MESSAGE FROM IVAN LIMPRIGHT, PRESIDENT

The UFCW Local 1518 website is designed to help you find information and updates about things that affect you, and events that are going on in your union.

UFCW 1518 has a diverse and unique membership with over 25,000 members who work in several industries including: Retail Foods, Commercial, Health Care, Industrial, and our latest addition, Farm Workers.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the website, please contact us. Your feedback is important to help ensure union members get the information you need.

It’s been a very busy year so far, and a critical one for many of our union members, as we have expanded our membership, and have been negotiating new contracts throughout different sectors.

We would like to welcome Shoppers Drug Mart members in Terrace, Island Trucking members from Vancouver Island, and our newest UFCW 1518 members, Farm Workers from Greenway Farms in Surrey.

It has been an exceptionally busy year with negotiations taking place for the major retail foods contract. After almost 9 months of negotiations, members employed with Save-On/Overwaitea and Safeway have now voted to ratify new 5-year contracts.

By no means was this an easy round of negotiations, but we were able to establish improvements for our members that we haven’t seen in over 20 years! We didn’t get everything we wanted -- in negotiations you never do—but we were able to start dismantling some of the barriers that have been in the contract over the past 12 years.

With the highest wage increases in 20 years, more opportunity for members on Grid B, and the restriction of Overwaitea’s ability to convert stores, we were successful in achieving many of the difficult tasks we set out to accomplish in this round of negotiations..

The reason we were able to do this is because of the members. This union is all about the members. It is because of the dedication and commitment of the union’s Shop Stewards and activists within the stores, the entire membership, that we were able to improve these Major Retail Food contracts. I would like to extend a personal thank you on behalf of myself, and the Union Negotiating Committees to every single member. It is your continued support that has brought us to where are today.

We’ve seen some great success in negotiations for other contracts within the union as well.

Members employed with Buy-Low Warehouse, and Sunrise Poultry have recently ratified new contracts that provide them with wage increases, better benefits, and improved working conditions.

Union members at The Concorde in Penticton provided their Union Negotiating Committee with a 100% strike vote, which allowed them to negotiate and ratify a much-improved contract.

By no means is the hard work over; however, the solidarity and strength of the membership will continue to give us strength not just at the bargaining table, but day-in and day-out as we enforce the contracts we negotiate in all the various workplaces where we represent UFCW 1518 members, and bring forward all the advantages of membership that come with belonging to UFCW Local 1518.

Please continue to watch the union website for updates and ongoing events in your union.

In solidarity,

Ivan Limpright
President of UFCW 1518

Biography of Ivan Limpright, President, UFCW Local 1518

Born and raised in the Aldergrove, B.C. area, Ivan joined Local 1518 in 1975 when he began working at the Overwaitea warehouse. In 1985, he was elected Chief Shop Steward, a full-time position he held until 1994, when he joined the staff of Local 1518.

Ivan was first elected to the UFCW Local 1518 Executive Board in 1987, and served on the Board until he was hired as a Union Representative in 1994.

A graduate of the Labour College of Canada in 1991, Ivan has served Local 1518 members as both a Union Representative and Director of Member Benefits.

Ivan became Secretary-Treasurer of UFCW Local 1518 in 2001, and President in 2006. In addition to overseeing and administering the day-to-day responsibilities of UFCW Local 1518, Ivan also serves on the Board of Directors of the UFCW Pension Plan and the UFCW Health and Welfare Trust. Ivan remains actively involved in developing Local 1518’s Member Benefits programs.

Ivan has worked throughout his career for Local 1518 members, and is dedicated to seeing that the union continues its role as a strong advocate for Local 1518 members.

Thank you for visiting your Union website! This website is designed for members to access information quickly and efficiently, and we encourage you to visit the site frequently to get all the latest updates.

This year has already been full of significant events that impact the lives of our members.

We have been able to improve contracts for Save-On/Overwaitea and Safeway members. We were able to do this because of the support of the members. Union members came out and voted, and made their voices heard when they provided their Negotiating Committees with strong strike mandates, and ultimately ratified their new contracts. These contracts contain substantial improvements, and are definitely a move in the right direction, as they provide more opportunity to earn a living wage than we have seen for years.

We were also able to significantly improve the conditions for members working in converted PriceSmart stores. Not only do these members maintain what they had under the Save-On/Overwaitea contract, they will also gain on whatever improvements take place in the new Save-On/Overwaitea contract throughout their continuous career with Overwaitea. This is a significant improvement, as it allows more opportunity for members who would otherwise be restricted, and prevented from having a brighter future with better wages and benefits.

The union continues to be busy and active in a variety of areas. After several months, negotiations with The Bay in Victoria will enter mediation, as both parties have reached a deadlock. Mediation for the first contract for members in Shopper Drug Mart in Terrace continues, with the Union Negotiating Committee fighting for a contract that compares to the deals reached in Cloverdale, White Rock and Burquitlam after they struck in Fall 2007.

Negotiations are also set to begin for members employed with IGA, Changes, Fernbrae Manor and many other units, including Coopers members, whose contract expires early 2009.

We encourage you to watch the website for the latest updates on your unit, as well as other events happening within the Union.

In Solidarity,
Frank Pozzobon

Biography of Frank Pozzobon, Secretary-Treasurer, UFCW Local 1518

Frank Pozzobon brings a wide variety of experience to the position of Secretary Treasurer.

Frank first became a member of UFCW Local 1518 when he started working at Safeway in 1976. In 1987, Frank began working as a Union Representative for  UFCW Local 1518. In 2000, Frank was promoted to the position of Director of Member Services, responsible for the supervision of twenty Union Representatives, in addition to coordinating the provision of Union services for 25,000 UFCW Local 1518 members.

Among his responsibilities was developing negotiations strategies, negotiating contracts, handling and coordinating grievances and arbitrations, developing up-and-coming leaders in the organization, providing Union education, and organizing new members into the Union.