• Français
FacebookTwitterYoutubeInstagram
Find Your Local Union
Subscribe to E-news
 
Login
Contact

UFCW Canada - Union Logo

Canada's Private Sector Union

  • About Our Union
  • Media & News
  • Resources
  • Issues
  • Action Centre
  • Join the Union

Directions Newsletter

Delegates honour the past, look to the future at 30th Annual NDF Convention

 

Click on the image above to see the photo gallery.

Edmonton – July 13, 2016 – UFCW Canada activists from across the country gathered in Edmonton from July 10 to 12 for the 30th Annual National Defence Fund (NDF) Convention, marking three decades of the Fund’s success in building strength, fairness, and solidarity for members.

Over the past thirty years, the NDF has provided UFCW Canada members and their Local Unions with extra financial resources and bargaining strength when faced with a strike or lockout.

The NDF Convention provides delegates from UFCW Canada Local Unions with the opportunity to share industry insights, review bargaining trends in UFCW Canada's core industries, and learn new strategies to advance fairness for UFCW Canada members and all working people.

In his opening address, National President Paul Meinema congratulated delegates on their work in building an ever-stronger and dynamic NDF that has attracted thousands of new members in recent years, including UFCW Canada Local 1006A members at No Frills in Ontario and UFCW Canada Local 1118 members at Sunterra Meats in Alberta.

“When it comes to protecting the rights and gains of members, and helping to secure the fairest collective agreement possible, there is no other bargaining resource in the country that offers workers the level of support that the NDF provides to UFCW Canada members and their families,” Brother Meinema told the convention delegates.

"The NDF has always been about putting workers first, with dedicated funding that can help members defend their hard-earned living standards when they need it most. And that spirit continues to guide the NDF today,” he added.

President Meinema then paid tribute to Kip Connolly, Victor Carr, Julius Hoebink, Jim Wells, Bruno Zimmer, and André Ste-Marie – six UFCW activists who played an instrumental role in founding the NDF and growing the Fund in its early years. As part of the tribute, Brother Connolly, Brother Carr, and Brother Hoebink joined President Meinema on stage, where they received a warm round of applause from the 280 convention-goers.

The UFCW leader's comments were preceded by presentations from UFCW Canada Local 401 President Douglas O’Halloran and UFCW Canada Local 1118 President Peter Frost, who spoke about the proud history of the NDF and the key role that the Fund plays in negotiations.

Delegates also heard from UFCW Canada Local 1288P President Dan Smith, UFCW Canada Local 501 member Sergio Noivo, and UFCW Canada Local 832 member Corey Kowalski, who talked about the importance of the NDF in helping members achieve fairness at Covered Bridge Potato Chips, Brault and Martineau, and Diageo, respectively.

As well, Executive Assistant to the National President Barry Sawyer discussed some of the labour disputes that NDF members have weathered this year, including the major victory at Covered Bridge.

Delegates also watched a powerful performance called “Packingtown,” which chronicles the history of Edmonton’s now-defunct Packingtown district, and the struggles that meat-packing employees experienced working at Swifts, Burns, Canada Packers, and Gainers in the 1980s.

For the remainder of the convention, delegates joined their respective sector councils for the packinghouse, hospitality, soft drink, flour milling, and retail food industries.

The next NDF Convention will be held in Quebec City in July 2017. To find out more about the National Defence Fund, click here.

  • Media & News
    • News
      • All News
      • Agriculture
      • By the Numbers
      • Campaigns
      • Directions Newsletter
      • Infographics
      • Politics
      • Social Justice
      • Women and Gender Equity
      • Young Workers
      • Health & Safety
    • Media
    • Subscribe to E-news
  • Join the Union
  • About Our Union
    • About Our Union
      • Find Your Local Union
      • National President
      • National Council
      • Constitution
      • Union History
      • Mission Statement
      • Annual Reports
      • Join UFCW Canada
  • Media & News
    • Media & News
      • News
      • Media
      • Subscribe to E-news
  • Resources
    • Resources
      • Union Training & Scholarships
      • Health & Safety
      • The National Defence Fund
      • Member Discounts
      • Great Canadian Food Products
      • UFCW Canada Equity Grant Program
  • Issues
    • Issues
      • Leukemia Fundraising
      • Political Action
      • Women and Gender Equity
      • Social Justice
      • The Union for Agriculture Workers
      • UFCW Pride – Union Pride!
      • Young Workers
      • Food Justice
      • Global Solidarity
      • Uber Drivers United
      • Conscious Cannabis
  • Action Centre
    • Action Centre
      • Paid Sick Days Now!
      • Stop the Hate! Support an anti-racist COVID-19 recovery
      • Add Your Voice to the Call for Universal Childcare
      • Take Action to Protect Farm Workers and Canada’s Food Supply
      • Show your support for frontline workers
      • Help Food Processing Workers!
      • Economic Security for All
      • What you need to know about COVID-19
      • Support the expansion of EI benefits
      • Help support justice for First Nations children in Canada
      • Support Uber Drivers
      • Tell Sobeys to protect workers and ditch toxic receipts
      • Save The Beer Store
      • #NoMore campaign to end gender-based violence
      • Help close the Gender Wage Gap today
      • Stop Cargill’s union-busting in Turkey
  • Join the Union
    • Join the Union
      • Why UFCW Canada
      • Union Advantage
      • Union Facts
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Everything About Unions
      • Industries We Represent
      • Workplaces We Represent
      • How to Join a Union
      • Join Now

Login

FacebookTwitterYoutubeInstagram

Copyright © 2022 UFCW Canada. All Rights Reserved
United Food and Commercial Workers Union
Canada's private sector union