Liberty Macatimpag, Local 832

Springhill Farms
Neepawa, Manitoba

When Liberty Macatimpag arrived in Manitoba in June 2009, she was excited about the opportunities of a life in Canada. It was her first industrial job and coming to a new country, without the support of family or friends, was intimidating, but she was up for the challenge.

Liberty was used to uprooting her life. When she was 18; she moved to Cambodia for two years and then returned to the Philippines for another three years only to go back to Cambodia for another four more years. Her background is interesting with education in hotel and restaurant management, financial planning and meat processing. She was busy working in a bank in Cambodia and volunteering for the Don Bosco Catholic Church. She taught the children there the importance of food safety and sanitation. With the encouragement of a family friend, she contacted the hiring agency in the Philippines about coming to Canada to work in Neepawa at Springhill Farms as a member of UFCW Canada Local 832.

Her husband, Jovic, a seafarer left for work in May 2009. In July of this year, they reunited in Neepawa when Jovic joined her there after applying for an open work permit. “It was lonely and the work was hard,” said Liberty. “Thankfully because my sister has a business visa, she could visit me often.”

With her varied background and understanding of English many of the Filipino workers who were not as fluent in English as Liberty, were often going to her for advice.  “She inadvertently became a spokesperson for many of the workers,” said Local 832 union representative Wendy Lundy.  “She wants to help, and the workers trust her. She’s not shy and will ask questions until she gets an answer.”

It is that determination that caused her to be nominated as a member of the Springhill Farm Trust. “We work hard and we want to know what our money is going for,” said Liberty, who was eager to put her financial training to good use here.

While some cultures in other parts of the world have negative feelings towards unions, Liberty’s father and uncle were both union presidents, and she understands the role they play. “Here, I see Local 832 protecting the workers and trying to create a co-operative effort for the good of the employees. This is why I wanted to get involved.”

Liberty and her husband Jovic have embraced Neepawa as home. In December of 2009, they bought a house. Jovic also works at Springhill Farms in the loading department.