is a project led by a group of activists and York University students working in the retail industry who are interested in organizing retail workers. This exciting and historic project is supported by York University’s Global Labour Research Centre and Unifor, Canada’s newest and largest union in the private sector. Our first step is to establish a community chapter that could serve as a rudimenta
ry union structure to further organize this community of workers. The goals of the community chapter are:
• To improve the working conditions and protections of all retail workers at York University and in the Greater Toronto Area;
• To serve as an information hub, providing students working in retail with useful information about their rights at work;
• To create a unit where non-union retail workers can meet, share experiences, articulate common demands and speak in a collective voice;
• To provide a space for strategizing and organizing events that reach out to potential members on campus, as well as outreach to off-campus communities of workers;
• To connect with current Unifor members in retail to benefit from their knowledge and resources and support the development of union activities aimed at improving work standards in retail.
