UFCW Local 832

Infobox Union|
name= UFCW Local 832
country= Canada
affiliation= Manitoba Federation of Labour, Winnipeg Labour Council
members= Approximately 15,000
full_name= United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 832
native_name=


founded=
current=
head= United Food and Commercial Workers
dissolved_date=
dissolved_state=
merged_into=
office= Winnipeg, Manitoba
people= Robert Ziegler, President and C.E.O.
website= [http://www.ufcw832.com/ www.ufcw832.com]
footnotes=

The UFCW Local 832 is a local union of the United Food and Commercial Workers union. It represents workers at a variety of workplaces in Winnipeg and elsewhere in Manitoba, Canada. It has a heavy representation in the service and retail sector, common for UFCW locals. Local 832 can be considered a 'mega-local', or a union local consisting of a large number of workers and workplaces. This is due to a long series of mergers between UFCW locals in Manitoba; much like with other mega-local mergers, there have been benefits and costs to the membership. Until the secession of the St. Boniface Hospital workers (into UFCW Local 1869), UFCW 832 contained nearly all UFCW-affiliated workplaces in Manitoba. As a result, it is the largest private-sector union in Manitoba.

Sectors represented in UFCW 832

This is a partial list of sectors represented by UFCW 832.
* Grocery (Safeway, Real Canadian Superstore), Extra Foods
* Meatpacking (Maple Leaf Foods)
* Apparel Manufacturing (Western Glove)
* Health Care

History

Founded in 1938, Local 832 was approximately 700 members strong by 1964 when Bernard Christophe was elected President. Christophe held the presidency of Local 832 until ending his 38-year stretch as head of the local by stepping down in 2002 [http://www.ufcw832.com/sub.php?id=21] . He was replaced by the current President & C.E.O., Robert Ziegler. UFCW 832 recently had elections to their executive board in 2005; these elections saw the first contested election for president in a number of years. Ziegler and affiliated candidates for Vice-Presidents on Executive Board defeated all challengers.

The local was recently successful in organizing a group of Mexican agricultural workers at Mayfair Foods. Although enough workers signed union cards to automatically certify in September 2006, a series of disputes before the Manitoba Labour Board pushed back their certification until June 26th, 2007 [ [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2007/06/26/farm-union.html] CBC News, June 26th, 2007 (accessed July 17th, 2007).] This certification has national importance, they became the first group of organized foreign farm workers in Canada.

Structure

The ultimate decision-making body for the UFCW Local 832 is the Executive Board, made up of the President, Secretary-Treasurer, Recorder, and 15 Vice-Presidents. All members of the Executive Board are elected by the general membership of the Local in an election held every four years. The President and Secretary-Treasurer are full-time, paid positions, while the Vice-Presidents are elected from different constituencies within the Local. These constituencies are made up of different employment sectors organized by the Local. Voting is not restricted by constituencies, and any member can vote for any or all of the positions open on the Board.

References