| 110 bags of groceries and $14,164.08 in cash donations were raised for our 219 Brothers and Sisters of; CEP 37x Timmins IAMAW 2243 Toronto COPE 343 Hamilton |
| Unions deliver holiday support; Operation Christmas Cheer for locked out Grant Forest workers |
Local News - Saturday, December 16, 2006 @ 10:00 Grant Forest Product employees received an early Christmas present and support from fellow union members around the province Friday. Cassandra Robinson, who founded Operation Christmas Cheer, arrived in Timmins earlier in the week. She and her husband had driven from Ottawa with two truckloads of food and vouchers for the Grant Forest workers, who were locked out in September. Robinson started Operation Christmas Cheer three years ago as a way to support her brothers and sisters, who were spending their holidays picketing. "I saw a need to help people on the picket lines during Christmas," said Robinson. "To bring a smile to their face and to let them know they are not forgotten." Robinson brought a bag of food for each of the employees locked out in addition to a $50 grocery voucher for No Frills, promising more to come. "It's enough to make sure you have a traditional Christmas dinner with your family," Robinson told employees. "That's the last thing we want you to worry about at Christmas." A month ago, Robinson sent letters to organized labour unions across the province to come to the aid of the employees of Communications, Energy and Paper Workers union local 37X and support them as they continue to picket nearly 100 days after being locked out. The call for help resulted in 110 bags of food and $9,800 in donations, with items continuing to be collected up to the new year. "This means a lot," said local 37X president Marcel Touchette, who said he was both shocked and pleased to hear Robinson wanted to help. "The members of this local are going to appreciate this very, very much." Also on hand for the presentation were MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP - Timmins-James Bay) and MP Charlie Angus (NDP - Timmins-James Bay), who came with words of encouragement and even a few Christmas carols. "People like Peter Grant are taking advantage of the forest industry crisis," said Angus. "Personally, I'm pretty pissed off that you guys have to be out here at Christmas." In addition to local 37X, Operation Christmas Cheer is helping two other picketing unions - one in Toronto where 45 members are on strike, and one in Hamilton, where 70 women are without work this holiday season. "This is just the beginning; , it's going to be a long winter," said Robinson. "You are all an inspiration to everyone across Ontario and Canada. "I'm very proud to be a sister up here and you're all in our prayers." Canadian Auto Workers Local 599 also made a donation of $1,000 to the group, as and presented more than $200 that was raised during September's Labour Day in the Park event. Members were also informed that those with children under 12 will be receiving a present from the Salvation Army, to add extra cheer this Christmas season. |
| Operation |
| Christmas Cheer |
| Be Union - Buy Union - Support Union |
Welcome To:
| Proudly Serving Union Families Since 2004 |
| OCC 2006 - CEP 37x, IAMAW 2243 and COPE 343 |
| Email: casandra@operationcheer.com - Phone: (613) 301-2988 - Fax: (613) 692-5265 |
| About Operation Cheer |
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| Past Christmas Food Drives |
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| 2006 Pictures |