Building strength together in 2013

Toronto – December 27, 2012 – Last year I encouraged UFCW Canada members, staff, and activists to work toward a stronger union and labour movement by building on our key successes in 2011 – from increasing our political engagement to attracting new members to supporting social justice movements throughout Canada.  

I'm happy to report that our union rose to this challenge. As the leading progressive force in the Canadian labour movement, UFCW Canada played a prominent role in electing Thomas Mulcair as the new leader of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). Tom has proven to be a highly effective opponent to the government boss Stephen Harper by vigorously opposing the Conservatives' anti-worker agenda in the House of Commons while advancing a compelling vision for Canada outside of Parliament.

In March our union helped the Alberta NDP double its representation in the provincial legislature and, most recently, our lobbying efforts defeated a Toronto City Council initiative that sought to extend holiday shopping hours. These achievements show thattaking an active role in the political process can make a direct and significant difference for UFCW Canada members and their families.  

Our union also celebrated significant organizing victories in the retail and food processing industries, while expanding our membership base in non-traditional sectors such as security, tourism, and hospitality. It is because of UFCW Canada's full commitment to creating more fairness in the workplace that our union has welcomed over 33,000 new members in the last five years. We must continue to pursue our growth agenda in 2013 so that we can enhance our bargaining power and help more Canadians earn a living wage and retire with dignity.

In addition to growing our union and becoming more politically active, UFCW Canada allied with social justice groups to promote progressive causes that benefit our members and Canadians workers in general. When American Walmart workers stood up to the infamous retail giant by marching to demand that the company treat them with respect, UFCW Canada promoted the workers' campaign on social media and participated in the Global Day of Action for Change at Walmart at stores across Canada. Our union also attempted to further the message of Occupy Canada by extensively discussing income inequality on our website.  

Constant progress in these areas is essential not only to improving the social well-being of unionized and non-unionized workers alike, but also to protecting our members from right-wing governments that want to shatter unions. Whether it's Harper the government boss and his discriminatory Bill C-377, Tim Hudak's calls for right-to-work laws in Ontario, or the Saskatchewan Party's decision to fine workers for health and safety violations, it's clear that Canadian workers are under attack from conservative politicians in every corner of the country.

In 2013, let's continue to strengthen and expand our union so that we can better represent the interests of all Canadian workers.

In solidarity,

Wayne E. Hanley