About 170 workers employed at Mountain Equipment Co-op are the newest members of UFCW 1518, voting to join the union by an overwhelming majority last week. The YES vote follows a successful organizing drive led by MEC employees at the Broadway location who wanted to bring positive change to their workplace. UFCW 1518 represents 22,000 members working in the retail, community health, industrial and professional sectors across British Columbia.
“Workers are their strongest when they stand together to fight for fairness, and that is the power that a union can bring,” said President Kim Novak. “We are thrilled to represent MEC employees and work with them to achieve improvements in their workplaces and contract.”
UFCW 1518 has a long history of working productively with co-ops to ensure they are successful in the communities in which they operate while also providing effective representation for workers. “We have a lot of experience with co-ops and we are excited to add MEC to that group,” added President Novak. UFCW 1518 also represents Alberni District Co-op, Hornby Island Co-op, Mackenzie Co-op, Mid-Island Co-op, Sointula Co-op and Ucluelet Co-op.
“The co-operative movement shares much in common with the labour movement, and that values alignment makes for a good fit with our union,” President Novak affirmed. “We look forward to working constructively with MEC to fulfill their guiding values, including social responsibility and caring for others.”