Canvassing in elections is exciting, sometimes awkward, and absolutely vital to the success of campaigns.
To kick start Unifor’s member to member campaign, twenty-four members from ridings across Ontario gathered in Toronto for two days of training. The organizers participated in sessions that offered tools and resources on how to have doorstep conversations with union members as part of the Make it Count campaign that will gear up when the writ drops next week.
The training follows a directive that was approved by members at the December 2017 Ontario Regional Council and is part of Unifor’s plan to campaign to, “elect a progressive government that respects trade union rights and the role of the labour movement.”
The adopted recommendation also called on local union leadership to work actively to mobilize members to vote on June 7.
“There’s too much at stake in this election, with conservative threats to public services like healthcare and squashing the rollout of the $15 an hour minimum wage,” commented Naureen Rizvi, Ontario Regional Director. “Unifor volunteers and organizers will put in the work in order to turn the tide.”
Unifor’s Make it Count campaign asks all Unifor members to not settle, but to unite and demand a more progressive province for all of us.
Currently, the Progressive Conservatives are ahead in all provincial polls even though the party’s leader has expressed support and interest in implementing anti-worker, anti-woman policies and threatens the public services that we all rely on.
Denise Hammond, Director of Communications, reminded members that polling looked similar leading up to the 2014 election, with Tim Hudak ahead, but Unifor mobilized to stop the conservatives then and union members can do it again with Doug Ford.