UFCW Canada hosts International Workers’ Day celebration for members and migrant food workers

Leamington, Ont. – April 29, 2024 – Hundreds of food workers recently gathered at the UFCW Canada Agriculture Workers Support Centre in Leamington, Ontario for an International Workers’ Day (May Day) celebration.

May 1, International Workers Day also known as May Day is commemorated as a day to celebrate the global labour movement’s major victories and renew the fight for labour rights, equity and economic justice for all workers around the world.

The special event and day of food worker solidarity in Leamington included a community barbeque, music and more. It was held to honour the invaluable, daily contributions that UFCW members and migrant agriculture workers make to Canada’s food supply system. From field to plate, the hard work of food workers, both migrant and domestic, ensures that tables across the country and many place around the globe are supplied with fresh and nutritious food.

Since 2002, the UFCW Canada Agriculture Workers Support Centre in Leamington, Ontario has been a community beacon and has helped tens of thousands of workers with fundamental labour rights violations, compensation claims, scheduling, pay issues, referral to legal counsel, health and safety training, CPP claims, unfair treatment, unsafe housing, and working conditions. UFCW Canada also assists migrant food workers in accessing open work permits and pathways to permanent residency, such as the Agri-Food Pilot, which UFCW Canada was instrumental in securing for migrant food workers.

For more than three decades, UFCW Canada has led the fight for migrant workers’ rights. To learn more about this advocacy and the reforms that are urgently needed, see UFCW Canada’s report: The Status of Migrant Farm Workers in Canada, 2023.