UFCW lost one of our own on April 1 – Addie Wyatt was a pioneering and inspiring union activist. She was a founding member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), the first woman International Vice-President of Amalgamated Meat Cutters, the first woman of colour to serve on the board of the UFCW after its formation in 1979.
Another group of service workers in the Alberta oil sands has added their voices to UFCW Canada Local 401 to bargain for better conditions and higher employment standards in their workplace and rapidly growing industry.
“This federal budget, the first budget from the Harper majority government, shows that the Conservatives are clearly out of step with Canadians,” says UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley. “Canadians believe that government has a responsibility in addressing income inequality, and cuts to the public sector, cuts to public services and raising the OAS eligibility rates will do nothing to address that inequality.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced that his Conservative Government will raise the age of eligibility for Old Age Security (OAS) from 65 to 67 years old.This decision has enraged Canadians of all ages because, as it stands right now, OAS is a modest but essential benefit that provides retirees with roughly $508.35 per month, or $6100.20 per year.
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
“Bill C-33 is not simply bad labour policy as the Air Canada walkout has demonstrated. It is also an affront to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canada’s obligations under international law.”
The deep cuts delivered in the Ontario Budget on March 28 will provide very few benefits for citizens and will needlessly worsen income inequality in the province. “By threatening government workers with legislated wage freezes, enacting deep cuts to valuable public services, and maintaining a corporate tax rate of 11.5 percent, Premier Dalton McGuinty and Finance Minister Dwight Duncan are clearly demonstrating that they do not understand the needs of ordinary Ontarians," says UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley.
UFCW Canada activists were a force at the historic NDP Leadership Convention, which proudly elected Thomas Mulcair as the new Leader of Canada’s Official Opposition. Soon after becoming the new Leader of Canada’s most progressive political party, Mulcair thanked UFCW Canada for its outstanding support and for being a leading voice for workers and their families.
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United Food and Commercial Workers Union
Canada's private sector union