Activists gear up for LabourStart Global Solidarity Conference 2016

Toronto – April 28, 2016 – UFCW Canada members, officers, and staff from across the country are gearing up for the 2016 Global Solidarity Conference, set to take place at Ryerson University in Toronto from May 6 to 8.

Organized by LabourStart, the internationally renowned news service that helps labour unions disseminate information and win campaigns for members, the conference will feature guest speakers and panelists from around the world and will focus on how trade unionists can connect our struggles and strategies on the issues of migration, climate change, and precarious work.

Registration is still open. Conference attendees can register online, or in person at the conference, outside Room LIB72 in Ryerson’s Jorgenson Hall.

At the conference, UFCW Canada Local 1118 member Eduardo Basa will be presenting on a panel discussing precarious employment, migration, and food security. A former temporary foreign worker, Eduardo will be speaking about his firsthand experience with precarious work in the Canadian food sector, and how he has benefited from a UFCW collective agreement that has enabled Brother Basa and his coworkers to gain citizenship and achieve economic security.

As well, UFCW Canada National Representative Pablo Godoy will be participating in a workshop on environmental, indigenous, and labour solidarity, while Stan Raper – the National Coordinator for the Agriculture Workers Alliance – and representatives from the Students Against Migrant Exploitation (SAME) will be discussing migrant worker organizing with conference-goers.

So far the conference has attracted registrants from 70 countries and every continent. In addition to boasting an impressive array of guest speakers, panelists, and workshops, the conference will also feature labour history walking tours, a display gallery, and a video room highlighting labour struggles and victories from across the globe.