250 guards at ASG Security join the union by voting for UFCW Canada Local 333

Toronto – December 21, 2012 – 250 security workers in the Greater Toronto Area are now members of UFCW Canada Local 333 after recently voting to join the union. The new Local 333 members work for ASG Security in Toronto, Hamilton, and Oshawa, Ontario, at several different sites in each city.

Workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining the union for a number of reasons. The company made employees pay for their own uniforms, protection vests, and security licences, despite the fact that many of them work limited hours.

Not surprisingly, the ASG workers were eager to join Local 333, as over 100 security guards signed membership cards in the first week of the unionization campaign. The Local Union is currently hammering out monetary issues with the employer as part of first contract negotiations, and reports that negotiations are going well.

"Local 333 has years of experience in representing security guards, so the ASG workers have chosen a strong advocate to advance their interests at the bargaining table," says UFCW Canada Local 333 President Richard McNaughton.

"Building density in an industry that is largely non-unionized is a huge challenge, but unionizing is the only way that security workers can obtain a living wage and pension so that they can raise their families and retire with dignity," Brother McNaughton adds.

To find out more about UFCW Canada Local 333, visit their website at www.ufcw333.ca.