Strength and Solidarity at This Year’s National Defence Fund Conference!

We are thrilled to share the success of this year’s National Defence Fund Conference, held in beautiful Ottawa! Over three hundred UFCW activists — including 25 delegates from UFCW Local 401, led by President Thomas Hesse and Secretary Treasurer Richelle Stewart — attended the Conference and discussed the importance of the NDF.

The NDF is crucial for UFCW Canada members and their local unions. A $1 million fund, the NDF provides extra and often critical financial resources and negotiating leverage for workers on strike or facing a lockout. Having the resources needed to run a strong strike is particularly important as Local 401 members work to Stop the Squeeze and address the challenges of the affordability crisis.

As we continue coordinating some of the highest-stakes bargaining we have ever engaged in as a local union, the NDF will be a cornerstone of our strategy to fight for and win the wage increases and contract improvements our members so desperately need.

We have recently seen the NDF in action supporting strikers at local unions in Ontario and Quebec. Those members would not have had the strength to push their employers without the confidence and certainty provided by the NDF. The conference presented a fantastic opportunity to dig into the nature and future of the progressive work the NDF supports and included stories from some of those striking workers.

Our delegates had the chance to get to know other union members from across the country, reinforcing the importance of solidarity in our International Union. The Conference featured excellent sector meetings from retail to food processing and plenary sessions where we engaged in problem-solving discussions about workplace violence, and our wonderful delegates shared important reports on workplace issues.

Presenters at the conference included UFCW Canada’s National President Shawn Haggerty, M.P. Jenny Kwan, IUF General-Secretary Sue Longley, and 401’s own Adriana Salguero and Alain Mendoza. Secretary Treasurer Richelle Stewart, who sits on the NDF Administration Committee, played a key role in the conference’s success.

We look forward to using the knowledge we have learned throughout this year, and seeing each other again next year! Anyone who wants to learn more about the National Defence Fund can visit the UFCW Canada NDF website.

Posted on: July 22,2024