Labour breakfast attracts more than 100 attendees

For 30 years, the Sudbury and District Labour Council has supported United Way Sudbury and Nipissing Districts.

Every year, a labour breakfast is hosted to celebrate the partnership and to encourage workplace campaigns to raise funds for United Way. This year was no different, and on Oct. 26, more than 100 people attended the 13th Annual Labour Breakfast at the United Steelworkers Hall on Brady Street.

John Closs, president of the Sudbury and District Labour Council and emcee for the event, welcomed the attendees and introduced special guests to the event: Ed Ste. Marie from the Canadian Labour Congress, France Gelinas, MPP Nickel Belt, as well as members from the United Way’s campaign cabinet and board of directors.

Wyman MacKinnon, labour chair for United Way’s Campaign Cabinet and Richard Pilon, campaign manager, handed out Thanks-a-million Awards to various unions, including
-United Steelworkers 6500
-United Steelworkers 2020
-Ontario Public Service Employees Union
-Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
-Public Service Alliance of Canada
-Canadian Auto Workers Mine Mill Local 598
-Canadian Union of Public Employees
-Canadian Union of Postal Workers
-Ontario Nurses’ Association
-Ontario Crown Attorney’s Association

These awards are bestowed to leading corporations, employers and labour organizations that, together with their employees or members, have raised $1 million or more in support of United Way.

“You won’t see us come knocking on your door for a donation, we don’t have telemarketers bothering you by phone and we don’t have a big mail-out campaign asking for funds,” said this year’s keynote speaker, Ron Lessard, executive director of the Learning Disabilities Association of Sudbury. “I’m here this morning to ask for your continued and ongoing support of the United Way Campaign in Sudbury.”

Lessard finished with the following words of encouragement for the breakfast attendees: “I put a donated yellow football at each table. One of you take it, hand it off to the player next to you, run with it, pass it, kick it…Let’s go out there and make everyone a winner.”

United Way Sudbury and Nipissing Districts’ Executive Director, Michael Cullen, thanked everyone for attending and for their continued campaign support.

“We are pleased that with the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the work of staff and our board of directors over the last year has allowed us to open an office and hire a full-time staff person in North Bay,” Cullen said.

“We want to stress that money raised in North Bay stays in that community and the money raised in our community stays here. With continued support from people like all of you in attendance, we can raise $3 to $4 million for our community.”