UFCW campaigns supporting front-line workers take off
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Toronto – May 22, 2020 – Two UFCW campaigns supporting workers in food processing, food retail, health care, security, and other front-line industries have garnered overwhelming support from people across the country, with thousands of Canadians signing on to the campaigns to show their solidarity with essential workers during COVID-19.
Together, the Help Protect Food Processing Workers campaign – aimed at securing proper health and safety protections and better working conditions for workers in meat-packing plants and other food processing facilities – and the Support Frontline Workers campaign, which calls for increased safety protections, paid sick leave, mental health services, and personal protective equipment for front-line workers, have garnered thousands of petition signatures in support of these demands.
The two campaigns have also taken off on social media, reaching over 468,000 people on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, gaining more than 896,000 impressions, and attracting thousands of engagements across the three platforms.
“The outpouring of support for these campaigns clearly shows that Canadians respect and appreciate the vital efforts of UFCW Canada members working in food processing, food retail, health care, security, and other front-line industries, and they expect these workers to be protected and cared for both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Paul Meinema, the national president of UFCW Canada.
“We are calling on governments and employers to do the right thing by taking immediate action to protect food, health care, security, and other front-line workers, and by putting urgent measures in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces across Canada,” the UFCW leader adds. “And it is clear that our message is resonating with the public.”
You can add your name to the chorus of Canadians calling for health, safety, and fairness for front-line workers by visiting UFCW.ca/PayItForward.
Activists are also encouraged to support food processing workers by telling the federal government to protect food workers and stop the spread of COVID-19 in Canada’s food manufacturing facilities. Take action here.
UFCW Canada is the country’s leading private sector union, representing more than 250,000 union members across Canada working in food retail and processing, transportation, health care, logistics, warehousing, agriculture, hospitality, manufacturing, and the security and professional sectors. UFCW is the country's most innovative organization dedicated to building fairness in workplaces and communities. To learn more about our union’s presence in the food processing and retail, health care, security, and other front-line industries, see our latest Annual Report.
