Nearly 400 workers at Highline Mushrooms farms in British Columbia have joined the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 1518, marking the largest group of farmworkers in Canadian history to unionize, according to the union.
On July 8, the B.C. Labour Board certified 210 workers at Highline’s Langley farm as union members. This group joins the already-unionized employees at the Abbotsford locations, bringing the total number of new UFCW 1518 members to 390.
The new union members in Langley include migrant agricultural workers from Guatemala, Mexico, India, and Vietnam, as well as local workers employed in packaging and driving, it said.
Kulwinder Kaur, a Highline Mushrooms worker in Langley, emphasized the importance of union support, stating, “The biggest motivation to join UFCW is job security to have personal peace of mind. If anything goes wrong, or if the employer treats you unfairly, the union has your back. I expect all workers at work to be treated respectfully and fairly, and as union members, we should all be treated equally.”
Patrick Johnson, President of UFCW 1518, highlighted the vulnerabilities of migrant agricultural workers, noting that they often work long hours in labour-intensive roles with minimal protection. “Joining a union allows migrant agricultural workers to have a voice at the table,” he said. “We welcome our newest members to the UFCW 1518 union family and hope that they serve as inspiration for other workers in Canada’s agri-food industry.”
UFCW Canada, known as the food workers’ union, represents thousands of migrant workers in unionized workplaces across the country, including greenhouses, mushroom factories, and meatpacking plants. The union also supports migrant members through its Migrant Members Support Program, assisting those on temporary work permits in navigating immigration pathways and becoming permanent residents if desired.
Shawn Haggerty, UFCW Canada National President, underscored the significance of this unionization effort, saying, “This is more evidence that there is a strong desire for migrant food workers to engage their fundamental labour rights and unionize. UFCW Canada is the union for agricultural workers in Canada, and we look forward to working with Highline Mushrooms and other social partners in the sector to advance decent work in the agri-food sector. This also strengthens the Canadian food sector by contributing to a more stable and secure labour market.”
Highline Mushrooms is a subsidiary of the Japanese-owned Sumitomo conglomerate.