Local 500 welcomes hospitality workers as new members

Thanks to the outstanding efforts of Local 500’s new organizing team (see DIRECTIONS 11.15), UFCW Canada’s voice just got stronger in Quebec with the addition of 130 new hospitality industry members.  

The new members work for two different employers: a catering company called Newrest based in Dorval, and St-Hubert BBQ Ltd., a popular restaurant chain known for its rotisserie chicken. The new St-Hubert members work at the company’s Kirkland location, and join over 1,100 other St-Hubert employees who are also UFCW Canada members.

The new Local 500 members also join over 12,000 UFCW Canada members who work in Canada’s rapidly growing hospitality industry. 

“More and more Canadians are finding work in the country’s rapidly growing hospitality industry, and as the country’s largest private-sector union, we need to make sure those jobs are good jobs by helping hospitality workers to improve industry standards through collective bargaining,” says UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley.

“Local 500’s outstanding commitment to the growth agenda is an inspiration for activists across the country, and a strong example of the kind of work that we all need to do to make sure UFCW Canada remains a force for worker empowerment and progressive social change.”

Vol. XI No. 16 • April 18, 2011