Fortinos throughout Ontario.
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UFCW Canada calls for inquest after workers killed at farm
28/09/2010
UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley has called for a coroner’s inquest into the deaths of two Jamaican migrant agriculture workers, Ralston White and Paul Roache, who died from toxic fumes while working in a confined space vat on September 10, at an apple orchard and processing facility near Owen Sound, Ontario.
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Toxic fumes suspected in death of two migrants at Ontario farm
14/09/2010
The cause of death of two Jamaican migrant agricultural workers who died Friday, September 10 at a central Ontario farm is still under investigation.The two victims, Paul Roache, 37-years-old, and Ralston White, 43-years-old, were working at the Filsinger Organic apple orchard and processing facility in Ayton, Ontario — about 70 kilometers south of Owen Sound.
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Latin American migrant workers brutally massacred in Mexico
09/09/2010
On August 24, 2010, the bodies of 72 migrants from Central and South America were found in San Fernando, Mexico, approximately 100 km south of the U.S. border. The migrant workers included 58 men and 14 women. All of them had been shot dead and piled in a room. Three other workers managed to escape and inform police. Government forces then raided the location of the massacre where a gun battle ensued with the further loss of life of one Mexican marine and three gunmen.
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Migrant workers protest at Canada’s embassy in Mexico
Under the flags of the Agriculture Workers Alliance, more than 300 Mexican migrant farm workers descended on the Canadian embassy in Mexico City to denounce their working and living conditions as migrant agriculture workers in Canada under the federal government’s Seasonal Agriculture Workers Program (SAWP).
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Education Has No Borders
Activists, academics, unionists, and the media recently packed the Tinto Café in downtown Toronto to take part in a UFCW Canada sponsored event called Education Has No Borders that provided community members with a fun-filled opportunity to see and try new migrant worker resources and discuss the empowering effect of education.
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Tractor tragedy strikes on eve of Ontario safety hearings
“Agriculture workers in Ontario absolutely need better protection than they get now, and the Expert Advisory Panel can’t ignore that,” says National President Hanley.
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UFCW Canada union victory for Quebec farm workers
Seasonal agriculture workers in Quebec have had their Charter rights to unionize upheld by a decision rendered by the Quebec Labour Relations Board (QLRB). The QLRB decision to certify a union bargaining unit at a Mirabel-area farm comes 20 months and 36 days of hearings after a majority workers at the farm chose to join UFCW Canada.
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Alberta continues to stall on farm safety recommendations
While deaths and injuries continue on Alberta farms, the Stelmach government continues to resist adopting the inquiry recommendations of Alberta Justice Peter Barley.
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Temp Foreign Workers take the fall again for farmers and government
TORONTO - The Ontario arrest and detainment of nine temporary foreign workers “is the latest example that both the Harper government and the farm industry are both complicit in a system designed to exploit foreign workers and dispose of them,” says Wayne Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada.
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Alberta stats confirm frontline evidence of foreign worker abuse
The violation of the workplace rights of many Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) in Alberta “reinforces what we’ve reported for years now,” says Wayne Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada. “Except for locations where those workers have a union, TFWs in Alberta and across Canada are regular targets for exploitation and workplace abuse.”
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Seasonal Agricultural Workers at BC farm go union with UFCW Canada
The BC Labour Relations Board has certified a bargaining unit of more than 70 migrant agriculture workers after a majority of the workers voted to join UFCW Canada Local 1518.
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A Year of Government Delay Adds to Alberta’s Harvest of Death
January 28, 2010 — UFCW Canada, the union that has led the campaign for the rights of agriculture workers, is calling on the Alberta government to act without further delay to implement the recommendations of a public inquiry conducted by Justice Peter Barley to include farm workers under provincial workplace health and safety legislation
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Farmworkers quest for human rights arrives at the Supreme Court on December 17
The Province of Ontario vs. its Farm workers: “Farm workers are human beings. We’re not farm animals,” says agriculture worker who looks to the Supreme Court to uphold her human rights
OTTAWA- This Thursday, December 17, a decades-long quest by Ontario farm workers to regain their human rights arrives at the Supreme Court of Canada.
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National protest for migrant workers rights
Toronto, Ont. 03/12/2009- UFCW Canada joined community and social justice groups on December 2 in a National Day of Action for Migrant Workers that saw activists gather in cities across the country to blow the whistle on the Conservative Stephen Harper government’s failure to provide real protections for the most vulnerable people in Canada’s workforce.
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Immigrant workers protest against “sweatshop” boss
19/11/2009- A group of new Canadian workers came together with UFCW Canada activists in Toronto on November 19 to draw attention to what they describe as the callous and abusive actions of their employer, Lincare Limited.
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Migrant agriculture workers focus of new photo-essay book
05/11/2009 Acclaimed Canadian documentary photographer and social activist Vincenzo Pietropaolo’s new book, Harvest Pilgrims, is a compelling testament to the tens of thousands of migrant workers who are the backbone of Canada’s agriculture industry, yet continue to be denied many of the basic workplace rights that protect other workers.
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Auditor General Report Confirms Abuses in Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Toronto 04/11/2009– The Report of the Auditor General released on November 3, strongly supports advocates’ concerns over the massive shortcomings of the Federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Auditor General Sheila Fraser exposed the realities of a program that makes migrant workers exceptionally vulnerable to abuses.
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Real Protection for Temporary Foreign Workers requires Real Solutions, not unenforced paper protocols
TORONTO1 4/10/2009- New measures to be undertaken by the government of Canada, which it asserts work towards greater protection of Temporary Foreign Workers, fall significantly short of any meaningful protections.
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Status of Migrant Farm Workers in Canada, 2008-2009 Report issued
Initial copies of UFCW Canada’s much-anticipated The Status of Migrant Farm Workers in Canada,
2008-2009 are off the press and have been sent to Canadian and Mexican government officials as well as activists in recent weeks.
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Historic victory for migrant farm workers
TORONTO - Sep 23/09 - Contract sets new precedent for rights of workers
A breakthrough collective agreement was reached September 21 between UFCW Canada and Floralia Growers of Abbotsford, B.C.
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AWA community celebrates opening of Virgil centre
TORONTO - Aug 18/09 - Heavy rain and thunderstorms were not enough to stop more than 250 workers from attending the annual open house held by UFCW Canada and the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) recently in Virgil, Ont.
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More workers arrested in another immigration raid in SW Ontario
TORONTO - June 25/09 - On Wednesday, June 24, Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) agents raided the Sea Cliff Farms Limited greenhouse in Leamington, Ontario and arrested three migrant workers. This is the third set of CBSA raids carried out in Leamington and other Ontario centres since early April, including a May 27 raid where nine female migrant workers at another Leamington greenhouse were arrested.
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Michoacán minister visits AWA centres
May 18, 2009 — About 2,500 agriculture workers from the central Mexican state of Michoacán come to Canada each season under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP. Recently, Michocan’s immigration minister travelled to Canada to find out from her compatriots first-hand about the challenges they face, and the support they are receiving through the efforts of UFCW Canada and the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA).
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UFCW Canada and allies call to end Canada’s shameful secret
TORONTO, May 7, 2009 – UFCW Canada, along with three other of Canada’s largest labour organizations, is calling on the Harper government to ratify three international Conventions that protect workers’ rights.
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National Callout in Support of Migrant Workers and their Families
The long awaited report and recommendations from the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration that studied the situation of migrant workers has been released on Wednesday May 6, 2009 along with two dramatically different minority reports from the Conservatives and the New Democrats.
The Canadian Labour Congress and a national network of migrant rights allies welcome the release of this important report. For too long, migrant workers and their families have been subjected to a flawed federal program, known as the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) which fails to comprehensively protect the rights of these vulnerable workers.
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Migrant workers speak out and community rallies
Migrant workers from across Canada gathered on May 2 to celebrate May Day, the international day of workers’ struggle, and to speak about the realities of living and working in Canada as temporary and precarious labourers in the context of the economic crisis and the health concerns raised by the swine flu outbreak.
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Statement by National President Wayne Hanley on new screening protocols for seasonal Mexican agriculture workers arriving in Canada
TORONTO, April 27, 2009 — “Over the past decade, UFCW Canada has supplied information and services to tens of thousands of seasonal agriculture workers who are fundamental to the Canadian agriculture sector. The majority of those workers come from Mexico
under a long-established federal program that has always required health
testing of workers before they arrive in Canada.
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UFCW Canada Speaks Out Against U.S. Style Immigration Raids in Southern Ontario
TORONTO, Apr. 5, 2009 - Toronto - Dozens of migrant workers in Bradford, Markham, Leamington, and East Toronto have been arrested, detained and are likely slated for deportation at the Rexdale Immigration Holding Centre after a series of U.S. style immigration raids carried out by CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) throughout this week.
These raids in Southern Ontario are reminiscent of those carried out in 2006 by U.S. Immigration and Customs
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UFCW Canada files complaint against Ontario with United Nations agency
TORONTO, March 23, 2009 - UFCW Canada, the country’s largest private sector union has added international profile to its campaign to achieve collective bargaining rights for Ontario’s agriculture workers when on Monday it filed a formal complaint with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland.
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Mexico state and UFCW Canada sign migrant worker protection pact
MORELIA, MICHOACÁN, MEXICO, February 24, 2009 - Migrant workers from the Mexico state of Michoacán will have enhanced protections when they arrive in Canada this season, thanks to a new historic agreement. Under the pact, workers from Michoacán will be assisted in Canada by UFCW Canada in association with the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA).
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Over 50 additional foreign farm workers fired during Christmas season
TORONTO, ONTARIO - Dec. 23, 2008 — More than 50 Guatemalan farm workers, the majority of them women, have been issued notices of termination by Rol-Land Farms. The workers were told that they are scheduled to be evicted and repatriated on December 28, 29 and 30 during the Christmas season.
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Fired foreign agriculture workers at Rol-Land Farms speak out
TORONTO, ONTARIO - Dec. 11, 2008 — Seven foreign agriculture workers recently fired and evicted by Canada’s largest mushroom producer, Rol-Land Farms, joined members of UFCW Canada, Justicia for Migrant workers, and academics to speak about the problems of the Temporary Foreign Workers program and its impact on workers.
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Scores of Temporary Foreign Workers deported by Ontario agri-complex
More than 70 Mexican and Jamaican agriculture workers at a mushroom grow house facility were fired without notice December 6 by Rol-Land Farms. No reason was given for the firings. “We cannot tolerate such treatment of workers in this country,” said UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley. “We can’t allow the expansion of programs that create second class residents and workers.”
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Ontario court ruling opens the gate to farm unions
Dec.6th — More than 70 Mexican and Jamaican agriculture workers at a mushroom grow house facility were fired without notice December 6 by Rol-Land Farms. No reason was given for the firings. “We cannot tolerate such treatment of workers in this country,” said UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley. “We can’t allow the expansion of programs that create second class residents and workers.”
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UFCW Local 501 applies at another Quebec farm
MONTRÉAL, October 28, 2008 – UFCW Canada Local 501 has applied for certification at another farm in Quebec.
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Another B.C. farm goes union with UFCW Canada
2008-10-10
VANCOUVER, B.C.– Oct. 10, 2008 - Agriculture workers at Floralia Plant Growers Limited in Abbotsford, B.C., have formed the second UFCW Canada bargaining unit at a B.C. agricultural operation, after a majority of the workers voted to join UFCW Canada Local 1518.
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B.C. farm employers launch legal attack on migrant workers
2008-10-01
VANCOUVER, October 1, 2008 – Two agricultural employer groups claiming to represent farm employers are going to the British Columbia Labour Relations Board (BCLRB) in an effort to prevent migrant farm workers from having the same protections that apply to Canadian workers.
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Farm workers repatriated after exercising human rights
2008-09-14
The B.C. Labour Relations Board will conduct a union certification vote September 15, for a greenhouse in Abbotsford despite the fact that half the workers will not be able to participate in the process – because they have been removed from their jobs and sent to Mexico.
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UFCW Canada National President calls for public inquiry into B.C. mushroom farm fatalities
2008-09-07
UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley has called for an inquiry following the deaths of three workers and the hospitalization of three others after the workers were overcome on Friday, September 5, by fumes at a Langley, B.C. mushroom growing facility.
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Seasonal farm workers in B.C. go union with UFCW Canada
2008-08-08
SURREY, B.C. - Workers at Greenway Farms Ltd. in Surrey, B.C. have gone union after a majority of ballots cast Thursday said “yes” to representation by UFCW Canada. The victory makes Greenway the first-ever B.C. agriculture bargaining unit made up of seasonal agricultural workers who travel to Canada to work each season under the federal Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP).
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Hog barn members ratify first contract
2008-08-01
Members of UFCW Canada Local 832 who work at PIC Canada Ltd., a hog-breeding operation in Malonton, Man., have overwhelmingly ratified a first collective agreement. The bargaining unit was certified in February 2008 after the workers at the hog barn and breeding facility in Manitoba’s Interlake district, about 80 kilometers north of Winnipeg, unanimously signed cards to join the local union.
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Ratification of UFCW Canada first-contract at Manitoba farm historic breakthrough for migrant workers
2008-06-23
TORONTO, June 23, 2008 – Workers at Mayfair Farms in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba have made history by overwhelmingly ratifying the first-ever contract to cover migrant agriculture workers employed seasonally at a farm operation in Canada.
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UFCW Canada takes ban on Ontario agriculture unions back to court
2008-05-21
The rights of Ontario’s more than 100,000 agricultural workers were front and centre as a landmark appeal filed by UFCW Canada was heard May 20 and 21, 2008 by the Ontario Court of Appeal. The application was brought on behalf of three Ontario agricultural workers who worked at the Rol-Land Farms mushroom grow house facility in Kingsville, Ontario who in 2003, along with a majority of the workers at Rol-Land, had voted to form a UFCW Canada unit.
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Manitoba leads the way – again
2008-03-31
The Manitoba NDP government of Premier Gary Doer has announced that it will become the first province to regulate recruiters of temporary foreign workers working in Canada, as well as the province’s businesses that hire them. “This is a good move, and it should be followed by all other jurisdictions,” says Wayne Hanley, the national president of UFCW Canada.
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Manitoba farm workers gain Employment Standards cover: Hanley calls on Ontario to follow
2008-02-01
WINNIPEG, MB - The Manitoba government’s announcement that this June agricultural workers across the province will have the same workplace protections and standards that have covered most other Manitoba workers since 1957, “is very good news and the Manitoba government should be commended,” said Wayne Hanley, the national president of UFCW Canada (United Food and Commercial Workers Canada.
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Canada continues to exploit migrant workers says annual report: Report on the Status of Migrant Farm Workers in Canada raises concerns lax rules to protect migrants are about to get even weaker
2007-11-06
As Canada expands its use of migrant workers, the already weak rules to protect them from abuse are getting even weaker according to the latest Report on the Status of Migrant Farm Workers in Canada. “If you’ve got problems keep them to yourself or you’ll be sent packing. That’s the implicit threat that many of these workers tell us they continue to face each day”, says Wayne Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada, “and what little protection the system offers them now is getting worse.”
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Mexico discusses migrant workers with UFCW Canada during Calderon visit
2007-07-21
OTTAWA - The National President of UFCW Canada, the union that represents Mexican migrant workers at a Manitoba farm and has union applications pending on behalf of Mexican migrant workers at three other farms in Quebec has met with a senior official of Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s government to discuss the challenges facing Mexican migrant workers in Canada.
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Supreme Court ruling opens the way to Ontario farm worker unions
2007-06-08
OTTAWA, ON, June 8, 2007 – The campaign to allow Ontario farm workers to form unions for the purposes of collective bargaining has been given a huge boost by a decision handed down by the Supreme Court of Canada upholding collective bargaining as an inherent constitutional right under the Freedom of Association provisions of the Charter of Rights of Freedoms.
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Prosperity and the free trade in exploited workers
2007-02-23
OTTAWA- While Canadian and Mexican officials continue to discuss the expansion of the Mexican migrant labour force in Canada, the workers themselves continue to be shut out from the conversation.
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Hanley and Bloc leader meet about migrant workers
2007-03-12
Montréal, March 12, 2007 - Wayne Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada, and Gilles Duceppe, the leader of the Bloc Québécois have met to discuss the condition of tens of thousands of migrant agricultural workers brought temporarily to Canada each season.
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Solberg and Hanley meet to discuss migrant workers
2007-03-08
TORONTO, March 8, 2007 - The issue of temporary foreign workers in Canada was front and centre at a meeting Thursday in Toronto between the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSDC), and Wayne Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada.
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Mexican migrant workers apply to join Canadian union UFCW/TUAC: Workers seek say in contract imposed by Mexican and Canadian governments
2006-09-20
TORONTO, September 20, 2006 - In a historical breakthrough that could eventually impact thousands of migrant agricultural workers brought each season to Canada, Mexican migrant workers at three farms in Québec and one farm in Manitoba have applied to go union with UFCW Canada (known as TUAC Canada in Québec).
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UFCW Canada gains health and safety coverage for Ontario farm workers
2006-06-29
TORONTO, June 29, 2006 – As of June 30th, Ontario farm workers will be covered under the Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). The new health and safety coverage for farm workers comes in the wake of a 3-year public awareness campaign and legal battle led by UFCW Canada.
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Farm deaths and injuries mount while Ontario backtracks on safety regulations:Extension of Occupational Health and Safety Act to cover farm workers exempts farms from most of the OHSA regulations
2006-03-10
TORONTO, March 10, 2006 – The recent accidental death of another Ontario agricultural worker is one more tragic reason agricultural workers need the fullest protection of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), not the watered-down version the government is planning to extend to the sector in June 2006.
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Agricultural workers’ right to unionize likely grounds for appeal
2006-01-13
TORONTO, January 13, 2006 – The campaign to allow Ontario farm workers to form unions is likely heading back to the Ontario Court of Appeal after a ruling handed down this week by Ontario Superior Court Justice James Farley.
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UFCW Canada wins right to represent migrant agricultural workers in Charter challenge
2006-01-09
The United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW Canada) has made legal history by becoming the first union ever to win the right to challenge the government on behalf of unorganized workers whose rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are being violated but who do not have the means or the opportunity to seek redress through the courts.
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Farm workers campaign grows
2005-08-26
Justice for Alberta agricultural workers has moved one step closer with the signing of a new organizing protocol between the Farmworkers Union of Alberta and UFCW Canada.
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End the Drought! Legal Protection for Farm Workers Now!
2005-08-23
The Alberta Federation of Labour has announced a campaign to pressure the Alberta government to extend to farm workers the same basic employment protections now provided to other Alberta workers.
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Labour Relations Act continues to discriminate against Ontario agriculture workers
2004-11-03
Changes to the Ontario Labour Relations Act (OLRA) announced by the McGuinty government do nothing to end the discriminatory exclusion of Ontario agriculture workers from coverage under the Act.
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Layton raises plight of Mexican migrant workers in Canada with Mexico’s President Fox
2004-10-25
The substandard housing, safety, and working conditions in Canada for the more than 10,000 seasonal migrant farm workers who come here from Mexico each year were on the agenda when Jack Layton, leader of the NDP, conferred with Vicente Fox at a private Ottawa meeting following the Mexican president’s address to Parliament.
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Agricultural workers take Ontario government to court
2004-04-03
Ontario agricultural workers continue to be denied the right to unionize in spite of a 2001 Supreme Court of Canada decision which ruled that denying these rights to agricultural workers violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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Ontario greenhouse workers apply to go union
2004-03-30
The UFCW has applied to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) to certify it as the bargaining agent for employees of a tomato hothouse factory farm in Chatham, Ontario.
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Agricultural workers closer to unionization with UFCW Canada
2003-09-03
UFCW Canada has hailed an Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) decision as a “major victory” as the board announced today that they will proceed on September 19, 2003 with the counting of the ballots from the UFCW Canada organizing campaign at Rol-Land Farms in Kingsville Ontario.
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Mushroom boycott campaign to launch on Labour Day
2003-08-27
UFCW Canada is calling on consumers to boycott fresh mushrooms from Rol-Land Farms. UFCW Canada will officially launch the Rol-Land Farms consumer boycott campaign at Labour Day parades in Toronto, London, Windsor, Kingston and other centres across Ontario next Monday.
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UFCW Canada organizes Kingsville mushroom factory employees working under “appalling” conditions
2003-06-27
UFCW Canada has asked the Ontario Labour Relations Board to certify it as the bargaining agent for employees of a mushroom factory near Windsor. An overwhelming majority of the 270 production workers at Rol-Land Farms Inc. in Kingsville recently signed UFCW Canada membership cards.
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UFCW Canada opens third migrant agricultural workers support centre in Simcoe
2003-06-25
The third support centre for migrant agricultural workers is opening June 29, 2003 in Simcoe, Ontario. The community-based centre will provide services to almost 5,000 seasonal migrant workers.
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Eves government faces Charter challenge over exclusion of agricultural workers from health and safety act
2003-06-20
UFCW Canada filed a legal application today to Ontario’s Supreme Court charging that the Eves government’s exclusion of agricultural workers from the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) violates Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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UFCW Canada meets with Jane Stewart Federal HRDC Minister
2003-06-18
Human Resources Development Canada Minister Jane Stewart contacted UFCW Canada officials last week about the federal government’s response to workers affected by layoffs due to the mad cow crisis. Michael J. Fraser, national director of UFCW Canada, met with Stewart this morning to explore ways to aid workers in the beef industry.
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UFCW Canada launches postcard campaign in support of Ontario’s agricultural workers
2003-03-07
In response to the Ontario government’s continuing refusal to grant agricultural workers the same rights as other workers in the province, UFCW Canada has launched a post card campaign to heighten public awareness of the basic rights that the 100,000 agricultural workers in Ontario are denied.
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UFCW Canada slams agricultural workers Bill
2002-11-01
Bill 187 introduced in the legislature on October 7 by Agricultural Minister Helen Johns gives agricultural workers the right to join or form an association but not collective bargaining. Agricultural workers will not have the same union rights as other workers in the province.
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