USW locals are receiving thousands of dollars towards the cost of hosting community events.
There are two catches: the locals must contribute to the USW Family and Community Education Fund (FCEF) and the project must have an educational component
Local 9344 family day
This Quebec local organized a family day at Lac des Rapides in Sept-Îles for locals in the North Shore area. Sébastien Deschenes, President of Local 9344, applied for over $12,000 from the FCEF to pay for food, door prizes, boat rentals and more.
All FCEF projects must include an educational component, so the local put together an organization chart of the union’s leadership as a game to help attendees understand the union structure and its recent achievements. They also led an educational scavenger hunt.
The goal of the event was to have fun, bring members together and demonstrate the union’s vitality.
“When we as elected officials return from a regional meeting or the annual assembly, we come away feeling energized and reinvigorated. This is the feeling of solidarity and belonging that we want to recreate through this day,” wrote Deschenes in the funding application.
Labour movie night
A volunteer shift at a local food bank followed by a film screening brought together a group of young activists who were new to the NextGen Committee at USW Local 1-417 in Kamloops, B.C.
Local President Phil Ducharme applied to the FCEF for $4,800 to cover the cost of renting the movie theatre, as well as lost time and travel for those who were not already booked for the training courses that started the next day.
The project’s budget was under $5,000 and didn’t require a set application deadline.
“After volunteering, we gathered at the Paramount Theatre to watch Matewan, a powerful film about labour history and the struggles workers faced to secure union rights. The movie sparked deep reflection and members were highly engaged in the post-screening discussion,” said Ducharme.
This article appears in the Winter 2025 issue of USW@Work magazine.
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
MONTREAL – The Syndicat des Métallos/United Steelworkers union (USW) welcomes new provincial legislation that will help secure the future of Quebec’s copper industry. The passage of Bill 11 by the Quebec government paves the way for investments at the Horne copper smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, with resource giant Glencore announcing it will now move forward with […]
For United Steelworkers Local 5795, supporting members means supporting the communities they call home. This summer, the local is demonstrating that commitment by ensuring Labrador City’s annual Family Day celebration, taking place on August 22, continues, providing families with an opportunity to come together, create memories and celebrate their community. After cuts were made to […]
OTTAWA – The United Steelworkers union (USW) is welcoming legislation introduced today by NDP Parliamentary Leader Don Davies to close a loophole in federal anti-scab legislation that allows employers to use outside managers as replacement workers during labour disputes. USW National Director Marty Warren and USW Local 1944 President Michael Phillips joined Davies in Ottawa […]