Laura Walton, Ahmad Gaied and Jackie Taylor were elected president, secretary-treasurer and executive vice-president at the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) convention on Tuesday, November 21.
“Ontarians are facing intersecting crises of high prices, a lack of affordable housing, an escalating climate emergency, health care privatization, democracy-threatening misinformation, and a corrupt provincial government enriching millionaire developers at the expense of the majority of Ontarians who are struggling every day,” said president-elect Walton.
WATCH: Laura Walton: Empowering unions to be spaces of radical change
Walton, Gaied and Taylor ran together as a slate of candidates who dubbed themselves “Team Ignite.”
“Workers are ready to meet this moment with positive solutions and building a movement with the resolve to win. It’s time for a better standard of living for the people whose work is responsible for record profits – especially racialized and young workers who have been told, for too long, their only choice is to accept low-wage jobs and worse working conditions than the last generation,” Walton added.
Major Ontario public and private sector unions are well represented amongst the OFL’s new leadership. Walton has served as president of the Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) and is a member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario. Gaied is a grocery store clerk and a member of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and Taylor is a community worker and a United Steelworkers (USW) member.
“Workers’ unions – united through our federation – are well-resourced and prepared to fight for higher wages, no more workers killed on the job, and defined benefit pensions for all,” said Gaied. “I started working in one of billionaire Galen Weston’s super-profitable grocery stores when I was 17. My coworkers and I are tired of rich posers like Doug Ford and Pierre Poilievre who spew hatred and disinformation because they know that the more people learn about what they actually stand for, the less anyone is willing to vote for them.”
No strangers to challenging power
Walton came to province-wide and national attention last November, when she successfully led her members in a strike action against the province.
Ontario premier Doug Ford responded by passing a law that imposed a new contract on Walton’s members and invoked the notwithstanding clause so that the bill could not be challenged in court, thereby violating the rights of educational support workers to negotiate with their employer.
Walton and other union leaders took up the challenge and it seemed a province-wide general strike was imminent, but Ford backed down.
In an interview this summer with rabble, Walton said she would bring that same energy as president of the OFL.
“I think we’re at this point right now in the labour movement where you can see workers, whether they’re unionized or non unionized, they are seeking out better. And it’s gonna require some organizing, and it’s gonna require planning,” she said. “I think I’ve shown that I’m capable of putting together and leading a team that can do just that.”
READ MORE: Team Ignite ready to bring the fire in fight for fair labour in Ontario
A pivotal time for the labour movement
The new OFL leadership recognizes that this is a pivotal moment in the history of the labour movement.
Since that historic showdown between OSBCU and the province, unions across the continent have seen significant gains.
Earlier this fall, Unifor managed to secure historic deals for their members with the Big Three auto manufacturers and at the beginning of this month, the federal government finally introduced long-awaited anti-scab legislation thanks to years of effort from labour unions in partnership with the NDP.
RELATED: Unions push Liberals on anti-scab legislation
“The wave of strikes across Ontario is continuing, and that’s a good thing,” said Taylor. “Workers are joining unions in record numbers because we understand our value and refuse to accept low pay, long hours, no pensions, and overall disrespect from illegitimately rich owners who do no real work for their wealth. Change comes through struggle. Frontline workers are leading the way and I’m humbled to help my co-workers across Ontario channel their power – and use it to win the changes they need and deserve.”
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