UFCW Canada members elect Port Colborne-born president
From his start more than 35 years ago at Robin Hood Multifoods, where he first got involved in labour issues, Shawn Haggerty is now leading one of the largest unions in the country.
Last week, Haggerty, who was born and raised in Port Colborne and attended Port Colborne High School, was elected national president of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Canada, which represents more than 250,000 workers in the food sector, as well as in health care, security, nonfood manufacturing, office and professional, and other key sectors.
He has been elected executive vice-president of UFCW International, as part of the senior leadership team of a union of 1.3 million members in Canada and the U.S.
Haggerty, who first moved away from Niagara in 2002 to take a position in Thunder Bay as the union’s northwest regional director, covering “Kenora to Kapuskasing and all points in between,” first became a member of UFCW Local 416P while working as an electrician in the maintenance department at Robin Hood Multifoods. Haggerty obtained his electrician certification from Mohawk College.
In 2007, Haggerty was elected president of UFCW Local 175, which, with more than 75,000 members, is the largest local union in Canada, a role he kept for 17 years.
Now, in addition to serving as national president of UFCW Canada, Haggerty sits as a trustee on several benefit plan boards and acts as UFCW’s voice on the Canadian Labour Congress’s executive council.
In an interview, Haggerty said he’s seen much change in the country’s food sector since he started. Namely, it’s a good deal smaller, something that’s long been evident in Niagara, which has seen juice plants and peach-canning facilities close.
“We used to have a much more vibrant food economy,” he said.
What also changed is the role of migrant workers. Haggerty said unlike in the United States, where labour regulations are universal across the country, in Canada they vary province to province. He said in jurisdictions where it’s permitted, UFCW represents migrant workers. In Ontario, where it’s not, the union still plays a role, operating outreach centres.
“They’re not dues-paying members, but we still help them,” he said.