Messages from your President & Secretary-Treasurer
President Tosato’s Message – Spring 2026
The Local Union’s First Member Engagement Conference: A new initiative for 2026
I am excited to announce that this fall, UFCW Locals 175 & 633 will host its first-ever Member Engagement Conference.
From September 27 – 29, 2026, about 150 members will take part in this opportunity to help shape the future of your Local Union. Applications to attend the conference will be open in the Spring.
But first, we need a Committee.
On the back cover of the Spring 2026 issue of Checkout, you will find a link to an application form for the Member Engagement Committee, which will be tasked with developing the upcoming conference. You will also see posters on your Union bulletin board and handouts at the workplace as well.
Establishing a Committee of Union members is an important first step and an integral part of putting together a conference intended to build solidarity and inclusion across our membership.
On this Committee, we want the voices of our members in the room to provide their valuable insight and feedback throughout the process so we can deliver a relevant and engaging experience at the conference.
If you are someone who is passionate about building community, has great ideas to share, and wants to see your Union Sisters, Brothers, and Friends empowered and informed – this Committee is the perfect place for you to get involved. Please take a moment to read about the plans for this Committee on the back cover, and if it sounds like something you would like to be part of, apply using the link or QR code before April 15, 2026.
The Union movement is rooted in solidarity and shared purpose: to raise up working people, give them a voice, and fight for their rights.
But while our drive and purpose remains steady, the world continues to change around us. And as we navigate these challenges and changes together across our great Local Union, our priority will always remain providing real and relevant service to our members.
Our Local Union has been built on the strength and determination of many who came before us. And it is our responsibility to continue to build on their work to move workers’ rights and the labour movement forward one step at a time.
I am proud of UFCW Locals’ 175 & 633 commitment to our members. I believe that this new initiative – from the Committee to the Conference – is a wonderful way to help unify and build solidarity across our Local Union and will prove to be a great opportunity to connect with our members.
In Solidarity,
Kelly Tosato
president@ufcw175.com
Secretary-Treasurer McLean’s Message – Spring 2026
Pay Transparency Legislation a Step Forward: True Pay Equity still needed
On January 1, 2026, new pay transparency legislation took effect for publicly advertised job postings. This legislation now forms part of the Ontario Employment Standards Act (ESA) and is a welcome move forward for workers’ rights.
Pay secrecy fuels inequality.
Transparent wage grids and progression rates are important parts of your collective agreements with UFCW Locals 175 & 633. And those agreements work because they are enforceable; your employers are held accountable.
Without transparency and enforcement, employers often make arbitrary decisions on who makes what, play favourites and discriminate against some employees, effectively limiting the income and upward mobility of many workers. Our Organizers see this time and time again when they meet non-Union workers: favouritism and secrecy play a huge role in how far too many employers operate – and working people pay the price.
When you’re a member of UFCW Locals 175 & 633, part of the bargaining process is for your Union Negotiating Committee to ensure your employers have justifiable reasons for pay differences.
That alone is just one of the many reasons having Union representation is important. We call out discrepancies in wages; we challenge arbitrary raises the employer might try to give some but not others; we make sure employers play by the rules.
A UFCW Locals 175 & 633 collective agreement means that there is structure that your employer must follow that ensures: every bargaining unit member has the same rights and opportunities to get raises, advance, and have fair working conditions.
The Local Union’s Pay Equity department delves further into what fairness means with each collective agreement. Because pay transparency and pay equity go hand in hand.
The changes to pay transparency legislation are an important step, but it does not go far enough to address systemic pay inequities that plague the job market. Because, despite all of the gains over the years, the average Ontario woman still makes just 68 cents for every dollar that a man makes. And while women in unionized jobs do fair much better in wages, there is still work to be done.
Your Union works hard to ensure that employers meet their legislated pay equity obligations. We do this at the bargaining table and by filing charges when employers fail to hold up their end.
To connect with your Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) head to ola.org and tell your MPP you want to see better, enforceable pay equity legislation in this province.
In Solidarity,
Jim McLean
treasurer@ufcw175.com