Executive Board approves $300,000 donation to UFCW members affected by Fort McMurray wildfires

On May 9, the members of the UFCW Locals 175 & 633 Executive Board passed a motion to donate money to an emergency fund specifically to help UFCW members and their families affected by the Fort McMurray wildfires.

The massive wildfires have had an impact on hundreds of UFCW members from Local 401 and Local 1118 in the Fort McMurray and Wood Buffalo area. This includes staff from UFCW Local 401, who fled during the mandatory evacuation.

Executive Board members voted in favour of contributing up to $300,000 toward the Relief Fund. Both the UFCW National Council and the National Defence Fund are each contributing $300,000 as well.

“I had no doubt that our Executive Board would want to be part of helping our UFCW members and their families in any way possible,” said President Shawn Haggerty. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. I know we all appreciate the incredible ongoing effort of all the first responders on the scene.”

The Alberta Local Unions will work with the UFCW National office to determine how the money will be dispersed to members. This will include rigorous tracking of those distributions. Once it is safe to return to the city, the Local 401 office in Fort McMurray will become a resource centre. UFCW members will be able to contact them and register for relief assistance and access the help they need.