Team Ignite announces candidacy for Ontario Federation of Labour leadership
Team Ignite (L-R): Ahmad Gaied, Laura Walton, Jackie Taylor |
Toronto – July 6, 2023 – Educational assistant Laura Walton, grocery store clerk Ahmad Gaied, and union educator and community worker Jackie Taylor announced last week that they are running to be the next executive officers of the one-million-member Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL).
Putting their team forward with the full support of UFCW Canada, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario and the United Steelworkers (USW), the three candidates plan to ignite the labour movement to organize, build, and win gains for workers across Canada’s largest and richest province.
“In warehouses, coffee shops, schools, buses, factories, stores, hospitals, airports, child cares, construction sites, offices, newsrooms, restaurants, underground mines, and workplaces everywhere, workers are ready to fight for ourselves, our families, and our communities,” said Laura Walton, a resident of Belleville and president of CUPE’s Ontario School Boards Council of Unions (OSBCU) who is running to be president of the OFL. “When we organize, we build movements that win – and that’s what’s next for Ontario workers.”
“I believe in a strong and united labour movement,” said Ahmad Gaied, current secretary-treasurer of the OFL and a UFCW 1006A member. “From my earliest days as a frontline grocery store worker, I’ve seen firsthand what workers can do to improve our lives when we join together and make our unions strong. Our work is valuable, and I know we can use our collective power to make working and living in Ontario better for everyone.”
“I am committed to working with OFL affiliates to organize and take action on issues that matter to workers,” said Jackie Taylor, USW member and Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) activist who is the candidate for OFL executive vice-president. “The ability to join a union, negotiate good contracts that improve their wages, benefits, pensions, job security, health and safety, and overall better working conditions – workers deserve nothing less. That’s what makes decent jobs. With united backing from frontline workers and union leaders throughout the province, I know that, together, we can win.”
The election will take place during the OFL’s 17th biennial convention in November. Learn more about the team and sign up for updates at teamigniteofl.ca.