March 27, 2020
On the Front Lines: UFCW food manufacturing members

While a growing number of businesses are closing as part of escalating government measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, UFCW food manufacturing members remain on the front lines of the crisis working hard to supply grocery stores and help feed Canadians and their families during the coronavirus pandemic.

Whether they are producing breads, cakes, and pastas; beef, poultry, and seafood products; candies and snacks; coffees and teas; condiments and sauces; dairy products; deli meats and bacon; fruit and vegetable products; hamburgers, hot dogs, and sausages; pet nutrition products; or prepared food and meals; UFCW food manufacturing members make a wide range of Great Canadian Food Products and are helping to feed the country throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

“In communities across Canada, food manufacturing workers are rising to the challenge to ensure that Canadian families get the food products they need to stay healthy, nourished, and safe, including the thousands of UFCW Canada members who work in food production and processing,” says Paul Meinema, the national president of UFCW Canada.

“Our sisters and brothers in the food manufacturing sector are playing an essential role in keeping the country fed during the coronavirus pandemic, and we are extremely grateful for their critical work,” the UFCW leader adds.

To read more about UFCW Canada’s presence in food production and processing, see our union’s latest Annual Report.

UFCW Canada is the country’s leading private sector union, representing more than 250,000 union members across Canada working in food retail and processing, transportation, health care, logistics, warehousing, agriculture, hospitality, manufacturing, and the security and professional sectors. UFCW is the country's most innovative organization dedicated to building fairness in workplaces and communities. UFCW Canada members are your neighbours who work at your local grocery stores, hotels, car rental agencies, nursing homes, restaurants, food processing plants, and thousands of other locations across the country.