Teachers at the Islamic Foundation School in Scarborough vote to join UFCW Local 175

SCARBOROUGH, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 8, 2017) - Teachers at the Islamic Foundation School in Scarborough voted overwhelmingly to join the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 175 on May 1.

The Union believes this to be the first Islamic school to unionize in Canada.

"The teachers at this school are dedicated to the children in their classrooms," said UFCW Local 175 President Shawn Haggerty. "Joining the Union means that they can better their workplace so they can continue to give back to their community."

A range of issues brought the 42 full-time teachers employed at the private school to seek Union representation including a lack of respect in the workplace, time limits on vacations, poor job security, and an inadequate compensation package.

The Union is seeking meeting dates with the employer to begin the process of bargaining the first collective agreement for the workers.

UFCW Locals 175 & 633 represents more than 70,000 Union Members in every employment sector across Ontario.