Fundraising for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada

Celebrating 40 Years of Hope: A Labour of Love

For four decades, UFCW Canada and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC) have stood together in a powerful partnership rooted in compassion, solidarity, and hope. This year, we proudly celebrate the launch of A Labour of Love — a national campaign honouring 40 years of life-changing impact made possible by the generosity and commitment of UFCW members across the country.

Since 1985, UFCW Canada members have raised an extraordinary $54 million to advance blood cancer research, support families, and improve care. These efforts have contributed directly to some of the most significant gains in cancer survival rates seen over the past two decades — progress powered by the belief that no one should face blood cancer alone.

A Labour of Love also shines a light on the stories behind the fundraising — stories of members, families, and communities whose lives have been touched by blood cancer and who have transformed their experiences into action. These stories reflect the heart of our union: strength in solidarity and a deep commitment to giving back.

As part of the campaign, LLSC is launching nationwide outreach to more than 300,000 supporters, along with a social media initiative reaching tens of thousands across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Locals are encouraged to join the celebration by sharing official posts, highlighting their own fundraising efforts, and inspiring the next generation of members to get involved.

Together with LLSC, we also honour the annual UFCW Special Recognition Award in Research, recognizing groundbreaking advancements in the fight against blood cancers. The 2025 recipient, Dr. Vincent-Philippe Lavallée, is developing an innovative genomic test to accelerate pediatric leukemia diagnosis and treatment.

As we celebrate this milestone, UFCW Canada remains steadfast in our commitment to a future without blood cancers and continue building hope for generations to come.

The Power of Community: UFCW 12R24’s Bottle Drive

For 40 years, UFCW Canada members have demonstrated the power of collective action — and few initiatives embody that spirit more than UFCW Local 12R24 and The Beer Stores’ Bottle Drive. What began as a grassroots effort has grown into one of the most successful fundraising campaigns in our union’s history, mobilizing communities across Ontario and raising over $24 million to support the fight against blood cancers. The video below highlights the heart, determination, and generosity that have made the Bottle Drive a beacon of solidarity and hope.

About the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC)

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC) is the single largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancers in Canada. LLSC funds life-saving blood cancer research across the country, and provides information and support services free of charge to people affected by blood cancers. The LLSC's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of Canadians impacted by blood cancers.

Visit llscanada.org for more information. 

Agricultural Workers

Agriculture workers grow strong with UFCW Canada

UFCW Canada has been an ally, advocate and champion for agriculture workers in Canada since 1980 —successfully leading the campaign for justice,  enhanced rights, safety, and a voice in the workplace for some of Canada’s most exploited workers.

Today, UFCW Canada is also the union for both domestic and migrant agriculture workers with collective agreements in place at locations in British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec. They are strong contracts that protect the right of both temporary and domestic workers to return to work the next year based on years of service.

In association with the Agriculture Workers Alliance, UFCW Canada also operatesCanada’s largest association for agriculture workers, with a network of 10 help centres across Canada where the rights of all farm workers come first — no matter where they come from.

Since opening the first centre in 1992, UFCW Canada and the AWA have assisted literally tens of thousands of farm workers regarding abusive employers, unsafe workplace and housing conditions, medical treatment and Workers Compensation claims, parental leave benefits, health and safety training, as well as supporting the rights of agriculture workers to form a union.

UFCW Canada and AWA actions have also led to:

• Health and Safety coverage and training for farm workers in Ontario
• The right for farm workers in Ontario to unionize (the McGuinty Ontario government has appealed)
• Rent reduction to migrant farm workers in Quebec due to AWA Human Rights complaint
• Compensation to some migrant workers unjustly repatriated
• Official partnerships with Mexican states to advocate for the fair treatment and rights of workers
• Millions of dollars in Parental Leave Benefits for seasonal and temporary migrant workers Concerted pressure on the Alberta government to end its deadly discrimination of excluding farm workers from Health and Safety coverage
• Charges filed  with the International Labour Organization (ILO) that Ontario’s ban on farm unions is a violation of      human and labour rights under United Nations conventions

“Agriculture workers have the same rights as every other worker in Canada, “says Wayne Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada. “We have stood with these workers from the beginning, and we will continue to fight for them until their rights are upheld, their workplace is safe, and the hard and dangerous work they do is respected and rewarded fairly.”

Walmart Workers Canada

Workers in Canada have fundamental rights — including the right to form a union to create a better, fairer relationship with their employer.

It is a right that Walmart cannot ignore because Walmart is not above the law. That law is Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms — our constitution — which has established the Freedom to Associate as a fundamental Canadian right.

In other words, Canada’s highest court has twice ruled that the Charter ensures that workers have the right to join a union and to negotiate a collective agreement with their employer.

As one of Canada’s largest private-sector unions with a strong history of activism, UFCW Canada is committed to ensuring that the labour and human rights of Walmart workers in Canada are respected.

For decades, Walmart workers have tried to improve their lives through collective bargaining. They face tremendous challenges in trying to exercise their rights, but with the assistance of UFCW Canada – and its 250,000-plus members – Walmart Canada workers are making progress.

Since 2002, over 20 different groups of Walmart workers, in several different provinces, have applied to become UFCW Canada members. And despite Walmart’s corporate and legal tactics, some Walmart Canada workers do have a UFCW Canada collective agreement today where they work, because workers understand that by acting together and taking collective action they can improve their workplace and their lives.

If you are a Canadian Associate who wants to join the growing movement for change at Walmart, click here or call: 1-866-977-0772.

UFCW Canada will continue to answer the call every day from Walmart workers who “associate” justice with their Freedom to Associate and form a union.

Equal rights NOW for Ontario agriculture workers