Carmela Abraham, Local 1869

St. Boniface Hospital
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Carmela Abraham I have worked at St. Boniface Hospital for 27 years in different jobs: Laundry Attendant, Housekeeping Attendant, first female Housekeeping Porter, X-ray Porter and currently as a Health Care Aide.

I have been a UFCW Canada activist for the past 17 years.

I decided to become a Shop Steward with some encouragement from a close friend who was very much involved in our union who thought I would enjoy getting involved as well and she was right.  That person who has always encouraged me and shown me how to be an effective Shop Steward is my local President, Aline Audette – a strong, intelligent and positive woman.

I was a shy girl growing up in a rural farming community. I became involved in sports which helped with my shyness. At fifteen I had my first labour dispute.

I was working in a local restaurant as a waitress when my employer decided to cut my wages in half because I was training another girl. His logic was I would be doing half the work while training her. I complained to my mother how unfair this was. She was working in a unionized workplace, knew it was wrong and called the Labour Board. In turn, they called my employer and informed him to pay both of us the full student wage of $3 per hour. He was furious and fired me. I could have fought it but didn’t want to work for someone who had no respect for his workers.

Soon after I was hired part-time as a Nurses Aid at the same unionized workplace as my mother, at the hospital in our small community. Six years later I moved on to Winnipeg and to St. Boniface Hospital.

Being a UFCW Canada shop steward at St. Boniface has given me the opportunity to help members who were first as shy and fearful as I was at one time. Over the years, the union training I’ve received has developed my abilities to be a stronger Shop Steward and a stronger member of my local union Executive Board. I now also sit on the St. Boniface General Hospital Health & Safety Committee as a UFCW Canada representative. I’m also a member of the UFCW Canada National Council Workplace Rights Committee.

I am a single mother with two children at home.  My girl is 23 and my boy is 14. They know I am a union activist. They know I boycott shopping at Walmart. My youngest has been with me on different leaflet campaigns with me, which has given us the opportunity to discuss the labour movement. He is learning along with me.

My daughter has always been quite vocal about her labour rights in her different jobs through the years. She is aboriginal (status) and I myself am Métis. My son is also Métis and both my children have learned from me to be non-racist and non-discriminatory of anyone.

I know my union has opened doors for me, and I look forward to UFCW Canada becoming even more involved in our aboriginal community by opening the eyes of aboriginal youth to the labour movement and the work world.