Local 401 training dedicated to building activism

Front Row: Keith Purdy, John Cowan, Paige Hegland, ChloёCarpenter, Nanette Nyitrai, Cathrine Lelis, Margaret Macaulay, Debora De Angelis (National Office), Maria  Sarmiento Back Row: Devin Yeager (National Office), Ron Klassen, Lawrence Tanfara, Brad Giffen, Tom Cantley  Absent: Gina Bedural

A group of UFCW Canada Local 401 members are now better prepared to make a greater impact in their communities after completing a week-long training session dedicated to helping yet-to-be unionized workers improve their lives through collective action.

“The Organizing Training Course was absolutely jam-packed with fabulous fun, and it was very educational,” says Paige Hegland, a Local 401 member for PTI. “I am so happy that I chose to take this course.”

Sister Hegland and the other Local 401 participants worked with National Office facilitators Debora DeAngelis and Devin Yeager to talk about different things UFCW Canada members can do to empower workers to create stronger communities and better, fairer workplace standards.

The training focused on knowing the steps to joining a union and how to best communicate those steps and law protected rights to workers who have yet to start negotiating with their employers as a group.

"Participants walked away with a better grasp of what it means to be a union activist, and how together they can play a major role in creating higher standards in the workplace and the union’s core industries,” says Brother Yeager, who, like Sister De Angelis, is a national representative focused on helping workers to empower themselves and their communities through combining their efforts.

To find out more about Local 401, visit www.gounion.ca. And to get further details on the sessions, courses, and programs offered through the National Training and Education Department, please contact Marv Funk at the National Office.