TIMMINS, Ont. – Last week, 30 frontline workers at the Wakenagun Youth Healing Lodge voted to join the United Steelworkers union (USW), significantly strengthening worker power in Northern Ontario and in Indigenous-led community care.
The lodge in Timmins, Ont., provides residential and cultural healing programs for Indigenous youth. Workers deliver vital support, care and programming – often under challenging conditions with no formal recognition or protection.
“These workers are the backbone of a healing lodge that supports young people through some of the hardest moments of their lives,” said Darlene Jalbert, USW District 6 Organizing Co-ordinator. “Their work deserves respect, stability and the collective power of a union behind them. That’s what they’ve now won.”
The successful vote adds 30 new members to the USW and reflects growing momentum among care and social service workers organizing across Northern Ontario.
“This is a win not just for these workers, but for the community they serve,” said Kevon Stewart, USW District 6 Director. “By joining the USW, they’re building stronger, safer and more sustainable conditions – for themselves and the youth they support.”
The workers will elect a bargaining committee and with the support of their new union, will begin preparations to negotiate a collective agreement with the employer.
About the United Steelworkers union
The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.
Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of the union’s strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fairer compensation – including good wages, benefits and pensions.
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