UFCW Canada recently strengthened its relationship with Guatemalan migrant workers by signing a cooperation agreement with AGUND (Asociación de Guatemaltecos Unidos por Nuestros Derechos). As Guatemala’s strongest advocate for migrant workers, AGUND – like UFCW Canada – has long been a leading voice in denouncing the substandard living and working conditions of Guatemalan migrant workers in Canada.
Marlene Gordon came to Canada in 2009 as a temporary foreign worker. As a proud mother of two young children and one stepson, she felt compelled to seek international employment outside of her native Jamaica to provide for her family. She didn’t see migration as a choice but as a need to improve her family’s livelihood. Marlene hoped that by working full time in Canada, she’d have the opportunity to pursue her studies in early childhood education.
The Students Against Migrant Exploitation, or the S.A.M.E., are continuing to spread their message and hundreds are listening, especially in Facebook where the group’s new Page already has over 1,100 Likes.
Walter Sanchez, 40-years-old, arrived in Canada from Honduras in June 2008, under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program. He had worked in a variety of precarious, contract jobs back home after completing a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences, because he couldn’t find secure work in his field. "In Honduras, contract work can be found but full-time work with benefits for your family is almost impossible to secure," says Walter. "It is a way for companies to avoid being accountable to workers over the long-term."
On a beautiful and sunny Sunday afternoon, approximately 100 migrant agriculture workers joined the Spanish community in downtown Bradford, Ontario to celebrate El Sembrador’s annual barbeque. Two of the workers won brand new bicycles donated by Students Against Migrant Exploitation (SAME). The festivities included an array of Spanish food specialties from Latin America and music to please the crowd.
In 2010, UFCW Canada created the UFCW Canada Migrant Workers Scholarships to provide financial assistance to migrant workers’ children in sending countries, as a means to pursue their studies, and to fulfill the dreams that began when their fathers or mothers made the decision to migrate to Canada in order to improve their families’ lives.
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United Food and Commercial Workers Union
Canada's private sector union